Tom Hanks dismissed the current nepotism debate when recently talking to The Sun about his family of actors. Hanks is married to actor Rita Wilson, and they have two children: Rapper and actor Chet Hanks and Truman Hanks, who pops up in Tomโs new movie โA Man Called Otto.โ Hanksโ son from a previous marriage is Colin Hanks, whose most recent acting roles included โThe Offerโ and โA Friend of the Family.โ
โLook, this is a family business,โ Hanks said in the interview. โThis is what weโve been doing forever. Itโs what all of our kids grew up in. 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 inventory at the end of the year.โ
โThe thing that doesnโt change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not,โ Hanks continued. โThatโs the issue anytime any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story or create something that has a beginning and a middle and an end. Doesnโt matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience.โ
Nepotism and โnepo babies,โ a term to describe the offspring of famous parents, have been all the rage as of late due to a New York Magazine cover story that analyzed the current boom of actors with industry parents. Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn, has also dismissed the term.
โThe nepotism thing, I meanโฆ I donโt really care,โ Hudson told The Independent. โI look at my kids and weโre a storytelling family. Itโs definitely in our blood. People can call it whatever they want, but itโs not going to change it.โ
โI actually think there are other industries where itโs [more common],โ Hudson continued. โMaybe modeling? I see it in business way more than I see it in Hollywood. Sometimes Iโve been in business meetings where Iโm like, โwait, whose child is this? Like, this person knows nothing!โ I donโt care where you come from, or what your relationship to the business is โ if you work hard and you kill it, it doesnโt matter.โ (Variety)