Hollywood Nepotism: The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly

[Crashcourse]

15 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Kate Hudson really lucked out with a bang out part in Almost Famous that she was perfect for. She flew on the good vibes of that role for years.

While I haven't been that impressed with her other movies, it's as if she was born to play Penny Lane in Almost Famous.  She was perfect. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/26/2022 at 4:32 PM, Ambrosefolly said:

One thing endearing about Jamie Lee Curtis is that she admits it that being Janet Leigh's daughter gave her the edge in the Halloween auditions.  It gets frustrating when some of these nepo babies deny this fact and say it makes it harder to prove themselves. (I get the sentiment, but a few good performance, people will accept them)

Ironically Jamie Lee Curtis put out some huge statement on her Instagram that she's "hurt" by the whole nepo baby conversation.  I don't see how it's hurtful, then again I am not a nepo baby.  I was happy to see many responses gently pointing out that the conversation is not meant to be hurtful but is important to have simply to point out the differences that people have in privilege and advantage.  Seems like a lot of the nepo babies are taking it personally.

Edited December 27, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Scarlett45]

7 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I feel like soaps were also a really good stepping stone for non-connected people to break into the entertainment industry. Although of course you had to be super attractive for soaps. I was thinking about that because of Anne Heche's recent passing and how Another World plucked her out of obscurity. You won't see stories like that anymore with the death of soaps. On the other hand, because Netflix is filming a lot of shows in Georgia, they're giving actors who aren't from New York/LA a chance to get experience and break in. Madelyn Cline is from the South and a non-nepo baby who got her start as an extra in Stranger Things. Of course she's super attractive so your point stands.  

I can agree with you about soaps. I always thought shows like Degrassi were great training ground for teen actors.

 

I think there is a chance for non connected people- a lot more things are being made now. YouTube and social media, along with camera phones has given an “every man” a way to produce and distribute content. I think of Todrick Hall, and actors/dancers he’s worked with building his own brand. 

[Ambrosefolly]

21 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I can agree with you about soaps. I always thought shows like Degrassi were great training ground for teen actors.

 

I think there is a chance for non connected people- a lot more things are being made now. YouTube and social media, along with camera phones has given an “every man” a way to produce and distribute content. I think of Todrick Hall, and actors/dancers he’s worked with building his own brand. 

This other point that Tara Mookness that I agree with it is that why do the non connected have be forced to be writers and directors if all they want to do is act? It is great when they do do this and I am happy to see it, especially when they maintain creative control of their projects, but that is a lot to ask of people, especially when they have to also work a straight job so they can feed and house themselves. 

The good thing about people being able to produce their own content, is that as bad as nepotism is in front of the camera, it has gotten worse behind the camera. At least with nepo baby or well connected actors, they can mimic what it is like being,  say, a person that grew up in a trailer park and be convincing. But you can tell when the screenwriters and directors  (especially if it is original content, and not adapting someone's book) always grew up with at least their material needs met, and in some cases, being the scions of Hollywood royalty. Stephen King grew up in a solid middle class level and had to work his way through college and  then as teacher before Carrie hit it big. I feel this is the key to why a lot of his early worked connected with so many people, because he understood what it was like to struggle and was probably exposed to different class levels on a regular basis. While I like Joe Hill's "Locke and Key," he lacks that common man's touch that his father had, probably because he didn't have to struggle in the same way. Euphoria got worse when Sam Levinson, the son of director Barry Levinson, stopped doing his research and treating his show as a communal creative endeavor and instead focused on useless artistic shit in the second season. 

Don't get me started on Soap Operas. It is the same writers and EPs that probably hadn't talked to a regular working person in years going from one soap to another.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Ambrosefolly

[methodwriter85]

On 12/27/2022 at 6:18 AM, Ambrosefolly said:

Sosie Bacon wasn't Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick's daughter (with Kevin being so prolific that "8 degrees of Kevin Bacon" is a thing), there is very little chance she would have gotten that lead in Smile. I am not saying Sosie isn't talented and I know she did study acting in college, but she is at best described as "cute." While being ordinary looking fits the role, she wasn't buzzed about beforehand, which is the only way that someone with Sosie's level of attractiveness could have gotten that role without being a nepo baby or a transitioning child star. Her first acting jobs were in projects her parents were heavily involved in.

What's funny is that Kevin had to undergo a makeover for a screentest in order to prove he could be attractive enough to be Ren McCormick's. He really had to have people going to bat for him. I do think Sosie is talented and looks-wise she makes me think of Sutton Foster but you're right. Anyway, your comment also applies to Harley Smith, who is quite plain but is also just not very good. I hope if she continues an acting career she gets better because I kept watching her in Cruel Summer and thinking that she's lucky she's Kevin Smith's daughter.  

[kiddo82]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:00 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Ironically Jamie Lee Curtis put out some huge statement on her Instagram that she's "hurt" by the whole nepo baby conversation.  I don't see how it's hurtful, then again I am not a nepo baby.  I was happy to see many responses gently pointing out that the conversation is not meant to be hurtful but is important to have simply to point out the differences that people have in privilege and advantage.  Seems like a lot of the nepo babies are taking it personally.

"Hurt" is a bit of an extreme word but I could definitely see how the entire conversation gets tiresome. Don't get me wrong, one having to acknowledge their own privilege is a small price to pay for connections that others could never even dream of but this recent reckoning seems a little misplaced.  Like, a bunch of people on Twitter realized that Maude Apatow has famous parents and now everyone is cut from the same cloth as if this hasn't been going on since Douglas Fairbanks.  It's no one's fault and I'd get tired of having to answer for it too.  

Edited December 30, 2022 by kiddo82

[Scarlett45]

On 12/28/2022 at 3:58 PM, methodwriter85 said:

What's funny is that Kevin had to undergo a makeover for a screentest in order to prove he could be attractive enough to be Ren McCormick's. He really had to have people going to bat for him. I do think Sosie is talented and looks-wise she makes me think of Sutton Foster but you're right. Anyway, your comment also applies to Harley Smith, who is quite plain but is also just not very good. I hope if she continues an acting career she gets better because I kept watching her in Cruel Summer and thinking that she's lucky she's Kevin Smith's daughter.  

Attractiveness is subjective of course, but Kevin Bacon as a heart throb is something I’ve NEVER understood and neither have any of the women from my cultural group I’ve discussed this with. I could maybe get that he is “sexy” without being attractive like Tom Hiddleston (who is always my example of that). Also certain looks are “in vogue” at certain times more than others, that doesn’t make people any less attractive, it’s what’s being marketed to us. I think of Channing Tatum being told to shave his head and get a spray tan to be ethnically ambiguous and do modeling for urban street wear in the early 00s.
 

I see Haley Quinn Smith having a strong career in her middle years and onwards, she has a strong face now, and she’s only 23, she will likely hold that face for 20yrs (I think of Angie Harmon)

[Ambrosefolly]

Here's the thing regarding Jamie Lee Curtis: she talks about an audition process with Halloween. She might have won over the other girl because of her mother, but she auditioned. She was even fired from an acting role prior to auditioning for Halloween. It is also the reason I like Elizabeth Olson. She says she even enjoys the auditioning process because she doesn't like the idea of a role being handed to her without auditioning and figuring out during things like rehearsal or pre production if she meshes with the project.   I've seen a Nepo baby on a video talking about Nepo Babies saying that she didn't even consider an acting career, but an industry friend of her well connected parent "liked her look" at a random party, and that is frustrating. 

[DearEvette]

21 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Don't get me wrong, one having to acknowledge their own privilege is a small price to pay for connections that others could never even dream of but this recent reckoning seems a little misplaced.  Like, a bunch of people on Twitter realized that Maude Apatow has famous parents and now everyone is cut from the same cloth as if this hasn't been going on since Douglas Fairbanks.  It's no one's fault and I'd get tired of having to answer for it too.

I think the Nepo baby conversation is just a small part of the bigger conversation about gate keeping in Hollywood and the myth of the meritocracy system.  And as long as the answer to a questionable casting is "the best person for the job" then this conversation will persist. 

[kiddo82]

3 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I think the Nepo baby conversation is just a small part of the bigger conversation about gate keeping in Hollywood and the myth of the meritocracy system.  And as long as the answer to a questionable casting is "the best person for the job" then this conversation will persist. 

I think that's a fair point, and again, it's not the conversation about nepotism (and to a greater extent gate keeping) that I take issue with, but rather this notion that anyone who has benefitted from it is inherently lesser and must answer for it.  I've seen comments on Twitter where someone will say "I didn't know person X had famous parents" as if that should change one's opinion one way or another.  I guess it's an easier pill to swallow when I think about younger performers with famous parents who themselves actually are talented and charismatic (John David Washington, Zoey Deutch, Zoe Kravitz, etc.) than those who aren't.  I do agree that it's part of a marco conversation but on a micro level at a certain point the issue has been raised and addressed.  What more do we really want a Jamie Lee Curtis or a Jane Fonda or even a younger person like John David Washington to say about it?  Maybe it's the social media outrage du jour portion of the argument that I find tiresome.

Edited December 31, 2022 by kiddo82

[caracas1914]

On 12/26/2022 at 8:58 PM, Irlandesa said:

I don't know that she misses the point, exactly. She flat out states that she doesn't really care much about the nepo baby conversation.  Nor is she wrong that nepotism isn't exclusive to Hollywood.  In fact, I think Lily Allen's point was pretty accurate in that it happening in less public places can be more damaging.  In Hollywood, the failure of a nepo baby can be pretty public and hard to ignore.

But I think some of the examples given in the Nepo Baby article also seem pretty silly.

 

Understandably of course she doesn't care for any nepo baby conversations. 

However  Hudson doesn't even acknowledge any advantages she may have had getting her foot in the door, even if her argument is you still have to have talent and work hard regardless.  (Many families all the members are storytellers..)   I'm not saying Hudson has  to wear sackcloth,  but to divert from her huge headstart in the business  by stating modeling has more nepotism and in  others professions it's more dangerous or harmful just seems bizarre deflection.

 

 

 

[katha]

On 12/30/2022 at 10:31 PM, DearEvette said:

I think the Nepo baby conversation is just a small part of the bigger conversation about gate keeping in Hollywood and the myth of the meritocracy system.  And as long as the answer to a questionable casting is "the best person for the job" then this conversation will persist. 

Yeah, I think it happens because many narratives are breaking down/being questioned in the wake of the last few challenging years and nepo babies are a celeb version with famous faces of classism and gatekeeping that happens everywhere. The discussion is too narrow, dogpiling happens, but tbh many of the hyper sensitive responses are kinda making the case for why these articles etc. need to be written. 

And I do think the entertainment industry is singled out as well because networking and who you know, getting your foot in at the start is often so totally disconnected from talent/merit. As a doctor/lawyer, yes connections will help immensely, but at least you have to get through extensive schooling. The formal requirements for Hollywood are auditions, connections etc., and nepo babies just live on another planet compared to anyone else in this regard. Also the economic reality that they can just try and fail and try again with financial security in their background, while someone coming in without the clout often has to get a regular job and then audition on top of it. The risk to go into the arts is much, much greater. 

In a British context, James McAvoy for example has talked about how the cut down on arts funding in GB is turning the arts more and more exclusively posh. There's nothing wrong with coming from an upper class background, but the system has calcified to a point that middle/working class (aspiring) artists get almost no state support anymore. Whereas there used to be programs, scholarships etc. And it makes the whole field super narrow because there are only certain points of view that get represented in the industry. 

And that's kinda the bigger picture with the nepo baby discourse as well IMO. It's not that the talented ones don't deserve their careers and no one is saying that, I think. It's burying the myth that it's an even playing field and a meritocracy. Getting in the door is huge. Of course then it becomes about talent, work ethic, ambition etc. 

Like, I don't think the argument is that Benedict Cumberbatch, famously posh LOL, only has his career because of his parents. He knew that he could go into acting because he'd seen it in his family, he had access to the right schools and the right drama program. That's where he had a leg up. No one says that he'd have made his blockbuster career and been nominated for or won all these acting awards just because of that. Once he got in the door, he had to hustle like everyone else and showed that he can hack it. 

Or an American example: Adam Driver's background is often treated as some sort of unicorn situation and that's tiresome. But sadly it also kinda is very out there and that's a problem. Driver's lower middle class from Indiana, his parents seem very religious and didn't seem very supportive of his artistic interests. It's incredibly unusual that someone like that tried to get into Juilliard after HS. He failed and enlisted in the military, but even him trying is really, really exceptional. And then after he injured himself and was discharged, he tried again, got in and could make it because of the GI Bill and working on the side, I presume. But someone from that background deciding that he'll go for an acting career is a level of confidence, drive and just sheer risk-taking that is totally exceptional. I think many very talented kids from similar backgrounds get discouraged at the various similar hurdles they face and just give up because at a certain point the systemic disadvantages they face just grind them down. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by katha

[methodwriter85]

Yeah, there's this actor on General Hospital that I follow. His name is Nicholas Chavez and he came from a relatively normal Florida middle (maybe upper middle?) class background. He managed to get the part of Spencer as his first role after a few months of waiting tables in Hollywood. He doesn't seem to have had much formal training but he picked it up pretty quick after he got over his nerves and he got himself a Daytime Emmy. (His acceptance speech was really charming.) Soaps in general can't be that picky about casting but sometimes they get lucky and get a newcomer that's actually really good. That's kind of the sad part about soaps dying- they really could and did pluck people out of obscurity and made them stars. (Of course, not to say there isn't nepotism even there- Susan Lucci's daughter was on Passions and completely lacked her mom's charisma.)

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/30/2022 at 7:17 PM, kiddo82 said:

I think that's a fair point, and again, it's not the conversation about nepotism (and to a greater extent gate keeping) that I take issue with, but rather this notion that anyone who has benefitted from it is inherently lesser and must answer for it.  I've seen comments on Twitter where someone will say "I didn't know person X had famous parents" as if that should change one's opinion one way or another.  I guess it's an easier pill to swallow when I think about younger performers with famous parents who themselves actually are talented and charismatic (John David Washington, Zoey Deutch, Zoe Kravitz, etc.) than those who aren't.  I do agree that it's part of a marco conversation but on a micro level at a certain point the issue has been raised and addressed.  What more do we really want a Jamie Lee Curtis or a Jane Fonda or even a younger person like John David Washington to say about it?  Maybe it's the social media outrage du jour portion of the argument that I find tiresome.

I am not sure why you think the existence of an article or somebody saying "I didn't know X had famous parents" is demanding people answer for it.  Nobody is demanding that Jamie Lee Curtis answer for it.  I think it's okay to have these conversations and what a lot of people like me appreciate is the transparency of it.

JLC is an icon and is going to have her fans with or without the conversation.  The option was always there for her not to comment on it, which is likely the option that Zoey and John David took.  

Edited January 7, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Cobalt Stargazer]

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I am not sure why you think the existence of an article or somebody saying "I didn't know X had famous parents" is demanding people answer for it.  Nobody is demanding that Jamie Lee Curtis answer for it.  I think it's okay to have these conversations and what a lot of people like me appreciate is the transparency of the conversations.  

This has been noted before, but nepotism exists in most industries, not just the entertainment business. How much more transparency does there need to be to make it clear that some people have a hand up early in their career and some don't? No, there's no demand that anyone answer for anything, but maybe....they're expected to apologize for it? There's a reason I see mention of very famous people, like Julia Roberts, doing commercials when they "could have" let a lesser known person or even a random man or woman be in the ad instead. It's thirty seconds or a minute of work, and there's residuals, and how much money does So And So need?

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think that more transparency is needed considering people are discovering the Hollywood connections all of the time.  I myself learned about a lot of connections in that article that I never knew about before.  There is no harm to learning about the connections.  In fact, it probably helps struggling actors be less depressed when they learn more and more about how the business really works.  

The question about why do famous Hollywood actors do commercials is a different topic in my opinion.  This topic is "Hollywood Nepotism".

Edited January 7, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Kel Varnsen]

What I find weird about this whole recent nepotism issue is that it seems to only be focusing on kids of famous people rather than anyone with other family connections. I mean she is a great actor but is anyone going to dare call out Frances McDormand over the fact that her career would loom a lot different if her husband was Joel the teacher instead of Joel Coen acclaimed director. Especially since being married to a famous director who can actually put you in movies is probably a lot more beneficial than having a famous actor parent who can maybe just call in favours. Hell Martin Scorsese used to put his mom in a bunch of movies.

And honestly either way it doesn't bother me, since finding any job is hard and using any advantage or connect you can is kind of expected. Like is Joel Coen hiring his wife a bunch of times that much different than him hiring his friend John Goodman a bunch of times?

[Irlandesa]

12 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

mean she is a great actor but is anyone going to dare call out Frances McDormand over the fact that her career would loom a lot different if her husband was Joel the teacher instead of Joel Coen acclaimed director. Especially since being married to a famous director who can actually put you in movies is probably a lot more beneficial than having a famous actor parent who can maybe just call in favours.

I think it's for the same reason you'd never see anyone accuse Joel and Ethan Coen of benefitting from nepotism because of their relation to one another.  She met them when she auditioned for their first low-budget indie, Blood Simple.  After filming, she did TV and off-Broadway and Broadway theater.  Blood Simple Even though it didn't make a ton of money, it became a cult hit but her career was already on its way.

Basically, she doesn't get accused of nepotism because her career and her husband's career all took off around the same time and they aren't perfectly intertwined.  Her first Oscar nomination came four years after Blood Simple and it wasn't for a film associated with her husband or BIL.

 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think it's for the same reason you'd never see anyone accuse Joel and Ethan Coen of benefitting from nepotism because of their relation to one another.  She met them when she auditioned for their first low-budget indie, Blood Simple.  After filming, she did TV and off-Broadway and Broadway theater.  Blood Simple Even though it didn't make a ton of money, it became a cult hit but her career was already on its way.

Basically, she doesn't get accused of nepotism because her career and her husband's career all took off around the same time and they aren't perfectly intertwined.  Her first Oscar nomination came four years after Blood Simple and it wasn't for a film associated with her husband or BIL.

That kind of reminds me of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann.  They've been working together since "The Cable Guy" in 1996.   It's a collaborative relationship rather than somebody's parents' names giving them a leg up.

However, Maude Apatow AND Iris Apatow are all over the place now.  I will say that I thought Iris was good in "The Bubble", an absolutely terrible Apatow film.

There are 3 Coen children listed on Wikipedia.  At least they weren't all put into the latest Coen films.

I mean, look at Mindy Kaling's show "The Sex Lives of College Girls".  She specifically hired Pauline Chalamet (Timothee's sister) and Charlie Hall (Julia Louis Dreyfus's son).  Then for "Never Have I Ever" she hired Deacon Phillippe (Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon's son).  I don't even watch these shows and never will.  Yet somehow I know about all of this because the media is constantly flooded with gushing articles over the whole thing.  I always look to the people that Mindy gives opportunities to  and......... I won't say too much because whatever, but ....... it's odd.  My personal opinion.  I felt the exact same with "The Mindy Project" where her love interests on the show included Seth AND Josh Myers.  I think more men from that same family were on that show than non-white love interests.    There really is no point auditioning for a show like that.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[absnow54]

23 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

What I find weird about this whole recent nepotism issue is that it seems to only be focusing on kids of famous people rather than anyone with other family connections. I mean she is a great actor but is anyone going to dare call out Frances McDormand over the fact that her career would loom a lot different if her husband was Joel the teacher instead of Joel Coen acclaimed director.

I don't think this is necessarily a good example. The Coen brothers had indie acclaim for Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, at best, when Frances McDormand was nominated for her first Oscar and Tony. Frances has won 4 Oscars, the same number as Joel, and only one of them she got from working with her husband.

1 minute ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

That kind of reminds me of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann.  They've been working together since "The Cable Guy" in 1996.  

Yeah, Leslie Mann is another interesting example, because she gets steady work now because of Judd Apatow's success, but she broke into Hollywood and got decent work throughout the 90s before she married him (and long before he was a household name.)

[methodwriter85]

Riley Keough seems to have had her breakthrough with Daisy Jones and the Six. Good for her.

She reminds me of Rumer Willis in the sense that they've both been pretty much working for nearly 20 years at this point without ever really hitting that marque role and you can't say either of them haven't paid their dues.

[absnow54]

On 3/10/2023 at 11:18 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Riley Keough seems to have had her breakthrough with Daisy Jones and the Six. Good for her.

I thought Mad Max and The Girlfriend Experience were her breakthrough, but then I remembered she showed up on an episode of Riverdale, when I assumed she was way too famous for it, so I guess she hit my radar too early.

[Blergh]

Question: How is Miss Keough's career in any way nepotistic? Yes, I know she's eldest granddaughter of Elvis but he died long before her birth, her recently deceased mother Lisa Marie never acted in any movies  and her grandmother Priscilla hasn't done any movies not playing herself since the Naked Gun series that ended in 1994? I mean, if she didn't have any talent, at most Miss Keough would have gotten a nod for an audition or two more than other performers with no known family history but then quickly shown the door.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 3/10/2023 at 11:18 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Riley Keough seems to have had her breakthrough with Daisy Jones and the Six. Good for her.

She reminds me of Rumer Willis in the sense that they've both been pretty much working for nearly 20 years at this point without ever really hitting that marque role and you can't say either of them haven't paid their dues.

I saw Riley on Seth Meyers and wow she is soooooooo likeable.  Hard to explain but she has a certain sweet likeable quality.

She was very critically acclaimed for "American Honey" and "Zola" too, I think.

On 3/14/2023 at 8:44 PM, Blergh said:

Question: How is Miss Keough's career in any way nepotistic? Yes, I know she's eldest granddaughter of Elvis but he died long before her birth, her recently deceased mother Lisa Marie never acted in any movies  and her grandmother Priscilla hasn't done any movies not playing herself since the Naked Gun series that ended in 1994? I mean, if she didn't have any talent, at most Miss Keough would have gotten a nod for an audition or two more than other performers with no known family history but then quickly shown the door.

The nepotism is always there, but people might just disagree on the degree, I guess.  In my opinion, it's always there.  When Riley is in the press, Elvis is mentioned alongside her.  That's just a fact.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Question: How is Miss Keough's career in any way nepotistic? Yes, I know she's eldest granddaughter of Elvis but he died long before her birth, her recently deceased mother Lisa Marie never acted in any movies  and her grandmother Priscilla hasn't done any movies not playing herself since the Naked Gun series that ended in 1994? I mean, if she didn't have any talent, at most Miss Keough would have gotten a nod for an audition or two more than other performers with no known family history but then quickly shown the door.

Of course your comment only makes sense if it is based on the idea that Elvis is dead. 😁

[Ms Blue Jay]

Maya Hawke just performed a song on The Tonight Show.  I totally get why people like her so much, especially after I saw "Do Revenge".  She is just very cool and so self assured (not that it should be hard, being her, LOL.)

(In case we run into the nepotism argument again I mean, Jimmy Fallon makes no mistake about how must he loves Ethan.)

Edited March 15, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

The nepotism is always there, but people might just disagree on the degree, I guess.  In my opinion, it's always there.  When Riley is in the press, Elvis is mentioned alongside her.  That's just a fact.

Her being Elvis' granddaughter got her foot in the door and got her noticed early on when those without famous relatives probably wouldn't have.  That's the head start that nepotism gets one.  It's on her to earn roles with her talent, and from what I've read, she's done that.  She's benefitted from nepotism, but to a lesser extent than someone with little talent but big name recognition.

[Irlandesa]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:44 PM, Blergh said:

Question: How is Miss Keough's career in any way nepotistic? Yes, I know she's eldest granddaughter of Elvis but he died long before her birth, her recently deceased mother Lisa Marie never acted in any movies  and her grandmother Priscilla hasn't done any movies not playing herself since the Naked Gun series that ended in 1994? I mean, if she didn't have any talent, at most Miss Keough would have gotten a nod for an audition or two more than other performers with no known family history but then quickly shown the door.

Nepotism isn't always "hire my kid."  Both Lisa Marie, Priscilla, and Elvis were in the entertainment industry.  They know what you need to do beyond acting to have a career.  For instance, it's a lot of help to have the right agent and that family had the connections to help get her one.

That doesn't mean she's not talented but it's a lot easier to be discovered as the lead of the play when you're born in the theater.

[Ms Blue Jay]

A lot of us have celebrities that we love and that would extend to their family too, I would think.  Now --- think about how much Elvis's fans love him! 😄 Of course they're going to love Riley too and want to help her!

I think a lot of these people are charming and talented - Riley, Zoey Deutch, etc.  If I didn't think they were talented I would come right out and say it.  But, they've had help.

Two of my favourite nepo connections are Kieran and Rory Culkin.  I just adore them.  Kieran's career probably started when Macaulay's did, but Mac was just inescapably famous in the 90s and I'm sure it helped the rest of the family.  Rory was so damn good in "Signs".  He blew me away.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[absnow54]

On 3/14/2023 at 10:10 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

The nepotism is always there, but people might just disagree on the degree, I guess.  In my opinion, it's always there.  When Riley is in the press, Elvis is mentioned alongside her.  That's just a fact.

I agree. Daisy Jones and the Six had an existing fanbase from the book, but the media has leaned in hard on the granddaughter of Elvis playing a rock star. Riley, fortunately, has lived up to the hype, but Amazon is definitely playing the nepotism card to get more eyeballs on screens. 

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I agree. Daisy Jones and the Six had an existing fanbase from the book, but the media has leaned in hard on the granddaughter of Elvis playing a rock star. Riley, fortunately, has lived up to the hype, but Amazon is definitely playing the nepotism card to get more eyeballs on screens. 

I mean, it's just smart given the massive publicity that Austin Butler got for delivering his Golden Globes speech with Lisa Marie Presley in the audience just 2 days before she passed away.

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

That doesn't mean she's not talented but it's a lot easier to be discovered as the lead of the play when you're born in the theater.

Right. And it also means that she had the freedom to take the quirky, interesting roles she's taken instead of having to take cheesy teen stuff on Nickelodeon or Disney.

Although that's not to say nepo babies won't have to do that kind of stuff. See: Emma Roberts, the Wolff brothers, and Miley Cyrus. 

[Ambrosefolly]

On 3/14/2023 at 8:44 PM, Blergh said:

Question: How is Miss Keough's career in any way nepotistic? Yes, I know she's eldest granddaughter of Elvis but he died long before her birth, her recently deceased mother Lisa Marie never acted in any movies  and her grandmother Priscilla hasn't done any movies not playing herself since the Naked Gun series that ended in 1994? I mean, if she didn't have any talent, at most Miss Keough would have gotten a nod for an audition or two more than other performers with no known family history but then quickly shown the door.

Elvis is an icon, like Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and the Beatles.   It is almost like being the descendant of royalty, maybe more benicial because it is entertainment. Even if you never listened to his music or watched his movies, you know who he is. Movies and miniseries are made about him every decade since he died up until last year (and got nominated for Oscars to boot). It was a huge deal when his daughter was briefly married to Michael Jackson in the 90s. No rocker, not from grudge, metal or even those that directly followed him in the 60s, took away his title as the "King of Rock and Roll." It isn't the same as Timothee Chalamet, whose connection is being the nephew of the director of Leprechaun 2, and whose experience is a lot closer to what you described. She probably had as many doors opened to her as Lily Rose Depp and Maya Hawk, despite Elvis being dead for so long. However, as Maya Hawk correctly nailed, that family connection will only get you a couple of chances to prove yourself, then you are out of the kingdom. While it took a while for Riley to get a marquee role, with something reminiscent of her grandfather's music career, she at least proved during the years she was a reliable performer. 

[Kel Varnsen]

I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom last week and it got me thinking of this thread, and how if nepotism in Hollywood was really that powerful, Jessica Capshaw would be a way bigger star. I mean her mom is a movie star, and he step dad since she was a teen was Steven Spielberg. And yet the thing she is most famous for is a supporting role on Grey's Anatomy and the only Spielberg movie she has been in was Minority Report.

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

Elvis is an icon, like Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and the Beatles.   It is almost like being the descendant of royalty, maybe more benicial because it is entertainment. Even if you never listened to his music or watched his movies, you know who he is. Movies and miniseries are made about him every decade since he died up until last year (and got nominated for Oscars to boot). It was a huge deal when his daughter was briefly married to Michael Jackson in the 90s. No rocker, not from grudge, metal or even those that directly followed him in the 60s, took away his title as the "King of Rock and Roll." 

Thanks for explaining this so well.  

9 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom last week and it got me thinking of this thread, and how if nepotism in Hollywood was really that powerful, Jessica Capshaw would be a way bigger star. 

Nepotism is very powerful but not everyone in the audience is going to respond well to every descendant of a star.  Yes, the audiences respond well to Angelina Jolie and Jamie Lee Curtis.  That doesn't mean audiences are going to feel the same about Jessica Capshaw.  Jessica has 4 children, maybe being an enormous star is not her number 1 priority.  She also left Grey's Anatomy willingly (according to her Wikipedia page), something that an actor not born of privilege may be not willing or able to do.  Her background probably affords her the luxury to say no to certain projects.

It looks like in 2022, she had both a movie and a show.  I'd say that's pretty good for a working actor.  Do you think an actor of her exact look and acting talent without the Spielberg connection would have those two same jobs today?  Funny enough, the star of the show in question, "Tell me Lies", is Grace Van Patten!  My goodness.  Of all the people.  And people still don't think that nepotism is powerful.

Oh my god, check out this show:  The two stars of "Tell me Lies" are Grace Van Patten and Jackson White, son of Katey Sagal.  I couldn't have created a better example if I was dreaming it up myself.

It's crazy how I just see Nepo Babies popping up everywhere.  I watch TCM a lot and there's a host that's always introducing the movies.  I couldn't help but start wondering how did this guy get this job?  Well, after looking it up, he is the grandson of the famous screenwriter that the movie "Mank" was based on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Mankiewicz

Edited April 9, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[absnow54]

On 4/9/2023 at 12:06 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Oh my god, check out this show:  The two stars of "Tell me Lies" are Grace Van Patten and Jackson White, son of Katey Sagal.  I couldn't have created a better example if I was dreaming it up myself.

Emma Roberts is an executive producer on that show too!

[greekmom]

Tom Hanks.  Received a Greek passport when someone who does not have Greek by descent.  Then he and Rita Wilson decided to go to Greece during the height of covid when everyone else was stuck at home. 

[methodwriter85]

On 12/27/2022 at 6:18 AM, Ambrosefolly said:

If Sosie Bacon wasn't Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick's daughter (with Kevin being so prolific that "8 degrees of Kevin Bacon" is a thing), there is very little chance she would have gotten that lead in Smile. I am not saying Sosie isn't talented and I know she did study acting in college, but she is at best described as "cute." While being ordinary looking fits the role, she wasn't buzzed about beforehand, which is the only way that someone with Sosie's level of attractiveness could have gotten that role without being a nepo baby or a transitioning child star. Her first acting jobs were in projects her parents were heavily involved in.

Your comments here are making me think about John Owen Lowe, as I'm currently watching Unstable on Netflix. He doesn't have his dad's looks (you can see it in his eyes, though) and his entire acting career seems to be based on his Dad.

It kind of just feels like Rob Lowe creates  cheaper shows (there was a paranormal reality show before in 2017) as an excuse to hang out with his kids. (His older son was involved with the paranormal show but is a venture capitalist now.)

I do think John Owen Lowe has a nice bit of charisma to him but there's just no way he'd be a lead of a tv show if he wasn't Rob Lowe's son. At best he'd be the wisecracking best friend to the lead character.

I kind of wonder if Ryan Murphy flat out refused to let Rob cast John Owen as his son on 911 Austin. LOL Let's be honest, Ryan only does very pretty boys on his shows.

Edited April 23, 2023 by methodwriter85

[Scarlett45]

On 3/14/2023 at 11:44 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Maya Hawke just performed a song on The Tonight Show.  I totally get why people like her so much, especially after I saw "Do Revenge".  She is just very cool and so self assured (not that it should be hard, being her, LOL.)

(In case we run into the nepotism argument again I mean, Jimmy Fallon makes no mistake about how must he loves Ethan.)

I really liked Maya Hawke in Do Revenge. She’s got talent and I can see her having a long career. 
 

unrelated to her work- It’s fun to see how physically she’s a blend of both her parents. 

[absnow54]

11 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of wonder if Ryan Murphy flat out refused to let Rob cast John Owen as his son on 911 Austin. LOL Let's be honest, Ryan only does very pretty boys on his shows.

Ryan Murphy loves casting nepo babies too! Emma Roberts, Kaia Gerber, and Paris Jackson are all heavily in his rotation. 

[DearEvette]

11 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of wonder if Ryan Murphy flat out refused to let Rob cast John Owen as his son on 911 Austin. LOL Let's be honest, Ryan only does very pretty boys on his shows.

No need to cast him when Rob's credit as a producer probably is what brought him on the show as a writer despite him having no prior writing credits and considering how hard it is to get into a writer's room even for experienced writers.

[Irlandesa]

I really like John Owen Rowe on Unstable but as I said in that thread, he's about as nepo baby as you can get if you look at his IMDb page.

[methodwriter85]

15 hours ago, absnow54 said:

Ryan Murphy loves casting nepo babies too! Emma Roberts, Kaia Gerber, and Paris Jackson are all heavily in his rotation. 

He does, but John Owen is just not to the level of physical attractiveness that Ryan Murphy uses to cast, especially for the leading men. If John was a copy of Rob I'm sure Ryan Murphy would have cast him in a minute. The guy he did cast for Rob Lowe's son is very pretty because Ryan pretty much only casts pretty boys, especially young male leads. Unless you're a respected character actor playing a supporting part. I will never not laugh about how his Richard Ramirez looked like he could have been in Jacob's wolf pack in Twilight. Lol

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I really like John Owen Rowe on Unstable but as I said in that thread, he's about as nepo baby as you can get if you look at his IMDb page.

Don't get me wrong, I like John Owen as well in Unstable and I think it was an appropriate vehicle for him. It's a low budget mockumentary sitcom, and I think his range is perfectly suited for it. It's not like he was being given keys to a massive franchise about karate or anything like that. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by methodwriter85

[Fool to cry]

A fun little video from Useful Charts who usually does historical subjects.

 

[caracas1914]

Tom Hank’s “A man called Otto” with his and Rita’s son Truman Hanks playing the character as a young man in flashback scenes.

Somewhat resembles his dad, but the “likability” factor that Tom is known for simply isn’t there.

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by caracas1914

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, caracas1914 said:

Tom Hank’s “A man called Otto” with his and Rita’s son Truman Hanks playing the character as a young man in flashback scenes.

Somewhat resembles his dad, but the “likability” factor that Tom is known for simply isn’t there.

Colin Hanks does have the likeability factor of his dad (and resembles him the best) but he's never really been able to hit anything better than "hey, it's that guy" status. I'd say he's had a pretty similar career to Mamie Gummer- lots of work, just not anything marque lead.

I thought Truman did fine for what was asked of the character part. Colin probably would have done a better job, but he can't play 19 anymore by any stretch of the imagination. 

I also kind of felt like the point of "A Man Called Otto" is that Otto isn't a very likeable, charismatic person yet you wind up liking him anyway, so it wouldn't have made sense for Truman to try and turn on the charm.

[caracas1914]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

Colin Hanks does have the likeability factor of his dad (and resembles him the best) but he's never really been able to hit anything better than "hey, it's that guy" status. I'd say he's had a pretty similar career to Mamie Gummer- lots of work, just not anything marque lead.

I thought Truman did fine for what was asked of the character part. Colin probably would have done a better job, but he can't play 19 anymore by any stretch of the imagination. 

I also kind of felt like the point of "A Man Called Otto" is that Otto isn't a very likeable, charismatic person yet you wind up liking him anyway, so it wouldn't have made sense for Truman to try and turn on the charm.

Oh I agree that the character is not suppose to be “nice” and Hanks as an old curmudgeon was the point.  Still think alot of good younger actors could have had better chemistry with the actress playing the younger wife.  He looks/doesnt look like his father like so many offspring do.

Also agree that Colin is much more like his dad, but since this is the nepotism thread can’t  see why Truman won the role other than his parents were the exec producers. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by caracas1914

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, caracas1914 said:

Also agree that Colin is much more like his dad, but since this is the nepotism thread can’t  see why Truman won the role other than his parents were the exec producers

True. Although thankfully it was a relatively small part. A better example of offspring playing their parents in flashbacks is Annie Starke in The Good Wife. She definitely has her mom's poise and well-bred manner. 

[annzeepark914]

It's interesting that neither son has the great looks of Rob Lowe. 

[methodwriter85]

11 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

It's interesting that neither son has the great looks of Rob Lowe. 

Which is why Ryan Murphy hasn't tried to push John Owen as one of his lead characters on one of his many shows. He totally would have if John Owen was a perfect copy of Rob like he is with Kaia Gerber who is a perfect copy of her mother. 

They both look more like Chad Lowe, which I always thought was kind of funny. Chad was the better actor but his career kind of just hit its peak with his role as Jesse on Life Goes On and he slowly faded into a "hey, it's that guy" after that.

Edited June 14, 2023 by methodwriter85

[annzeepark914]

Wasn't Chad Lowe in Manchester By The Sea? Geez...that was a tough one to watch. He was very good in it, but I think he was accused of sexual harassment by several women during another film production. That seemed to put the nail in his career.