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Original poster

Which actor/actress were you surprised to discover is hugely connected?

458 replies

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:00

Kate Hudson - my god i had no idea her mum is Goldie Hawn

Just finished season 2 of Running Point (really good)

OP posts:
spannasaurus · 04/05/2026 15:49

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:21

That will never stop being weird 😄

Also Stella (who burned Ben with a teaspoon) is the sister of Ella Thompson!!

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Their mother is also an actress Phyllidia Law and their dad narrated The Magic Roundabout

TomatoSandwiches · 04/05/2026 15:48

VickyEadieofThigh · 04/05/2026 15:33

Carrie Fisher famously did a flow chart in a stand-up she performed, showing how everyone in Hollywood is related to everyone else!

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I didn't know she did that but I'm not surprised, she really was one to aknowledge her privlege and was a good womans woman.

GingerBeverage · 04/05/2026 15:47

Barry Keoghan has done well for someone with zero connections (grew up in care).

IcedPurple · 04/05/2026 15:46

Spanglemum02 · 04/05/2026 15:41

A lot of the Irish actors aren't from dynasties, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott etc

Andrew Scott isn't from a 'dynasty' but attended one of the most expensive private schools in Dublin. So kind of the Irish equivalent of the public school gang - Hiddleston, Cumberbatch, Lewis et al - who are so prevalent in British acting elites.

Paul Mescal is from a pretty ordinary background as far as I know.

CapabilityBrownsHaHa · 04/05/2026 15:46

I don't think Brad Pitt has any family in the business, but he also started a long time ago, when it may have been easier to break through. A lot of his ex's do, however. And at least a couple of his kids are actors / dancers.

BleedinglyObvious · 04/05/2026 15:45

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:22

Oh i knew that one - love her

Also the mother and daughter who died close to eachother - Debbie something 🥺

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Debbie Reyolds and Carrie Fisher?

Dakota Jonson has famous parents, stepfather and grandmother.
Dallas Bryce Howard has a famous father
Jack Davenport's parents were actors
Benedict Cumberbatch is the son of actors
...

If you watch soap operas lots of the cast are related or in relationships with each other IRL

Darrara · 04/05/2026 15:45

Bellasmellsofwee · 04/05/2026 15:32

It’s not the norm though. I mean, well done, but it’s not the usual way.

Sure there are loads of small time actors etc. but to hit the big time, you need the connections. And be willing to do some seriously dodgy shit.

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It makes it easier if you’re connected, sure, but it’s not the norm for most novelists I know. The best most people are going to do is get an agent recommendation from their creative writing teacher, and even that’s only a matter of avoiding the slushpile — they won’t necessarily sign you.

The ‘celebrity who also writes novels on the side’ like Graham Norton, Tom Hanks, Richard Osman, David Williams etc is a different matter. They already have an agent and a readymade, interested audience, which makes them appealing to publishers..

Original poster
mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:45

GingerBeverage · 04/05/2026 15:42

Tom Holland’s dad is in the biz.

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👀

I wonder about zendaya now, she was a child actor iirc

OP posts:
QueenOfHiraeth · 04/05/2026 15:45

It's bad enough that acting, TV, etc is such a closed shop but now we are supposed to believe they are all incredibly talented novelists or children's authors in their spare time!
I wonder if an ordinary person wrote any of the celeb books that top the charts, would they even get published?

StephensLass1977 · 04/05/2026 15:44

Yes, it's called being well-connected, aka nepotism.

Original poster
mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:43

BleedinglyObvious · 04/05/2026 15:41

I think you mean Emma.

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Oh i did, I must've typed too quickly

Love my iconic Emma

OP posts:
IcedPurple · 04/05/2026 15:42

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:19

What chance has the ordinary person got eh

Very little.

There was a time when we had quite a few working class actors, but now the vast majority are either nepobabies or privately educated types who often benefit from excellent drama classes and can afford to faff around for a few years looking for roles, when others wouldn't have that luxury.

GingerBeverage · 04/05/2026 15:42

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:25

I wonder who among the current lot of British actors comes from this kind of background

I suspect Leo Wooddall - his accent in The White Lotus was off 😫, as handsome and good as he is

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Tom Holland’s dad is in the biz.

Spanglemum02 · 04/05/2026 15:41

A lot of the Irish actors aren't from dynasties, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott etc

BleedinglyObvious · 04/05/2026 15:41

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:21

That will never stop being weird 😄

Also Stella (who burned Ben with a teaspoon) is the sister of Ella Thompson!!

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I think you mean Emma.

susiedaisy1912 · 04/05/2026 15:35

Nepotism at its finest 😁

Bellasmellsofwee · 04/05/2026 15:35

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:34

Daniel Radcliffe??!

His mum was a casting agent, omg 😄

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His parents, I think.

Original poster
mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:34

OldGothsFadeToGrey · 04/05/2026 15:29

Tony Goldwyn - about as connected as you can get!

Nicolas Cage - although I didn’t know until today that Jason Schwartzman is also a member of the Coppola family.

Chris Pine.

Domhnall Gleeson.

Daniel Radcliffe.

Edited

Daniel Radcliffe??!

His mum was a casting agent, omg 😄

OP posts:
VickyEadieofThigh · 04/05/2026 15:33

TomatoSandwiches · 04/05/2026 15:03

They are all connected, all of them.

Carrie Fisher famously did a flow chart in a stand-up she performed, showing how everyone in Hollywood is related to everyone else!

Bellasmellsofwee · 04/05/2026 15:32

Darrara · 04/05/2026 15:30

That’s not true. I’m a novelist, and have no connections. I just wrote a novel and got an agent from Googling, and went on from there. I know a couple of very famous actors with zero showbiz connections. One just auditioned for local stuff and got an agent when one show was a huge hit and toured internationally. The other went to drama school from a farming background, spent years working casual jobs in London while doing small parts, then was in a big hit that let her drop the sandwich shop jobs.

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It’s not the norm though. I mean, well done, but it’s not the usual way.

Sure there are loads of small time actors etc. but to hit the big time, you need the connections. And be willing to do some seriously dodgy shit.

Darrara · 04/05/2026 15:30

Bellasmellsofwee · 04/05/2026 15:20

Almost zero.

film, TV, music, writing, politics, any entertainment it’s pretty much a closed club.

Edited
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That’s not true. I’m a novelist, and have no connections. I just wrote a novel and got an agent from Googling, and went on from there. I know a couple of very famous actors with zero showbiz connections. One just auditioned for local stuff and got an agent when one show was a huge hit and toured internationally. The other went to drama school from a farming background, spent years working casual jobs in London while doing small parts, then was in a big hit that let her drop the sandwich shop jobs.

OldGothsFadeToGrey · 04/05/2026 15:29

Tony Goldwyn - about as connected as you can get!

Nicolas Cage - although I didn’t know until today that Jason Schwartzman is also a member of the Coppola family.

Chris Pine.

Domhnall Gleeson.

Daniel Radcliffe.

AImportantMermaid · 04/05/2026 15:28

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:09

I knew about Emilia fox - i think she's good tbh, as is the younger brother who was in Cheaters

The less said about Lawrence the better

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Ahh yes, celebrity gobshite, Laurence Fox! I’d forgotten about him. Mind you, he peaked as Morse’s sidekick Lewis’ sidekick 😂

Bellasmellsofwee · 04/05/2026 15:28

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:25

I wonder who among the current lot of British actors comes from this kind of background

I suspect Leo Wooddall - his accent in The White Lotus was off 😫, as handsome and good as he is

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One Example - Stath Lets Flats. most of the group who act/created that were all at uni together in the uni drama society.

See also the fast show.

Going all the way back to Monty python.

Same with Emma Thompson and that gang in the early 80s, French and Saunders etc.

It’s very much closed little groups of people.

TomatoSandwiches · 04/05/2026 15:28

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:25

I wonder who among the current lot of British actors comes from this kind of background

I suspect Leo Wooddall - his accent in The White Lotus was off 😫, as handsome and good as he is

Show quote history

Lots of them, like a pp mentioned they(pr) lie or keep information about their private schooling and lifestyle hidden until they are established. Tom Hardy, Robert Pattinson, Henry Cavil.... lots more, nearly every single one of them.