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Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks has hit out at the recent attention being paid to and criticism of “nepo babies”, which is just a fancy modern phrase for beneficiaries of nepotism that has been popularized by a recent New York Magazine article.
During an interview with British tabloid The Sun, the 66-year-old Hanks referred to acting — and his family’s participation in it — as a “family business” and essentially said it’s not different than a family who owns a plumbing business.
“Look, this is a family business. This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s 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,” Hanks said.
“The thing that doesn’t change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not. That’s 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. Doesn’t 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.” [via The Sun]
The most successful Hanks offspring is his son Colin, who has starred in projects such as Orange County, King Kong, W., Vacation, the Jumanji franchise, Dexter, and Fargo.
Hanks is busy promoting his latest film A Man Called Otto, which hits theaters on January 13. Next year, Hanks will also be starring in Wes Anderon’s star-studded Asteroid City alongside the likes of Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzmann, Jeff Goldblum, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Steve Carrell, Edward Norton, Maya Hawke, and more.
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