Stellan Skarsgård has hit out at the “nepo-baby” label after his 13-year-old son was bullied.
The Dune and Andor star who is currently playing a director at odds with his actress daughter in the film Sentimental Value, tackles the subject of nepo babies – a derogatory term for the children of famous people viewed to have gained opportunities because of their family – head on.
Speaking in a new interview with Vulture, he said his teenage Kolbjörn has been affected by the label.
“My 13-year-old, Kolbjörn, the youngest, suffers from that,” Skarsgård said. “When his pals at school call him nepo baby, he gets so sad. He doesn’t have any friends at school. He gets isolated. Cruel kids – or cruel and ignorant. But it is such a bullshit thing. Because nobody would hire you, at least not for anything good, if you’re not good enough.”
A host of stars whose parents are famous have spoken recently about being labelled a “nepo-baby” recently including The White Lotus star Sam Nivola who dismissed it arguing he achieved success on his own despite having famous parents.
Arnold Schwarzenegger also hit back at claims that his son and Nivola’s co-star Patrick is a “nepo baby”, insisting that he has never been asked for help with his acting career.
Lily-Rose Depp, who is the daughter of Johnny Depp and French model-actress-singer Vanessa Paradis, also said people want to see her fail as a result while Willow Smith recently said she feels a sense of “insecurity” at being a daughter to famous parents.
Others including The Boys actor Jack Quaid actually agreed that it actually helped his career.
He said: “I’m inclined to agree. I am an immensely privileged person, was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle. I knew the door was open for me in a lot of ways that it’s just not for a lot of actors. And I’ve just tried to work as hard as I possibly can to prove that I deserve to walk through that door.”
Ronan Day-Lewis, Daniel Day-Lewis‘ son also understood the criticism.
“I knew that the baggage that would be attached to working with my dad and also the pressure that would be attached to that,” he said. “I definitely had some ambivalence. I wanted to carve my own path, and I foresaw how it might be perceived. There’s rightfully been a lot of talk about nepotism.”
Sentimental Value is released in cinemas on December 26.
English (US) · 