Hollywood Legacies

Ask any actor and they wil tell you how hard it is to make a living in their profession and they will tell you horor stories of meager jobs they've taken inbetween gigs. They'll tell you more bad stories about casting directors that decided against them for silly arbitrary reasons. Perhaps some of the worst rejections come when an actor realizes they've been passed over for a relative of the casting director. It's a dirty business Hollywood. Here's a short list of people who made in Hollywood, perhaps because of their talent... and perhaps because of their relatives.

Famous Person: Gwyneth Paltrow
Famous Relative: Blythe Danner (Paltrow's mother)
She is actually very talented. Think of Bounce and Shakespeare in Love. She's been in many amazing movies. Sadly, she is a legacy. She's a legacy that most people don't know about. Gwyneth Paltrow's famous relative is the very talented Blythe Danner, Paltrow's mother. Unless you're really up on your movie trivia you might not recognize the name Blythe Danner. Blythe Danner was the mother in Meet the Parents and also starred in the subsequent Meet the Fockers. She also stars in the upcoming Zach Braff movie Last Kiss (yet another coming of age movie). It really is sad to know that Gwyneth Paltrow made it because of her mother's connections.

Famous Person: Kate Hudson
Famous Relative: Goldie Hawn (Hudson's mother)
Honestly, I haven't really seen a movie where either of these two displayed real talent beyond kitsch. It's a legacy that didn't work out so well.

Famous Person: Sean Astin
Famous Relataive: Patty Duke (Astin's mother)
If the name Sean Astin isn't familiar then watch Lord of the Rings again. He's Sam the Hobbit and his mother in real life is Patty Duke. Why oh why do famous people have to shove their children into Hollywood? When will it ever stop? Granted, little Seany does seem to be talented... but then again I've only ever seen him crying over Elijah Wood. I'd like to see if he can do anything else.

Famous Person: Bryce Dallas Howard
Famous Relative: Ron Howard
She got her start in Apollo 13 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Both of which... are coincidentally directed by her father. She later appeared in The Village and Lady in the Water. Once again, legacies are getting roles because of their famous relatives. Bryce Dallas also seems to have the same acting style in every movie... so it's not a lot of talent. But we'll see, it may be too early to judge.

Famous Person: Charlie Sheen
Famous Relative: Martin Sheen
Also in the mix is the other brother Emilio Estevez the coach in the Might Ducks movies. You can definitely tell these three are related when you look at them. Martin Sheen is quite talented. As for his sons, I haven't much but what I have seen is not that impressive. I mean... Mighty Ducks... come on....

Famous Person: Carrie Fisher
Famous Relative: Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds name is very obvious, however, once again depenind on how much movie trivia you know Carrie Fisher might not ring a bell. Carrie Fisher is Princess Leia from Star Wars. She has managed to make her own legacy with those movies. Although as to whether she got the role because of her famous mother or because of her talent is questionable.

Famous Person (People): Sofia Coppola and Nicholas Cage
Famous Relative: Francis Ford Coppola
Sofia is his daughter and Cage is his nephew. Now let me tell you that getting a relative into a movie as an actor is a lot easier than than making a relative a director of a movie, which is exactly what Francis was able to do for his daughter. For that reason alone, I don't have respect for Sofia. She really has been able to use her father's name to get what she wants. As for Nicholas Cage, well... he seems to have been given the opportunity and made use of it himself.

This is by no means a complete list. These are some legacies in Hollywood but legacies can sometimes turn into dynasties. Comment with any other Hollywood legacies that you know of.