Poor nepo babies, scorned for being born into a life of wealth and privilege through no fault of their own. In the words of Donald “my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars” Trump: SAD! While the bare-knuckle fight initiated by New York magazine continues across the pond, we’ve looked closer to home at a phenomenon so deeply embedded in British acting that it predates the existence of Hollywood as an institution. After all, we have pavements older than America. That makes nepotism here old – entrenched, even. But the British nepo baby? Well, it’s a little more hush-hush and a lot more complicated.
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A study on class by LSE in 2021 explored why the middle class descendants of working class people go on about it so much, even – especially – if they're now minted. At a time when “brand identity” is everything, many feel the need to craft a narrative of struggle – and it’s not just about money. (Everyone with a Pinterest wants more of that.) As Elle Hunt notes in the longread that accompanies this list, it’s the elusive cultural and social capital that comes with privilege and wealth that’s truly priceless. Here's our non-exhaustive look of how those connections map out. For the sake of our sanity, we've excluded certain people you might think of as dead certs because they’re not technically in TV, film or theatre like their parents, grandparents, or great-great grandparents (you’re welcome, Matt Healy). Instead, consider this a starter pack that shows just how deep the nepo rabbithole goes. Try not to let the class ceiling hit you on the head on the way out.
The Establishment set
Some don’t even just have one parent in the industry – they also have well-placed family friends, with Daniel Radcliffe (son of literary agent Alan and casting agent Marcia Gresham) getting an introduction to HP producer David Heyman via his dad.
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With lineages littered with establishment honours (Rafe Spall’s dad Timothy got an OBE in 2000, Swinton was given a recent nod on the Queen’s honours list), the only technical outlier here is Jeremy Irons, who said he’d turn down a knighthood – although marrying into the Cusack family, an Irish acting dynasty, should be more than enough to qualify him and his son Max as part of the establishment set.
The under the radar ones
The ‘Bridgerton’ babies
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The new generation
Other zoomers to watch out for include House of Dragon’s Ty Tennant, who has already expressed an interest in playing the third Doctor Who in his family, after his dad David and his granddad Peter Davison; and Nico Parker, currently picking up buzz in The Last of Us and no doubt impressing her showbiz mother (Thandiwe Newton) and father (Ol Parker).
Schools and colleges
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Dad’s on TV!
The dynasties
The Hammersmith connection
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