So I had no idea Angelina Jolie was the daughter of Jon Voight until I was looking up their Wikipedia pages. This is not to say that Wikipedia is 100 percent right all the time, but in this case, it was.
I was surprised, but, then again, I wasn’t shocked. Hollywood show business is family business, and for me to list all of the family ties that movie stars have would probably take up an entire issue of MOVE.
OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. But if you think about it, most of the actors and actresses today have at least one family member in show business or affiliated with the media and arts in some way.
There are many examples. Jaden and Willow Smith are the kids of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Zooey and Emily Deschanel are the daughters of director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel. Gwyneth Paltrow is the daughter of director Bruce Paltrow and actress Blyth Danner. And the list goes on.
With so many family ties, the term “nepotism” seems to come into play. One begins to wonder, did these stars really break into Hollywood because of hard work and talent, or did they get cast into roles because of their parents and connections?
Take Bryce Dallas Howard, for example. As the daughter of director Ron Howard, Bryce got her first acting role in her father’s movie “Parenthood.” After that, she was an extra in her dad’s film “Apollo 13” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” She then rocketed to fame as a movie star.
Sure, Bryce is a pretty good actress, but she had it easy with her entrance Hollywood. All she had to do was stand in front of a camera and her father’s directing chair and _voila!_ A star was born.
Imagine yourself as a director trying to cast someone for the lead role. Your final two choices are an unknown, talented actor, and an actor whose parents are big-time movie stars. Who would you pick? Who has the “acting” genes? Who will bring you big bucks at the box office because of a famous name? The answer is obvious.
It seems unfair that children star in roles for which they might lack the talent but have spectacular family ties (cough cough, Tori Spelling), while the average Joe must kick and scream and fight to get a foot in the door. Yet, it _is_ natural for kids to follow their parent’s footsteps and for those parents to encourage their kids to take the Hollywood route to success.
Ideally, nepotism shouldn’t really be in any business. Merit, talent and hard work should be rewarded first. Those who are talented enough to play big roles and work hard to present themselves at auditions should get the job. Yet those talented people fail to get the phone call from the producer just because their dads aren’t freaking Tom Hanks (looking at you, Colin Hanks).
And it’s not really the fact that these kids of Hollywood personnel can’t act, sing, etc. It’s just that, when compared to some unknown actor who has the same level of talent, these kids will most likely gain the upper hand.
On the other hand, those Hollywood kids did not choose to be born into families that have open doors for them already. It’s what they make of it once they get an opportunity. But if they place too much importance on their red carpet lineage and slack off, they shouldn’t deserve those opportunities.
And it’s not only show business. Nepotism is everywhere, from professional sports to high-end business corporations. It’s all about connections, connections, connections. Employers naturally like it when they have background knowledge of a potential employee, and they feel more comfortable working with someone they know and trust.
So the lesson to learn is this: if you’re an aspiring actor, singer, musician, etc., without famous parents, network _a lot._ Get to know the right people and how the system works. There’s still hope for the unfamiliar, yet talented and dedicated, actor.
