Dad-daughter duo Ethan Hawke and Maya Hawke on Wildcat: the Hollywood pair weigh in on the ‘nepo baby’ debate, working together on the new biopic with Laura Linney – and ‘watching each other grow’
- Hollywood is full of ‘nepotism babies’ and Ethan Hawke just directed Wildcat with his daughter Maya Hawke starring as Flannery O’Connor … his comment on the debate? ‘I’m a nepo dad!’
- Maya’s mum is Uma Thurman and original claim to fame was hit TV show Stranger Things; her co-star Linney called her and her dad ‘committed … artists digging very deep together’
Nepotism babies, aka “nepo babies”, refer to the actors, musicians, producers, models, business owners and showbiz insiders who may have got a leg-up in their professions thanks to convenient family connections.
Naturally, the father-daughter pair attracted attention upon the September 1 release of the film Wildcat, a biopic about American novelist Flannery O’Connor directed by Ethan and featuring Maya in the lead role.
So what did the Before Sunrise actor and his daughter who starred in Stranger Things have to say about this?
“I’m a nepo dad!”
“Put simply, I’m a nepo dad!” Ethan jokingly said of the issue. “And I’m not embarrassed about it.”
Adding more subtlety and context to their situation, Maya, whose famous mother is Kill Bill actress Uma Thurman, said, “I had moments of insecurity about it while we were shooting the movie [Wildcat]. But the internet doesn’t have a lot of nuances. My dad has been a massive teacher for me and we want to work together. We like being with each other.”
The First Reformed actor noted that he’s open to and understanding of the criticisms that people have regarding nepo babies. “If someone wants to criticise us for working together, that’s totally fair,” the elder Hawke said. “You have to let people have their opinion. You just have to try to do a good job when you’re onstage.”