Justin Timberlake: 'I had a messed up childhood'

Fatherhood has made Justin Timberlake realize how messed up his youth was.

The singer/songwriter became a child star on The Mickey Mouse Club TV show before finding international fame as a member of boy band NSYNC, and he has only just realized how crazy his upbringing was now he's a dad to young son Silas.

"You go through your life with your own traumas, big and small, and think, 'It's not that bad, I have a lot to be thankful for, my parents did the best they could...,'" he tells The Hollywood Reporter, "but then you have a child of your own, and suddenly it opens all the floodgates, and you're like, 'No, no, no! That childhood trauma really did (mess) me up!'"

Justin is keen to keep his own son far away from showbusiness, even though he's an international pop superstar and actor and his wife Jessica Biel, Silas' mother, is an actress - but if his kid insists on following mom and dad into the spotlight, the Cry Me a River singer admits he'll be a good guy to turn to.

"Would I want my child to follow my path?" Justin muses. "You know, I haven't been able to answer that question in my mind. If he wanted it bad enough, I suppose I could teach him a lot about what not to do."

That said, Justin insists he isn't qualified to do anything but sing, act and be a dad.

"I'm just following my gut in the decisions that I make about what I'm going to do next," the star admits. "I'm mostly just glad this is all working out because I really can't do anything else. I'm not gifted at anything else."