(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Susan Sarandon says the one thing she hopes to have passed onto her children is empathy.

The Oscar-winning actress has two sons; Jack, 21, and 18-year-old Miles from her 23-year relationship with former love Tim Robbins.

The 64-year-old takes parenting seriously, and has revealed her main priority was ensuring she raised children who could have compassion for others.

I hope they're present in their lives and feel some kind of empathy. I think a lot of the mistakes that have been made in the world have been through a lack of empathy. If you can identify with someone else and empathise with someone else, then activism is a short step away, she explained in an interview with Parade.

The talented actress is well known for her political activism, and has helped the underprivileged with her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as an advocate for victims of hunger, and she is also involved with HIV and Aids charities.

Susan has travelled across the globe with her various charity work, and admits shes thrilled her son Jack has shown an interest in following in her footsteps. The star finds going away on humanitarian missions a lonely process, so she would love to have a family member to keep her company.

I'm hoping that my eldest son will join me. He has expressed an interest in taking a trip with me and possibly filming. He's studying film and he graduates this year. One of the things thats always been the hardest is how lonely you are when you're there and you're so emotionally involved, so to be able to have one of my kids with me, I think would be great for me and probably very educational for him, she added. (C) Cover Media