The Same Faces In Entertainment
By: Nevra Azerkan
Turn on the television set and you might see a younger,
yet similar looking face to one of an older acting star. Though they
could have gotten plastic surgery, a more likely reason for the shocking
resemblance is that the person on the screen is probably a relative.
Some become successful like their parents, grandparents, brother, sister,
cousin or even their aunt or uncle, but according to The Hollywood Nepotism
Page most of “these actors just miss the mark in the acting department
and are forced to make low-budget flicks.” This may be true, but
it hasn’t stopped the increase of the same family names circulating
the big screen. Hollywood’s rags to riches stories have ceased
leaving nepotism to clog up the show business drain with father/mother
and son/daughter duos, famous families, and sibling rivalry.
Hollywood is often ridiculed for creating its own daddy
and mommy employment agency, but the Wall Street Journal claims nepotism,
favoritism shown to relatives in a business atmosphere, “was the
result of pure pragmatism.” Neal Gabler of the Wall Street Journal
continues saying, “These people were immigrants with a sense of
responsibility for less fortunate relatives who were already living
in America or who were waiting to come and needed sponsorship. Putting
them on the studio payroll was a way to discharge an obligation without
having to pay for it personally.” Sure, that seems logical though
it was undoubtedly possible that they could have used the same idea
with any other occupation. Steve and Liv Tyler, John and Jennifer Aniston,
Tom and Colin Hanks, Ben and Jerry Stiller, Melissa and Joan Rivers,
and Tony and Jamie Lee Curtis (McPhee) are all examples of father/mother
and son/daughter duos that are the most recognizable to any movie-goer.
However, Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie and Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson
are two examples of nepotism in entertainment that are not as obvious,
yet are unquestionably known. As long as Hollywood couples are around
they will continue producing stars in their own eyes, just not necessarily
in the public’s eye.
The Barrymore’s, The Baldwin’s, The Sheen’s,
The Fonda’s, legendary families in Hollywood are becoming another
Kennedy family nightmare---everyone you know is related to them. Some
say they are Hollywood’s royal families and others say they are
brand names—marketing themselves to audiences as the next big hit.
One must admit that they have accomplished the goal of becoming a household
name, but will it last? Well, apparently for the aforementioned families
it has; nothing has stopped them in their tracks as of yet. They have
managed to stay in the spotlight and in the magazines for a few generations
now and they always seem to find a new way to reinvent themselves. The
media craves Hollywood families and has even made a Nepotism Award deemed
the Platinum Circle Award. “American Film Institute Associates
(a branch of the AFI), has made this award in celebration of an entire
family’s contribution to the arts of entertainment” (IMDB).
This award contributes to why many children, related to a celebrity,
want to follow in the foot-steps of what is considered a “family
business”. The truth is acting is not for everyone and that is
shown everyday with many so-called actors who fail to produce ability
in roles they’ve chosen. Maybe, just maybe these families need
to step forward and find a new role to play in life.
Did their parents make them find a job for their brother
or sister in good old Hollywood or are celebrities making their siblings
famous just to be nice? It is becoming all too common for siblings of
popular stars to also jump on the acting wagon. To the point where some
people start to wonder how they became so well known and sometimes begin
researching to see which big movie they were in. Then it hits them:
they’re related to so and so. That’s when some siblings choose
to break out of their brother’s or sister’s shadow and try
to make a hit movie and prove to the public and critics that they are
just as good as their sibling—if not better. There are many notorious
sibling pairs including Ben and Casey Affleck, Kieran and Macaulay Culkin,
Sylvester and Frank Stallone and the Olsen twins. All of which are still
doing something within the entertainment business. Whether it is something
big or something small be reassured that they are making a load of money
for it. It’s only logical to wonder if these siblings get along
with each other and that is why in some workplaces they have an anti-nepotism
policy. The anti-nepotism policy was made “to prevent unfair favoritism
and conflicts in the workplace” (Laker). But most studios do not
apply the anti-nepotism policy to their workplace. If they did, they
wouldn’t be making the tons of money they are off of the popularity
of either sibling. It is really all about the money and the studios
are fully aware of what sells in the entertainment business and they
know that this is the only way that they can survive. It is a strategy
that works, but is not necessarily fair to other actors who have worked
hard to get into the industry. Siblings that become prominent because
of their famous brother’s or sister’s must look deep within
themselves and realize they need to stop acting like they are meant
to be the next big star.
Nepotism is a huge problem in the entertainment industry
and nothing seems to slow it down. Hard working actors-to-be are being
shafted for relatives of high profile actors. Parents, grandparents,
sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts deny that they are boosting
the career of a relative. The truth is they are and it has been proven
that “a studio executive nowadays is likely to hire his friends,
family and protégés at astronomical salaries” (De
La Rosa). The acting world is like a tight clique of friends; they help
each other out, but are reluctant to let anyone new into their group.
That’s exactly how Hollywood operates and it has become a bigger
struggle than before to breakout into the business. If not being related
to someone in acting the next best thing is being friends with one or
even a friend of a friend. It is only every now and then when someone
who has no family ties or other connections becomes successful. These
are the people who work extremely hard to get to where they are and
even harder to stay where they are. They don’t have relatives to
help them with their careers and they don’t have connections to
earn them more jobs. It remains true that Hollywood’s rags to riches
stories have ceased leaving nepotism to clog up the show business drain
with father/mother and son/daughter duos, famous families, and sibling
rivalry. It is up to audiences all around the world to support actors
who are striving to be in a motion picture. Their main connection should
be the people—the people watching television and the people who
go to the theatres. That is a real actors test because getting the public’s
attention with talent is how real stars are made.
