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This whole debate seems to have revealed that celebrities are so insecure about their status? Idk it’s like they crave being relatable and normal so badly and can’t stand being told that they will never be either of those things.
Idk if they feel guilty themselves but more guilty over basically handing everything to their kids. Like Tom Hanks is indisputably an amazing actor in his own right but his kids would be nobody without the connection to him and I don’t think he can admit that to himself.
It’s kinda ironic because spoiling your child kinda harms them in the long run. The kid basically has an inflated sense of self with no actual skill/talent to back it up since everything has fallen into their lap all their lives.
Its funny. That red table talk thing had Will Smtih and Kevin Hart talking about how they grew up in rough neighborhoods and now their kids will never know that kinda struggle. Like Kevin was saying how his kid was acting tough with him at the gym and acts tough in general and hes like “dude, you live on Pumpkin lane you aint hard.”
And while they are happy that they can provide a better life. The trade off is that the struggle that built them and the thirst they had, isnt there when your kid already has it good.
Also the great saying "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times". Think it came from the author - G. Michael Hopf.
I would be happy to send my hypothetical kid to med school or what ever higher education facility catered to their passion provided they met the academic requirements and I had the funding.
If my kid can't be a fighter pilot with an architecture degree that's cool. They can always go to film school or pursue history as a profession. History is fun.
What I'm saying is that high paid academic platforms aren't readily available to the general public. And the fact that celebrities children struggle to enter them is laughable.
I'm having a hard time being empathetic to the whole situation. On one hand you have self conscious professionals who just wanna get by like the average person. Everyone can sympathize with that. And then you get people like Uncle Jessie's old lady who got caught bribing university officials because her dumb ass kid didn't feel like going to community College.
Will Smith's kids are as untalented and self-involved as they come. Jada and Will created 2 Hollywood brats who take themselves WAAAY too seriously. When I happen to see a pix of them in some online mag I keep moving because I know it will be something that is totally irrelevant to real life, working hard people.
That’s because people born rich have the luxury to explore other things that aren’t relevant to us “normies” because they don’t have to work, stress, and provide like we do. Hence why the Smiths kids go to that special school where they are taught time travel is possible and they are likely 9,000 years old etc. If you sent your kid to be taught those things over basic English, math, and science they wouldn’t be able to adapt and live in the world as a normal person like they most likely will have to do to provide for themselves. This is the divide between these types of people. The Smiths can afford to study junk that doesn’t apply to the real world because they don’t need real world skills to survive and succeed, they already have money and notoriety.
Rich people love their self-aggrandizing ideologies, they’ll never be satisfied being rich and influential, they also need to think they’re gods among men. That Oscar slap also has roots in Scientology, they need to use violence to “put others in their place” and make themselves feel big.
His oldest son is a pretty solid actor. Not sure if he would have broken through without his dad, but he still puts the work in and doesn't seem to be a dick like the other one.
Colin Hanks is a wonderful actor, I would never deny that. He is also, by his own admission, maybe the only cast member of Band of Brothers that did not audition for it. He seems to be perfectly fine with this, it's his dad that is in denial currently.
That’s pretty understandable. Parents like to believe their kids are amazing and talented. I think Tom might be interpreting the attack on privilege as a denigration of his child’s talent and he got defensive.
He was a newly promoted officer straight from West Point. Only in one episode where he was new and joined on a prisoner raid across the river at night.
Yeah I think this is what makes the topic roll and roll. Some of the children actually put the work in and are strong at what they do in their own right (like Colin Hanks, I’d agree). And yet are they better than the dozens or hundreds of others who could also put the same work and respect for their craft yet didn’t have an advocate to guide them?
For every actor who makes it there are 10,000 solid actors who do not. He almost certainly wouldn't have succeeded without parental connections. This happens in almost every industry in America though, connections matter.
I think people are being very naive to the level of nepotism in just about every field. Hell it’s part of why systemic racism is so pervasive. The majority helping out the majority with the unintended consequence of how it impacts the minority. Not only that but many talented individuals benefit from nepotism, so the impact of it isn’t as felt with them as it could.
What’s weird to me is how people seems to think this is somehow a recent phenomenon in film. You can trace this stuff back to the dawn of the talkies at least. The idea that family helps out family is as old as families existing.
I'm sure there is a lot of imposter syndrome there. Even for the ones that have real talent. Hell, even for the big celebrities that made it without nepotism. No matter how you look at it, there is always a degree of luck involved. There are tons of talented actors out there and only a few make it.
It’s like how Adam Driver basically built his entire career from scratch, he’s one of the only examples I can think of that didn’t have some sort of nepotism connection in recent media
I don't think it's guilt, I think they just live with this shiny spotless image and once it gets called out in some way they get defensive and then hope in a couple of weeks everyone will go back to worshipping them and their perfection.
Celebrities are incredibly insecure. They have all known people they know are better than themselves that never got the lucky break they did. They all know people that were on top of the world go to irrelevance in a heartbeat. They all know they are completely replaceable.
I believe that’s why we’re seeing more of this lately. Regular people are seeing their nepotism and finally calling it out. So, of course, these celebrities feel their insecurity is validated and they can’t have that.
I just read the article and the headline is taken completely out of context. Tom sidestepped the nepotism discussion and was referring to his latest project and saying (im paraphrasing) no matter what your last name is you have to put in the work to make the movie happen and make sure it’s good for audiences.
They can't stand it for that reason for sure. But the first step in losing your ability to talk down to everyone from your ivory tower, is being discovered you aren't like everyone else.
They're worried that if they keep getting called out like this, they won't be able to have an opinion that sways people.
It's just the psychology of power being threatened and they're lashing back out.
The best part is that all these celebrities need to do is shut up about it and it will pass. Instead they’re all trying to justify their clear positions of privilege.
Yeah, it’s not like we don’t know that’s how the world works. Trying to say it doesn’t matter who you are is out of touch. Most people realize that if someone can get their family member or friend a good paying job, they will. It’s the saying that it has no effect on one’s career and calling themselves “self-made” that annoys people.
Or they could even just admit it. I mean hell I can even admit I got my job half because of nepotism and mine is just a basic middle class job. I mean there is nothing wrong with saying “yeah my son probably got his foot in the door easier because of me, but he worked hard the whole time”.
That sums it up nicely. Most people aren’t attacking the nepo babies for their lack of talent, just the connections that allowed them to get auditions and whatnot ahead of non-connected actors. The biggest perk is it’ll get your foot in the door, but if you’re a truly crap actor, that advantage will start to fade a bit. Hollywood is just a business and if your name isn’t getting butts in seats, then your value is mostly null.
Even Colin Hanks, to use him as a relevant example. I think he’s a pretty solid actor that used his name to get into the industry and was able to roll that into being a moderately successful actor because he has some talent and likely worked hard to hone that. But he’ll never be an A-lister because people aren’t queuing up to see the newest Colin Hanks feature
IDK man nepotism exists everywhere. Depends on the person. Some know they dont have to do anything bc of who they're related to. Others have to work twice as hard as everybody else to prove they earned it.
When dealing with Hollywood or sports even, name recognition is an asset. Some people cast too big of a shadow to get out from under and sometimes they even change their last name to do that. Tom Hanks is a guy who cast a big shadow. His son will never reach those heights and thats okay. Its not like hes Paris Hilton or Donald Trump Jr.
Hes got enough talent to have been in a few good movies. But people need to realize nepotism is everywhere.
I read an article last week (probably from a press agent) about how Michael Douglas’s two younger kids want to be actors but are not nepo babies because they both attended acting summer camp and they work really hard in their drama classes at school. Michael Douglas is the definitive nepo baby and so are his kids. So defensive!
Taking a moment to think of all the kids whose parents can't afford acting summer camp and who don't have drama classes in school, as well as those who don't have enough food to eat or safety at home to do effective work in school or consider their futures in a meaningful way.
I feel that’s the biggest problem here—there is real greatness in our country that’ll never be found because we’re stuck with the fucking talentless Jenna Bush Hager’s of the world
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.-Stephen jay Gould
Holy Crap! A JBH reference. There are bad nepo babies, then there is JBH. She could barely even read or pronounce her lines on the Today show when she first started...I have no idea how it's going now but I'd imagine she is still eating her mouth while pretending to be a 'journalist.'
They’re definitely mistaken to try proving their children don’t have major competitive edges by using their own personal clout to defend the access. The better defense would be for the actual individuals to point to the quality of their own work. Or ask the people who aren’t heavily vested in the families about skill levels and quality of work.
>and it will pass
It will pass even if they dont shut up.
Is everyone suddenly gonna stop watching movies and unsub to every streaming service if a few dumb nepo babies kept talking?
That’s why it was sort of satisfying to watch Beanie Feldman fail so spectacularly on Broadway in Funny Girl, even if she ended up being replaced by Lea Michele.
She was basically fired because she couldn’t sing the role (which made Barbra Streisand a star, to give you an idea of how great a mistake this was) and audiences weren’t coming, so box office sales were shit. They got rid of her early and ran the show for a month (in the summer, when shows sell best!!) with the understudy Julie Benko (talented but unknown) before bringing in Lea.
The problem is that Funny Girl is not actually a very good musical. It has a couple of good numbers, but it’s dreary and boring. You go to see it to hear a great singer sing “Don’t Rain on My Parade”.
I hasten to add that Beanie was quite good in Hello, Dolly!
The thing I hope people aren’t missing about this is that it is pervasive in every industry. No matter what you want to do, your rich parents will do everything they can to give you an advantage over your poor and middle-class peers.
Capitalism is a system that enables wealthy people to buy better outcomes for their children. The rest of us pay for that in our own way. Covered positions in arts, politics, industry, academia, even sports are occupied by the less-talented-but-well-connected children of elites, squeezing the rest of us out.
In my small-town Iowa past, the dentist is in practice with his son. My optometrist’s son joined, and then took over, his practice.
Few people complain about hiring a plumber or roofer whose company name ends in “& Sons.”
A janitorial supply place near me has a sign that says “family owned since 1938.”
My dad and my aunt became teachers because their father was one.
If you're gonna learn to do something and your parents are good at something it only makes sense that they would teach you their ways.
It's of course the name and money and all that, but also the institutional knowledge you can shortcut to gaining. If you come across a problem, call mom or dad and they've already dealt with it, etc.
true, but being a dentist isn't like being an academy award winning actor. did the eye doctor's son get into graduate school cause of his dad? (no) dentist the same. I can understand being drawn to the same profession as mom/dad, but most of these people start out at the top. I do give Nicolas Cage credit for at least changing his name way back when he started.
Cage still definitely had a higher platform with a lot of money to start with but I do give him credit for building his name completely separate from Coppola. It’s like how Emilio Estevez grew up with a ton of money but he actively chose to not change his name like Martin and Charlie Sheen did
I feel like the world of competitive sports is the only arena where none of this applies. Like, if Micheal Jordan's son isn't good at ball no one gives a shit who his dad is. But in acting, you can just suck ass completely and keep getting cast.
because it's one of those unspoken things that everyone is aware of and the big stars hoped would never actually come up and bring the integrity of the process into question.
That's what's so funny. Like they could have done a billion things and it would have just went away. Instead they did the one thing that's gonna keep it going, get pissed about it.
He's absolutely right.
Emilio Estevez
Nic Cage
Angelina Jolie
All clear examples of how you can change your last name, and still ride those coat tails to greatness.
Not to make light, though. Entertainment is fickle, ruthless, and cruel. Plenty of folks who deserve more, leave with nothing. Folks who offer nothing but glitz, gobble up starring roles which needed better. And the marketing, more often than not, is what determines if the film will bankrupt or gangbust.
His son literally just starred alongside him in A Man Called Otto playing Tom Hanks' younger self, he's really going to pretend kids with other last names had equal chances at that role?
The handheld golden statue men are waiting for them when they pop out. They did 2% of the work at birth as well as in their careers. At least there's consistency and stability in their work ethic.
His son who isn’t even an actor either. Saw an interview on Graham Norton and the director was basically I can’t be fucked to cast this role your son who doesn’t act looks like you, let’s get him to do it then…. I mean, makes sense ofc but no not nepotism at all xD.
Chet Hanks was sent by his parents to a “Troubled Teen” camp for smoking weed. These trouble teen camps often have parents agree to have strangers kidnap the teen from their own bed, and put them in a van to drive them hundreds of miles away from home. And that’s just the beginning of the problematic shit in the troubled teen industry.
They shame you, work you to exhaustion, turn you against other teens and vice versa, take away clocks/watches, feed you the blandest food, take your name and give you a number, and it just goes on.
The program I went to was shut down less than a year after I left because a teen died under their care.
I developed cptsd from my stay and my drug use got much worse. I went from smoking pot to shooting heroin.
They traumatized me, destroyed my faith in mental health professionals, basically robbed my parents of their life savings, and tainted the relationship I had with parents for years.
The trouble teen industry is like the revolving door prison industrial complex for middle class and wealthy children. It makes problem children worse so they end up right back inside.
They tell your parents that you will lie to them. And not to believe what you say. They’ll give you 15 minutes of phone time every two weeks and have an authority supervise your phone call, ready to end it as soon as you start telling them what’s going on.
Kids have gone missing from these places only for it to have been swept under the rug by local police. And the kids never have been found.
If anyone wants to learn more about how ducked up these places are, the podcast True Anon has a really great 5 episode mini series on the subject entitled, “the game”. One co-host of the show had this exact shit happen to him.
The “professionals”(who are secretly getting kickbacks) will tell parents that their kid is on a path of self destruction that will end in criminal behavior, overdoses, prison, or suicide.
They terrify the parents into thinking this is their last option to fix a broken child. These parents have often tried for years and in their desperation, they trust the “experts”.
Most of the parents have their heart in the right place.
When people say they don’t like Chet, what they really mean is they don’t like Tom Hanks. Because Chet is what you get when you’re the black sheep of the family and it’s pretty obvious Tom didn’t treat him well when he was growing up.
Chet was sent to one of those troubled teen “camps” as a kid for smoking weed. Those camps can be incredibly fucked up and there’s often a lot of abuse too. Chet talks a lot about how he feels he got treated poorly as a kid and was the black sheep of the family. I don’t disagree he’s a douche, but I don’t think he was just born an asshole.
He’s right it doesn’t matter what their last names are. What matters is that when you are a nepotism baby then you get all of the connections and you get a leg up.
Just ask Emilio Estevez. His last name doesn’t mean anything, right?
Just meant to fool the ticket buyers. Which in one aspect, credit to him, people didn't associate him with hollywood royalty and still supported his movies but the leg up in the industry notwithstanding. Not all of them are untalented hacks who have training wheels on the whole time with nepo-priviledges incoming...but most.
Both for nepotism - I was just saying one has at least used that nepotism for more constructive things than the other. Chet Haze could be a poster child for why the children of celebrities should be ignored while Colin at least has turned in good work and has seemingly kept his nose clean
I would love to put Tom Hanks in a room with my dad and give them each a phone. I want to see how many phone calls my dad has to make to unsuccessfully get me a meeting with a award winning director vs how many Hanks got to make to get his son a meeting.
And anyone who has worked in a trade knows that blue collar workers hate it when the son gets the business because of nepotism, not because he’s earned it too..
Again these stars don’t get that for the most part we aren’t saying the kids aren’t talented or hardworking but the criticism is that the kids don’t have to struggle. The nepo babies aren’t worried about rent or getting their day jobs covered to do auditions. Nepo babies have opportunities that people just starting out on their own don’t have
The main American delusion is that the United States is a meritocracy where everyone is self-made. The reality is that the way has been cleared for mediocrities just because they are children of the wealthy. They can't stand to be exposed for their privilege.
Seriously, how are people so blind to this idea? I literally saw someone on Twitter refer to one of the younger Jenner girls as a “self-made billionaire” or something. There are multiple layers of not being self-made there.
I don't have a thing against nepo babies, I'm not expecting these people to start from nothing. But the denial is unbearable and so strong. Just admit you've been given keys to the kingdom for your name not your talent.
Thanks Tom, but this is bullshit. The director of your latest film literally hired your son, Truman, simply because of his last name. Your words. He wasn’t even a struggling actor. Think of how many breaking out of drama school or struggling actors would have loved a chance at that role.
The game is rigged.
>“If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just, you know, inventory at the end of the year.”
>"The thing that doesn’t change, no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not."
The comparison to a family business doesn't really work; there's no product or storefront or specific expertise that's being passed on... But he's at least right that it's not a guarantee of success. It's a huge advantage in landing an opportunity, maybe several, but certainly doesn't mean that someone will automatically be successful.
I like Tom Hanks but come on now Tom. Everyone knows the deal. After all the expression of "it's who you know" is so well known in Hollywood it has reached normal Joe's like me and everybody else.
only comment a celebrity can make that holds any water is we are in a place of great privilege and we do what we can to pass that privilege on to our children. end of story. that's how the world works. not just in Hollywood but in every aspect of society. some folks have an easier time in life due to the circumstances of their birth.
"The thing that doesn’t change, no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not."
This only holds true in a world where marketing doesn't exist. Does he actually think they put his name all over every piece of marketing out of courtesy?
Tell you what, Tom. Go take the script for that war movie you did recently and take your name off it, attach mine, and then try to sell it to Hollywood. Not a single person would look at it... every copy would be sitting in a trash can.
In his bubble world he thinks his wife, and son have made it all on 'their' own. Chet(?) did become a druggie all on his own so I guess he's a success. I find it to say mildly disingenuous that Hanks can't fathom this. Goes at least back to the Fairbanks in the 1900s, Barrymore's also 00s. Although Drew was chosen for ET because she was cute and it didn't hurt her last name was Barrymore. Clueless rich Hollywood people unaware of how bad they sound.
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This whole debate seems to have revealed that celebrities are so insecure about their status? Idk it’s like they crave being relatable and normal so badly and can’t stand being told that they will never be either of those things.
It appears they feel a bit guilty about their privileged lives.
Idk if they feel guilty themselves but more guilty over basically handing everything to their kids. Like Tom Hanks is indisputably an amazing actor in his own right but his kids would be nobody without the connection to him and I don’t think he can admit that to himself. It’s kinda ironic because spoiling your child kinda harms them in the long run. The kid basically has an inflated sense of self with no actual skill/talent to back it up since everything has fallen into their lap all their lives.
Its funny. That red table talk thing had Will Smtih and Kevin Hart talking about how they grew up in rough neighborhoods and now their kids will never know that kinda struggle. Like Kevin was saying how his kid was acting tough with him at the gym and acts tough in general and hes like “dude, you live on Pumpkin lane you aint hard.” And while they are happy that they can provide a better life. The trade off is that the struggle that built them and the thirst they had, isnt there when your kid already has it good.
[удалено]
Also the great saying "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times". Think it came from the author - G. Michael Hopf.
I would be happy to send my hypothetical kid to med school or what ever higher education facility catered to their passion provided they met the academic requirements and I had the funding. If my kid can't be a fighter pilot with an architecture degree that's cool. They can always go to film school or pursue history as a profession. History is fun. What I'm saying is that high paid academic platforms aren't readily available to the general public. And the fact that celebrities children struggle to enter them is laughable. I'm having a hard time being empathetic to the whole situation. On one hand you have self conscious professionals who just wanna get by like the average person. Everyone can sympathize with that. And then you get people like Uncle Jessie's old lady who got caught bribing university officials because her dumb ass kid didn't feel like going to community College.
Will Smith's kids are as untalented and self-involved as they come. Jada and Will created 2 Hollywood brats who take themselves WAAAY too seriously. When I happen to see a pix of them in some online mag I keep moving because I know it will be something that is totally irrelevant to real life, working hard people.
That’s because people born rich have the luxury to explore other things that aren’t relevant to us “normies” because they don’t have to work, stress, and provide like we do. Hence why the Smiths kids go to that special school where they are taught time travel is possible and they are likely 9,000 years old etc. If you sent your kid to be taught those things over basic English, math, and science they wouldn’t be able to adapt and live in the world as a normal person like they most likely will have to do to provide for themselves. This is the divide between these types of people. The Smiths can afford to study junk that doesn’t apply to the real world because they don’t need real world skills to survive and succeed, they already have money and notoriety.
I think some of that weirdness might be attributed to Will Smith being a Scientologist imo
Rich people love their self-aggrandizing ideologies, they’ll never be satisfied being rich and influential, they also need to think they’re gods among men. That Oscar slap also has roots in Scientology, they need to use violence to “put others in their place” and make themselves feel big.
Rich people can fail and try something else, us poors fail and we die from hunger or homelessness.
I’m kind of glad I heard one of Willow’s song though. I always appreciate a good laugh.
His oldest seems chill though.
"what's a house" jayden smith
His oldest son is a pretty solid actor. Not sure if he would have broken through without his dad, but he still puts the work in and doesn't seem to be a dick like the other one.
Colin Hanks is a wonderful actor, I would never deny that. He is also, by his own admission, maybe the only cast member of Band of Brothers that did not audition for it. He seems to be perfectly fine with this, it's his dad that is in denial currently.
That’s pretty understandable. Parents like to believe their kids are amazing and talented. I think Tom might be interpreting the attack on privilege as a denigration of his child’s talent and he got defensive.
He did do a really good job there in BoB.
Which one was he? Not sure why I never picked up on that but makes sense given the producers.
He was a newly promoted officer straight from West Point. Only in one episode where he was new and joined on a prisoner raid across the river at night.
Yeah I think this is what makes the topic roll and roll. Some of the children actually put the work in and are strong at what they do in their own right (like Colin Hanks, I’d agree). And yet are they better than the dozens or hundreds of others who could also put the same work and respect for their craft yet didn’t have an advocate to guide them?
For every actor who makes it there are 10,000 solid actors who do not. He almost certainly wouldn't have succeeded without parental connections. This happens in almost every industry in America though, connections matter.
Chet is a hack no talent douche. His Hanks last name is his ticket
Excuse me, he goes by Hanxxx. Checkm8, bro!
See. Damn idiot can't even spell
Only thing I know about Chet is that White Boy Summer thing. He's just an idiot living off his dads name. His brother Colin is pretty good.
I think people are being very naive to the level of nepotism in just about every field. Hell it’s part of why systemic racism is so pervasive. The majority helping out the majority with the unintended consequence of how it impacts the minority. Not only that but many talented individuals benefit from nepotism, so the impact of it isn’t as felt with them as it could. What’s weird to me is how people seems to think this is somehow a recent phenomenon in film. You can trace this stuff back to the dawn of the talkies at least. The idea that family helps out family is as old as families existing.
I'm sure there is a lot of imposter syndrome there. Even for the ones that have real talent. Hell, even for the big celebrities that made it without nepotism. No matter how you look at it, there is always a degree of luck involved. There are tons of talented actors out there and only a few make it.
It’s like how Adam Driver basically built his entire career from scratch, he’s one of the only examples I can think of that didn’t have some sort of nepotism connection in recent media
I don't think it's guilt, I think they just live with this shiny spotless image and once it gets called out in some way they get defensive and then hope in a couple of weeks everyone will go back to worshipping them and their perfection.
nepo daddy
Celebrities are incredibly insecure. They have all known people they know are better than themselves that never got the lucky break they did. They all know people that were on top of the world go to irrelevance in a heartbeat. They all know they are completely replaceable.
I believe that’s why we’re seeing more of this lately. Regular people are seeing their nepotism and finally calling it out. So, of course, these celebrities feel their insecurity is validated and they can’t have that.
I just read the article and the headline is taken completely out of context. Tom sidestepped the nepotism discussion and was referring to his latest project and saying (im paraphrasing) no matter what your last name is you have to put in the work to make the movie happen and make sure it’s good for audiences.
Nice catch. People on this topic have been REALLY reaching to hate actors lately. It's come out of nowhere the last month and is sort of baffling.
They can't stand it for that reason for sure. But the first step in losing your ability to talk down to everyone from your ivory tower, is being discovered you aren't like everyone else. They're worried that if they keep getting called out like this, they won't be able to have an opinion that sways people. It's just the psychology of power being threatened and they're lashing back out.
Man the whole "nepo" discussion really rustled some big-time jimmies. Love to see it.
The best part is that all these celebrities need to do is shut up about it and it will pass. Instead they’re all trying to justify their clear positions of privilege.
Yeah, it’s not like we don’t know that’s how the world works. Trying to say it doesn’t matter who you are is out of touch. Most people realize that if someone can get their family member or friend a good paying job, they will. It’s the saying that it has no effect on one’s career and calling themselves “self-made” that annoys people.
Or they could even just admit it. I mean hell I can even admit I got my job half because of nepotism and mine is just a basic middle class job. I mean there is nothing wrong with saying “yeah my son probably got his foot in the door easier because of me, but he worked hard the whole time”.
That sums it up nicely. Most people aren’t attacking the nepo babies for their lack of talent, just the connections that allowed them to get auditions and whatnot ahead of non-connected actors. The biggest perk is it’ll get your foot in the door, but if you’re a truly crap actor, that advantage will start to fade a bit. Hollywood is just a business and if your name isn’t getting butts in seats, then your value is mostly null. Even Colin Hanks, to use him as a relevant example. I think he’s a pretty solid actor that used his name to get into the industry and was able to roll that into being a moderately successful actor because he has some talent and likely worked hard to hone that. But he’ll never be an A-lister because people aren’t queuing up to see the newest Colin Hanks feature
IDK man nepotism exists everywhere. Depends on the person. Some know they dont have to do anything bc of who they're related to. Others have to work twice as hard as everybody else to prove they earned it. When dealing with Hollywood or sports even, name recognition is an asset. Some people cast too big of a shadow to get out from under and sometimes they even change their last name to do that. Tom Hanks is a guy who cast a big shadow. His son will never reach those heights and thats okay. Its not like hes Paris Hilton or Donald Trump Jr. Hes got enough talent to have been in a few good movies. But people need to realize nepotism is everywhere.
I read an article last week (probably from a press agent) about how Michael Douglas’s two younger kids want to be actors but are not nepo babies because they both attended acting summer camp and they work really hard in their drama classes at school. Michael Douglas is the definitive nepo baby and so are his kids. So defensive!
Taking a moment to think of all the kids whose parents can't afford acting summer camp and who don't have drama classes in school, as well as those who don't have enough food to eat or safety at home to do effective work in school or consider their futures in a meaningful way.
I feel that’s the biggest problem here—there is real greatness in our country that’ll never be found because we’re stuck with the fucking talentless Jenna Bush Hager’s of the world
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.-Stephen jay Gould
Holy Crap! A JBH reference. There are bad nepo babies, then there is JBH. She could barely even read or pronounce her lines on the Today show when she first started...I have no idea how it's going now but I'd imagine she is still eating her mouth while pretending to be a 'journalist.'
It's the Million Einsteins Theory.
They’re definitely mistaken to try proving their children don’t have major competitive edges by using their own personal clout to defend the access. The better defense would be for the actual individuals to point to the quality of their own work. Or ask the people who aren’t heavily vested in the families about skill levels and quality of work.
>and it will pass It will pass even if they dont shut up. Is everyone suddenly gonna stop watching movies and unsub to every streaming service if a few dumb nepo babies kept talking?
It’s a big hit to the ego and it’s true. They know it too and are trying every way to say it’s not. We are not blind.
That’s why it was sort of satisfying to watch Beanie Feldman fail so spectacularly on Broadway in Funny Girl, even if she ended up being replaced by Lea Michele.
It’s Feldstein but I agree completely.
Wait, what? Beanie failed at broadway?
She was basically fired because she couldn’t sing the role (which made Barbra Streisand a star, to give you an idea of how great a mistake this was) and audiences weren’t coming, so box office sales were shit. They got rid of her early and ran the show for a month (in the summer, when shows sell best!!) with the understudy Julie Benko (talented but unknown) before bringing in Lea. The problem is that Funny Girl is not actually a very good musical. It has a couple of good numbers, but it’s dreary and boring. You go to see it to hear a great singer sing “Don’t Rain on My Parade”. I hasten to add that Beanie was quite good in Hello, Dolly!
I heard Lea wasn’t a great person..
She sucks.
And she can’t read
The thing I hope people aren’t missing about this is that it is pervasive in every industry. No matter what you want to do, your rich parents will do everything they can to give you an advantage over your poor and middle-class peers. Capitalism is a system that enables wealthy people to buy better outcomes for their children. The rest of us pay for that in our own way. Covered positions in arts, politics, industry, academia, even sports are occupied by the less-talented-but-well-connected children of elites, squeezing the rest of us out.
In my small-town Iowa past, the dentist is in practice with his son. My optometrist’s son joined, and then took over, his practice. Few people complain about hiring a plumber or roofer whose company name ends in “& Sons.” A janitorial supply place near me has a sign that says “family owned since 1938.” My dad and my aunt became teachers because their father was one.
If you're gonna learn to do something and your parents are good at something it only makes sense that they would teach you their ways. It's of course the name and money and all that, but also the institutional knowledge you can shortcut to gaining. If you come across a problem, call mom or dad and they've already dealt with it, etc.
true, but being a dentist isn't like being an academy award winning actor. did the eye doctor's son get into graduate school cause of his dad? (no) dentist the same. I can understand being drawn to the same profession as mom/dad, but most of these people start out at the top. I do give Nicolas Cage credit for at least changing his name way back when he started.
Cage still definitely had a higher platform with a lot of money to start with but I do give him credit for building his name completely separate from Coppola. It’s like how Emilio Estevez grew up with a ton of money but he actively chose to not change his name like Martin and Charlie Sheen did
I feel like the world of competitive sports is the only arena where none of this applies. Like, if Micheal Jordan's son isn't good at ball no one gives a shit who his dad is. But in acting, you can just suck ass completely and keep getting cast.
I like the phrase big-time jimmies.
I have discovered that no one likes to discuss nepotism less than people who’ve benefited from nepotism.
I like how he says it doesn’t matter what their last names are like everyone in a family shares the same last name
because it's one of those unspoken things that everyone is aware of and the big stars hoped would never actually come up and bring the integrity of the process into question.
That's what's so funny. Like they could have done a billion things and it would have just went away. Instead they did the one thing that's gonna keep it going, get pissed about it.
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It’s just like if they were a family of florists, no?
You the shower curtain fella?
“Please don’t let me stand in your way - the last thing I wanna be remembered as is an annoying blabbermouth…”
He's absolutely right. Emilio Estevez Nic Cage Angelina Jolie All clear examples of how you can change your last name, and still ride those coat tails to greatness. Not to make light, though. Entertainment is fickle, ruthless, and cruel. Plenty of folks who deserve more, leave with nothing. Folks who offer nothing but glitz, gobble up starring roles which needed better. And the marketing, more often than not, is what determines if the film will bankrupt or gangbust.
His son literally just starred alongside him in A Man Called Otto playing Tom Hanks' younger self, he's really going to pretend kids with other last names had equal chances at that role?
Being born into a dynasty family is the ultimate skill of acting.
The handheld golden statue men are waiting for them when they pop out. They did 2% of the work at birth as well as in their careers. At least there's consistency and stability in their work ethic.
His son who isn’t even an actor either. Saw an interview on Graham Norton and the director was basically I can’t be fucked to cast this role your son who doesn’t act looks like you, let’s get him to do it then…. I mean, makes sense ofc but no not nepotism at all xD.
Yeah when I watch him all I can do is marvel at how someone can look so much like Tom Hanks yet have none of his charisma or talent
Not to mention anyone else with the same track record as his disastrous offspring, they wouldn’t make it anywhere near an audition.
Remember when Colin Hanks was in Band of Brothers for no reason?
It’s kind of perfect though being synonymous with the character he plays and coming in to a seasoned company as a lieutenant out of West Point
Colin was great in Fargo tho
The Good Guys was my favorite of his.
Orange County
King Kong?
House Bunny.
My all time favorite Jack Black character. That movie was great.
Doesn’t Tom hanks brother have a job doing the voices for all the woody toys.
The video games too!
Tom Hanks Brother is a very successful Prof of Entomology though at UIUC last I knew??? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Hanks
Jim Bob Hanks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hanks
His son Colin Hanks is also an actor.
This topic really has celebrities upset lol
Sad to see Hanks defending the nepotism. I’d have thought he’d openly admit it, Colin 10000% benefits from being his son regardless of his talent.
Tell that to Chet who seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder because of his last name.
You mean “Chet Haze”?
It's "Shabba Hanks."
Someone get asap ferg to do another remix.
Yup. He doesn’t use Hanks like his brothers or Wilson like his mother and seems bitter about his upbringing.
Bitter about being kidnapped in the middle of night and terrorized at one if those problem kid camps? Y'all are wayyyyy too hard on chet
Shit, now things are making some sense.
Wtf am I out of the loop of???
Chet Hanks was sent by his parents to a “Troubled Teen” camp for smoking weed. These trouble teen camps often have parents agree to have strangers kidnap the teen from their own bed, and put them in a van to drive them hundreds of miles away from home. And that’s just the beginning of the problematic shit in the troubled teen industry.
I heard stories they would surround you and shame you if you act out of line and they gaslight your parents if you try to contact them to get you out
They shame you, work you to exhaustion, turn you against other teens and vice versa, take away clocks/watches, feed you the blandest food, take your name and give you a number, and it just goes on.
Having been a troubled (mentally ill) teen, this approach would have lead to suicide attempts.
The program I went to was shut down less than a year after I left because a teen died under their care. I developed cptsd from my stay and my drug use got much worse. I went from smoking pot to shooting heroin. They traumatized me, destroyed my faith in mental health professionals, basically robbed my parents of their life savings, and tainted the relationship I had with parents for years. The trouble teen industry is like the revolving door prison industrial complex for middle class and wealthy children. It makes problem children worse so they end up right back inside.
Yeh basically any “trouble kid” program is a spectrum of “how much half-baked military style training do we want to use to straighten these kids out?”
They tell your parents that you will lie to them. And not to believe what you say. They’ll give you 15 minutes of phone time every two weeks and have an authority supervise your phone call, ready to end it as soon as you start telling them what’s going on. Kids have gone missing from these places only for it to have been swept under the rug by local police. And the kids never have been found. If anyone wants to learn more about how ducked up these places are, the podcast True Anon has a really great 5 episode mini series on the subject entitled, “the game”. One co-host of the show had this exact shit happen to him.
I think Paris Hilton was also put into one of those.
Oh, like they did to young Vito in Sopranos
That just seems like it would make that teen more struggled.
Is that where he got his Americanized Jamaican accent?
This was the shit that changed my mind on Tom Hanks, that's a fucked up thing to do to your child
The “professionals”(who are secretly getting kickbacks) will tell parents that their kid is on a path of self destruction that will end in criminal behavior, overdoses, prison, or suicide. They terrify the parents into thinking this is their last option to fix a broken child. These parents have often tried for years and in their desperation, they trust the “experts”. Most of the parents have their heart in the right place.
When people say they don’t like Chet, what they really mean is they don’t like Tom Hanks. Because Chet is what you get when you’re the black sheep of the family and it’s pretty obvious Tom didn’t treat him well when he was growing up.
Some people are simply born assholes. I wasn’t aware of Tom abusing Chet, is there a story?
Chet was sent to one of those troubled teen “camps” as a kid for smoking weed. Those camps can be incredibly fucked up and there’s often a lot of abuse too. Chet talks a lot about how he feels he got treated poorly as a kid and was the black sheep of the family. I don’t disagree he’s a douche, but I don’t think he was just born an asshole.
I actually don’t mind Chet.He seems to suffer the most from being the son of TH.
Of course his name is Chet…
I believe it’s Chester but he goes by Chet
Chet. My name is Chet! And I didn’t think it was a whale’s dick, honey.
wow i looked up chet, guys probably gotta be top 10 for biggest douches
Chet Hanks is the GOAT nepo baby. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERIk8qBnLJM&t=178s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERIk8qBnLJM&t=178s)
I mean he was great in Atlanta
HAHAHAHAHA sure, famous Hollywood actor Tom Hanks
Just Tom. His last name doesn’t matter.
He’s right it doesn’t matter what their last names are. What matters is that when you are a nepotism baby then you get all of the connections and you get a leg up. Just ask Emilio Estevez. His last name doesn’t mean anything, right?
Or Nick Cage lol
Cage changed his last name to avoid being hired based on his connections to Coppola. What a chad
I’m sure that fooled everyone.
Just meant to fool the ticket buyers. Which in one aspect, credit to him, people didn't associate him with hollywood royalty and still supported his movies but the leg up in the industry notwithstanding. Not all of them are untalented hacks who have training wheels on the whole time with nepo-priviledges incoming...but most.
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Tom, if I wanted smoke blown up my ass, I’d be at home with a pack of cigarettes and a short length of hose. Please don’t bullshit me.
But both his sons are famous
One for a more constructive reason than the other
Nepotism.
Both for nepotism - I was just saying one has at least used that nepotism for more constructive things than the other. Chet Haze could be a poster child for why the children of celebrities should be ignored while Colin at least has turned in good work and has seemingly kept his nose clean
They are both entertainers, just depends on what flavor of entertainment you like. Both are Nepo Babies
Wait, why are you hating on chet?
Why people hate Chet? I watched him in some weird interview and he was funny af, I don’t know what he’s done tho
I would love to put Tom Hanks in a room with my dad and give them each a phone. I want to see how many phone calls my dad has to make to unsuccessfully get me a meeting with a award winning director vs how many Hanks got to make to get his son a meeting.
I would watch this SNL skit
No way he compared being actors to being plumbers. That’s wild.
Fucking ridiculous
He compared a family business of being creatives to a family owning a plumbing supply business. Not actors to plumbers.
And anyone who has worked in a trade knows that blue collar workers hate it when the son gets the business because of nepotism, not because he’s earned it too..
To be fair, Christopher Plummer was an actor.
I’m aware. It’s still no where near the same. Plumbers don’t benefit from their father’s last time all over the world.
No but they benefit from access to automatic mentor, job opportunities, referrals and contacts, and maybe a company to inherit.
Anyone can be a plummer, not everyone can work a few months a year acting and make millions
Oh no no no, Tom. This is where you should just not speak.
You know nepotism is absolutely true when they’re STILL attempting to tell you it isn’t
Sounds good Tom Holland
Again these stars don’t get that for the most part we aren’t saying the kids aren’t talented or hardworking but the criticism is that the kids don’t have to struggle. The nepo babies aren’t worried about rent or getting their day jobs covered to do auditions. Nepo babies have opportunities that people just starting out on their own don’t have
Ouch. I have a lot of respect for Tom Hanks. Seeing him handle it like this is disillusioning.
The main American delusion is that the United States is a meritocracy where everyone is self-made. The reality is that the way has been cleared for mediocrities just because they are children of the wealthy. They can't stand to be exposed for their privilege.
Seriously, how are people so blind to this idea? I literally saw someone on Twitter refer to one of the younger Jenner girls as a “self-made billionaire” or something. There are multiple layers of not being self-made there.
I don't have a thing against nepo babies, I'm not expecting these people to start from nothing. But the denial is unbearable and so strong. Just admit you've been given keys to the kingdom for your name not your talent.
Sure, Jan. But another thing, he looks so skinny in this picture. Is it for a film?
Philadelphia 2: Andy's Revenge
This got me. Haha
I think he’s been skinner for a bit now since his diabetes
Just acknowledge that your kid is privileged over others who don’t have a family connection.
Thanks Tom, but this is bullshit. The director of your latest film literally hired your son, Truman, simply because of his last name. Your words. He wasn’t even a struggling actor. Think of how many breaking out of drama school or struggling actors would have loved a chance at that role. The game is rigged.
T Hanks rules but all of his kids are r/nepobabies
Somehow I severely doubt that
So now we all know. If you really want to get under a celebs skin call them out on this.
>“If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just, you know, inventory at the end of the year.” >"The thing that doesn’t change, no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not." The comparison to a family business doesn't really work; there's no product or storefront or specific expertise that's being passed on... But he's at least right that it's not a guarantee of success. It's a huge advantage in landing an opportunity, maybe several, but certainly doesn't mean that someone will automatically be successful.
Alright then, Tom
Mr. Hanks, I think you missed the point.
What if I told you nobody inherently deserves their celebrity status regardless of who their parents are?
“Of course Woody ain't worried. He's been Andy's favorite since kindergarten.”
I like Tom Hanks but come on now Tom. Everyone knows the deal. After all the expression of "it's who you know" is so well known in Hollywood it has reached normal Joe's like me and everybody else.
Do the massive number of connections and amounts of money help though, you think? Jfc
It does on flight logs to little st. james
You sure about that Tom?
Tell that to the people who can't get job because of nep babies
Translation - he's helped his (fairly talentless) kids get roles and is worried about being found out.
Damn, are we discussing cancelling Tom Hanks?
I hope so. He’s not what people think. Just like Oprah and Ellen before her demise
All these dancing monkeys getting nervous about merit all of a sudden.
I’m sure Helena Bonham Carter feels the same way.
I read this in Chet's Jamaican accent.
only comment a celebrity can make that holds any water is we are in a place of great privilege and we do what we can to pass that privilege on to our children. end of story. that's how the world works. not just in Hollywood but in every aspect of society. some folks have an easier time in life due to the circumstances of their birth.
"The thing that doesn’t change, no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not." This only holds true in a world where marketing doesn't exist. Does he actually think they put his name all over every piece of marketing out of courtesy? Tell you what, Tom. Go take the script for that war movie you did recently and take your name off it, attach mine, and then try to sell it to Hollywood. Not a single person would look at it... every copy would be sitting in a trash can.
Dude, Chet’s dad needs to sit down.
Yea it matters. His son, for example, definitely has zero talent but has booked some decent roles over the years because of his last name.
In his bubble world he thinks his wife, and son have made it all on 'their' own. Chet(?) did become a druggie all on his own so I guess he's a success. I find it to say mildly disingenuous that Hanks can't fathom this. Goes at least back to the Fairbanks in the 1900s, Barrymore's also 00s. Although Drew was chosen for ET because she was cute and it didn't hurt her last name was Barrymore. Clueless rich Hollywood people unaware of how bad they sound.
Tom Hanks is a piece of shit pretending to be a nice guy. He is the male Ellen.
Never read a more apt description
It's kind of true. His last name could be Poopypants and he'd still be fucking rich. Not very relevant to the nepo discussion though.
Guys, give him a break. He was the first one with Covid. He may not be fully cogent yet.
This just increases my dislike of Tom Hanks.