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

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

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

Just finished season 2 of Running Point (really good)

Yes, because you won't make the grade unless you have the ability.

Your parents can open doors for you.

QueenOfHiraeth
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?

I read a thread on this just today- if they’re into drama they’re probably readers do it’s not a stretch they’d write for extra money. If they get my kids into reading I don’t care who they are!!

I've just got to assuming everyone in the film business is a Nepo of some description.

It used to be 'hollywood dynasties'. Not so much now.

I liked it when I found out big Mo from EastEnders is Gary Oldman's sister though.

Yeah I knew she was wealthy. She even looks wealthy 😄😄

She was in call the midwife iirc?

Next to none, I'd have thought. No showbiz connections in their background as far as I know. Their parents split up when they were young and their mother brought them up alone thereafter, on a teacher's salary. Not really a good example for this thread. Two bright and motivated brothers who have each succeeded in their different fields.

There are plenty of successful actors who came into the profession without connections. For instance:
Meryl Streep
Tom Hanks
Judi Dench
Jack Nicholson
Anthony Hopkins
Renee Zellweger
Jessie Buckley
Julie Walters
Matthew Goode
Gemma Arterton
Jimmy Nail

That's not true

Leo Woodall's dad is Andrew Woodall, an actor whose face you'll recognise from loads of TV dramas. His stepdad was Alexander Morton, who played Golly in Monarch of the Glen – he died last week.

Please tell me Richard Osman is the exception to your rule. I'm also reluctant to believe Charlie Higson doesn't write his own books. They both rose to prominence in roles that required a fair amount of writing as well as performing, after all.

Although not mega famous, Rupert Graves has managed to carve out a prolific acting career without any prior connections that I'm aware of. It probably helps that he's likely very easy to work with and get along with.

Charlie Higson does write his own books. Getting Rid of Mr Kitchen, probably about 30 years old now, is one of my favourites!

Yeah anyone other than the singer from Suede couldn't have been picked out of a police line up even by people who bought their records.

What influence would he have decades later in the realms of light entertainment television/literature?

The guy from Pulp worked in a call centre. After they were famous.

Has anyone mentioned Meghan Markle, whose father is an Emmy award winning lighting director and director of photography?

I'm in two minds over the whole nepo baby thing.

I absolutely think it stinks that it's pushed out other talented people who don't have those opportunities.

But I also get irritated by untalented influencers who get roles just because of how many followers they have on Insta/TikTok. I remember years ago, on Neighbours, they cast a girl as Scott and Charlene's daughter, and she was AWFUL. I mean by neighbours standard of taking on newbies and training them up she was bad, but because she had a big social media following that's why she was cast.

Anyway I digress.

There's another part of me that thinks if they are rich nepo babies, they are somewhat protected from the industry, particularly when you think of the horrors of the casting couch/Weinstein. Or when you hear horror stories of the childhoods of people like Macauley Culkin or Jeannette McCurdy, who were treated abysmally by their parents because they were the breadwinners - even Britney would come under that bracket.

I think Eric Thompson created the magic roundabout not just narrated it.

Anyway, I loved bad sisters with the actress Eve Hewson a great actress with a very famous rockstar Dad!

The drummer in a band I like worked as an Asda delivery driver during lockdown.

I think Eric Thompson created the magic roundabout not just narrated it.
You think wrongly.
Le Manège enchanté - Wikipedia

Stath's sister plays Nadia in What We Do In The Shadows!

The Barrymore dynasty is so crazy to me.

Drew Barrymore’s Grandfather, John Barrymore said “It looks as though I’ll have to join the family curse, acting.” (In 1902!)

He is. He was a writer and script editor for television – the man writes his own novels. So does Charlie Higson – again, another talented writer for TV (see: Fast Show). In fact, there are a slew of "celebrity" authors who shouldn't be chucked in the same vat as Walliams, who are either trained journalists – Judy Finnegan, Jeremy Vine, Ferne Britton – or wrote for TV – Frankie Boyle.

FWIW, my understanding of the situation with Walliams (I'm an writer too by trade), is that he definitely comes up with the theme and the horrible stereotyped characters and plots the books out, but someone else writes them up.

He wrote the UK script

I know just what you mean! She has a 'moneyed' face - it's really hard to explain, but you just know she comes from a well-to-do background - sort of sleek and 'thoroughbred'. i guess that's why she was cast as Camilla.

She looks a bit like the young Camilla (though not much...) but from what I've seen, heard and read about Camilla, she was nothing like her portrayal in The Crown.

Tracey from Emmerdale is the sister of Kimberley Walsh from Girls Aloud.

Yes, I think Meghan must have spent a lot of time as a child and teenager hanging around film sets. Not the ideal environment...and maybe explains a lot.

But her dad was doing his best, I suppose.

Toby Stephens is the son of Dame Maggie Smith.