Apatow: Daughters think my "jokes are corny"

He has helped usher in a new style of comedy and is the brain behind humorous hits like Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but director-producer Judd Apatow falls low on the totem pole in his own house when it comes to landing a good joke.

"Everybody thinks their dad's jokes are corny. I don't get a free pass on that," he tells Family Circle magazine. "In fact, (10-year-old daughter) Iris said to me once, 'Most of your stuff isn't funny at all. But I'm always surprised you make it work.' I thought that was a pretty sophisticated way of attacking me."

Apatow, who directed his wife, Leslie Mann, and daughters Maude, 14, and Iris in Knocked Up and the upcoming This Is 40, chatted about his funny family for the magazine's January issue.

On always making others laugh: "When I was in third grade, I'd draw guns on my underwear, then jump out in my briefs in the locker room and say I was Captain Underwear. Can't say it was that witty, but I was very committed to it."

Who gets the most laughs at home: "It's a close race, but I'd say Iris is the funniest. The other day she was listening to Maroon 5's Pay Phone, and I said, 'Nobody uses a pay phone these days.' She said, 'Unless you're in jail.' You always appreciate a good line from a kid."

On directing his daughters: "Half my day is spent begging them to eat fruit and not M&M's."

On the girls' favorite parent: "Leslie. She starred in 17 Again with Zac Efron, so she had him call Maude at her birthday slumber party. All the girls went crazy. You can't top that."

On not being a cool Hollywood dad: "No. I get zero respect. I always think at some point they'll realize I worked on Superbad. But that never happens. I'm just the goofy guy picking them up at volleyball."

On Maude's large Twitter following: "Yes — that's how we know what's going on in her life!"