Top 10 Most Unexpected Nepotism Baby Roles
#10: Isabella Rossellini
“Blue Velvet” (1986)
Audiences and critics didn’t know what to expect from this eerie, sleazy, and erotic David Lynch thriller. But perhaps, the movie’s biggest curveball was the casting of Isabella Rossellini in a pivotal role. The daughter of movie star Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini, the actress’ performance was a far cry from her parents’ work in Hollywood and Italy. In “Blue Velvet,” Rossellini plays a lounge singer who endures harassment at the hands of a depraved criminal. Needless to say, the film really puts her character through the wringer. It’s an incredibly difficult and vulnerable role only made possible by the relaxation of censorship guidelines - a significant shift since the era of Rossellini’s parents in the industry.
#9: Cooper Hoffman
“Licorice Pizza” (2021)
Philip Seymour Hoffman was arguably one of the greatest character actors of all time. Even if you didn’t know his name, you knew his work. However, the first many of us even heard of his son, Cooper Hoffman, was when he was announced as the lead in “Licorice Pizza.” Directed by his late father’s former collaborator, Paul Thomas Anderson, the movie was Hoffman’s debut. He’d never appeared in any other project before, but won the role after Anderson recognized his ability to seamlessly match the naturalistic acting style of his eventual co-star Alana Haim. While his connections in the industry may have put him on the director’s radar, Hoffman proved he inherited his father’s gift for spontaneity.
#8: Elizabeth Olsen
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” (2011)
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Considering her famous sisters made their screen debut in their infancy, Elizabeth Olsen got a late start. She was in her early 20s when she starred in her first film, “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” While Mary-Kate and Ashley made their name in family-friendly comedies, Olsen’s role in the 2011 psychological thriller marked a significant departure. The movie depicted Olsen’s character struggling to reintegrate into society after escaping a cult. “Martha Marcy May Marlene” is a very heavy movie, full of traumatic events and graphic imagery that lingers in the mind of the viewer. It’s almost as far from “Full House” as you can get.
#7: Carrie Fisher
“Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977)
Top 10 Carrie Fisher Performances
The entertainment industry changed a lot between the heyday of Carrie Fisher’s parents and her own film debut. Her mother, Debbie Reynolds, was the star of several squeaky-clean musicals, while her father, Eddie Fisher, was the kind of smooth-voiced crooner outmoded by rock n’ roll. By the mid 1970s, when Fisher was getting her start, movies were weirder and wilder than anything Hollywood would have put out two decades prior. Before it became a multi-million-dollar franchise, “Star Wars” was a ramshackle little science fiction movie everyone was convinced would flop when it premiered. With Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher helped create a new kind of cinematic heroine. She didn’t sing or dance, but she was deadly with a blaster.
#6: Robert Downey, Jr.
“Weird Science” (1986)
Top 10 Robert Downey, Jr. Performances
You know RDJ but do you know RDS? Robert Downey Sr. was a leading underground filmmaker who specialized in low budget satirical movies about American society and culture. In fact, Junior even made his film debut in one of his father’s productions. If there’s one thing you can say about Robert Downey Sr., it’s that his movies were not mainstream. While Downey Jr. may have gotten his start in his father’s films, his career took a very different path soon after. He played Ian, a sadistic jock in John Hughes’ “Weird Science.” In 1985, this was a pretty mainstream choice, which seems to have set the course for RDJ’s career in major Hollywood blockbusters.
#5: Liza Minnelli
“The Sterile Cuckoo” (1969)
When your mother is regarded by some as the greatest American entertainer of the 20th century, you’ve got to do something to set yourself apart. One of Liza Minnelli’s early film roles was Pookie Adams, the emotionally damaged outcast of “The Sterile Cuckoo.” Pookie was a stark contrast to the traditional, good-natured, song-and-dance ingénue her mother, Judy Garland, had made her career on. The fact that Liza had the talent to play those conventional roles made it even more shocking that she would go for one as vulnerable and raw as Pookie. Even her mother questioned her desire to play the part. Minnelli insisted she could relate to the character, and it shows. It earned her her first Academy Award nomination.
#4: Nicolas Cage
“Valley Girl” (1983)
Top 10 Nicolas Cage Moments
In the early ‘80s, Coppola was not a name you would associate with rom-coms. Francis Ford Coppola had already directed several all-time great films, his sister Talia Shire had made her own way in movies like “Rocky,” and their circle was wide and influential. However, when Nicolas Coppola entered the industry, he changed his last name to Cage to avoid nepo baby gossip. His first starring role was in the 1983 take on “Romeo & Juliet” where he played an L.A. punk romancing the titular valley girl. Up to that point, Coppola movies weren’t exactly a laugh-a-minute experience. Here, Cage proved not only that he could play a brutish and dangerous leading man, but he could be quite the charmer as well.
#3: Maude Apatow
“Euphoria” (2019–)
Judd Apatow, the writer, director, and producer, often collaborates with actress Leslie Mann, creating quirky characters known for their raunchy but lighthearted humor. Their daughter Maude is no stranger to the camera. Her breakout role on “Euphoria” strikes a very, very different tone from projects like “This Is 40” and “Knocked Up.” Though the controversial HBO show has some funny moments, it’s nowhere near the laugh riot of her parents’ most well-known work. As Lexi Howard, Apatow is a relatively quiet and understated presence on the show compared to the characters of her co-stars, who are almost constantly spiraling. It’s a performance that certainly marks her as one to watch.
#2: Sofia Coppola
“The Godfather Part III” (1990)
When the third film in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” opus dropped, audiences had some problems. Among them was the casting of the director’s daughter, Sofia, as the doomed Mary Corleone. While her performance was not nearly as bad as people made it out to be, it was seen as a misstep for the trilogy. It seemed a bizarre choice to cast a novice performer in such a pivotal role. However, some critics, like Roger Ebert, thought her inexperience was perfect for the character. The younger Coppola’s resume has only grown more impressive as the years have gone on. Although, she has since transitioned to working behind the camera, following her father’s enormous footsteps.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Oz Perkins, “Legally Blonde” (2001)
The Son of Norman Bates Actor Anthony Perkins Plays a Nerdy Law Student
Jeff Bridges, “The Last Picture Show” (1971)
His Father, Lloyd Bridges, Starred in Movies & TV Shows That Glamorized the Wild West
Maya Hawke, “Stranger Things” (2016–)
The Daughter of Ethan Hawke & Uma Thurman Joined the Netflix Hit in Its Third Season
Julia Roberts, “Pretty Woman” (1990)
Eric Roberts’ Sister Took a Role Nobody Wanted & Became a Star
#1: Jamie Lee Curtis
“Halloween” (1978)
Where You've Seen Jamie Campbell Bower Before
The daughter of actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, Jamie Lee Curtis has never denied the advantage her industry background gave her. In fact, part of the reason she won this role was because of her mother’s iconic performance in “Psycho.” But “Halloween” was a long way from the Alfred Hitchcock classic, which was a much classier production, despite being a horror movie. This was an independent shoot, far from the soundstages of Hollywood, and made in a few weeks on a shoestring budget. Curtis was, by no means, Hollywood royalty on this set. She was just one of an ensemble of young, inexperienced actors making a roadshow movie. Yet, “Halloween” made millions, cemented Curtis as a scream queen, and launched her decades-long career.
Which of these nepo baby roles surprised you the most? Sound off in the comments.
