David Spade: Salma’s Daughter Crushes on Me

Hamming it up in Grown Ups was easy for David Spade. But charming the children of his co-stars Salma Hayek, Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Chris Rock wasn’t so effortless.

“They’re all very quiet,” the father of daughter Harper, 1, says during the Grown Ups premiere held in NYC this week. “They actually all ignore me. They don’t really like me.”

Still, Salma’s 2-year-old daughter Valentina took a shine to the Rules of Engagement star, who is known for his way with the ladies.

“Salma always says ‘she has a crush on you,’ “ he says. “It’s a trick. She does not. But it makes me go, ‘oh,’ and I’m nicer to her, but the kid’s like, ‘mom!’”

What is Salma like as a mom?

“She’s the best,” David says. “All these guys are about the kids. Adam put a little pool there and little things for the kids to hang out on all day, which I abused. ‘It’s my turn.’”

And Adam as a dad to Sadie, 4, and Sunny, 1?

“He’s the best one. And he likes that the most. But I’m a close second.”

Although David’s daughter grew out of a brief relationship with Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace, he shrugs off reports he’s dating Padma Lakshmi grimacing, “I don’t know. Take it easy.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Rock fared better with the youngsters.

“I have kids myself, so I understand the kids,” he says. “I relate to the kids.”

His girls Lola, 7, and Zahra, 6, and Adam’s daughters now have regular playdates “all the time.”