Tom Hanks is speaking out against "nepo baby" backlash. In a new interview, the 66-year-old actor weighed in on the debate about successful kids of famous parents, which was sparked by Vulture's recent cover story on the topic.
While Tom himself isn't a "nepo baby," his children are. The actor is dad to Elizabeth, 40, Colin, 45, Truman, 37, and Chet, 32. Tom shares his two oldest children with his first wife, Samantha Lewes, and his two younger kids with his current wife, Rita Wilson.
All of the Hanks kids are involved in the entertainment world; Elizabeth is an actress and producer, Colin is an actor, Truman co-stars with his dad in the upcoming flick A Man Called Otto, and Chet is an actor and aspiring rapper.
"This is the family business," Tom told Reuters, according to The Sun. "This is what we've been doing forever. It's what all of our kids grew up in. We have four kids, they're all very creative, they're all involved in some brand of storytelling."
"If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point," he added, "even if it was just inventory at the end of the year."
As for any backlash he may receive for casting Truman as the younger version of his character in A Man Called Otto, Tom was unconcerned.
"The thing that doesn't change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not. That's the issue anytime any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story or create something that has a beginning and a middle and an end," he said. "Doesn't matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience. That's a much bigger task than worrying about whether anyone's going to try and scathe us or not."
Tom isn't the first celeb to weigh in on the topic. Hailey Bieber spoke out without actually speaking at all, while the kids of Ice Cube, Goldie Hawn and Brian Williams also got in on the discourse.
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