"It's hard because I'm mom and I'm also working."
In Hollywood, it’s not unusual to see the children of celebrities following in their parent’s footsteps. On many occasions, it all begins with an opportunity for these celebrity offspring to work alongside their famous mom or dad on a movie or TV show. And sometimes, their role ends up being a total case of “art imitating life” when these aspiring actors get the chance to play their own parent’s children on the big screen. These family collaborations definitely make for a fun experience on set and a memory they’ll never forget.
Find out which actors made their movies a family affair…
1. Adam Sandler & Sadie and Sunny Sandler
Adam Sandler got the chance to work with his daughters Sadie and Sunny on his new film, You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah. In the flick, Sunny stars as Stacy Friedman while Sadie plays her onscreen older sister, and Adam portrays their dad. While looking back on the experience filming with the Sandler family, director Sammi Cohen says that Adam was easily able to juggle being an actor and dad on set.
“No one thing suffers. He’s really able to wear all these hats. He does everything. It’s almost inhuman. I’m like, it’s unfair, he can do everything!” Sammi shared with Decider.
2. Will Smith & Jaden Smith
Back in 2006, Will Smith’s son Jaden starred alongside his dad in The Pursuit of Happyness and the pair later teamed up again to play a father-son duo in After Earth. Looking back, Will says he was just grateful to get to spend so much time with his son.
“I guess what it taught me was interesting. On camera and off camera with Jaden, the bottom line is time. It’s the amount of time that you spend with your child…Jaden and I got to spend every single day, ten and twelve hours a day together working on this film… To be able to spend that many hours a day together, our bonds took off in a way that I never imagined,” Will said.
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3. Leslie Mann & Maude and Iris Apatow
It’s a family affair when it comes to Judd Apatow’s movies. Judd cast his wife Leslie Mann and their daughters Maude and Iris in several of his films including This Is 40, Funny People and Knocked Up. While reflecting on their experience filming This Is 40 together, Leslie said she felt “lucky” to “get to be with them all day” but playing double-duty as a mom and actress could be tough.
“It’s hard because I’m mom and I’m also working, so if they’re having problems or they’re fighting with each other, I have to deal with that and I also have to work!” Leslie told THR.
4. Demi Moore & Rumer Willis
When Demi Moore’s daughter Rumer Willis was just a little girl, the pair co-starred in the film Striptease. While Demi admits she was hesitant when Rumer asked to audition, she says after talking with her then-husband Bruce Willis, the couple finally agreed.
“Well, she asked to have the opportunity to audition so after much discussion with my husband, I went and asked them if they would be willing to let her try because she wanted it so badly,” Demi told CNN at the time, later adding that she had no problem allowing Rumer see her perform as a stripper in the film.
5. Tilda Swinton & Honor Swinton Byrne
In 2019, Tilda Swinton’s daughter Honor Swinton Byrne made her acting debut alongside her mom in The Souvenir. Despite it being Honor’s first time on screen, Tilda, who played Honor’s onscreen mom, says that she didn’t need any tips at all.
“As far as giving Honor any advice at all about being a fully realized human being in front of a camera, she needed absolutely nothing,” Tilda shared at a press conference, adding that she was “thrilled” to work alongside her daughter.
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6. Billy Ray Cyrus & Miley Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus played an iconic father-daughter duo in Hannah Montana. While the pair had a heartfelt relationship on screen, Billy Ray doesn’t have such fond memories of working together. At one point, Billy Ray said that the show “destroyed” their family.
“The damn show destroyed my family. I’d take it back in a second. For my family to be here and just everybody be okay, safe and sound and happy and normal would have been fantastic. Heck, yeah. I’d erase it all in a second if I could,” he told GQ magazine in 2011.
7. Meryl Streep & Mamie Gummer
Meryl Streep and her daughter Mamie Gummer have worked together on a number of occasions, going all the way back to when Mamie was just an infant. In fact, Mamie played Meryl’s daughter in Heartburn when she was just one-years-old! The pair later reunited when they played a mother-daughter duo in Ricki and the Flash.
“I am among four other people on the planet that would not be actually intimidated by my mom, the others being the other people that I’m related to. It was a really wonderful experience. Honestly it was, it was really profound and one that I will treasure,” Mamie said during a promotional event for the film.
8. Robin Williams & Zelda Williams
Before Robin Williams’ passing, he got the chance to star alongside his daughter Zelda in the 2004 film House of D. While speaking about her father years later, Zelda recalled the “handy” piece of advice he had shared with her on set.
“He always said, ‘Don’t wear your mic pack to the bathroom. Don’t do that, ever. If you’re mic’d don’t go anywhere or say anything that you don’t want other people to hear because there’s probably, like, 30 people with headsets on listening,'” Zelda told ET.
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9. Andie MacDowell & Margaret Qualley
In Margaret Qualley’s Nertflix series Maid, her real-life mom Andie MacDowell also played her onscreen mom. Margaret says casting her mom was her own idea and having her on set was really “comforting,” especially in the middle of the pandemic.
“I was so excited about it. I was up in Canada quarantining, and the role of my mom was still open, and it dawned on me that I’ve always wanted to work with my mom. And then, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is it. My mom’s gotta do this,'” she told Collider. “I was just crossing my fingers, hoping my mom would want to do it, and I lucked out. She wanted to do it and she came up to Canada, and it was a real dream getting to work with her. It was one of the more surreal experiences of my life.”
10. Dominic West & Senan West
Dominic West worked with his son Senan on season five of The Crown, where Dominic played Prince Charles and Senan portrayed a young Prince William. During his first day on set, Dominic reminded Senan that he was “bloody lucky,” especially considering he had no prior acting experience.
“What was great [was the] shortcut to a sort of tactile intimacy that you have with your kids that no one else has,” Dominic told Town & Country.
11. Sean Penn & Dylan Penn
In 2021, Sean Penn and his daughter Dylan starred in Flag Day, playing a father-daughter duo. Dylan says that her father had actually first asked her to play the role when she was 16-years-old, but she declined. When the movie ended up getting pushed back, she had the opportunity to take the role as an adult — and said yes after her mom Robin Wright told her it would be a good experience.
“My mom was the one who told me that working with my dad as the director was the best experience she’s ever had, which was what propelled me into this project,” she told Vogue, later adding, “He didn’t tell me this when I was 16, but he told me this time around that the first time he read the script, he always saw my face in the character. I felt he wasn’t setting me up to fail because he always has really good instincts, so I felt like I could ride with that. And then from the first day [on set], I knew things were going to go well. It just felt right.”
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12. Tom Hanks & Colin Hanks
Tom Hanks and his son Colin have gotten the chance to work together on several occasions and in 2008, they got to play a father and son in The Great Buck Howard. While Colin has tried to make a name for himself without the help of his dad, he says that he knew working together would eventually happen one day.
“The bottom line is, you know, I want to do good work. And I want to make good movies. And this is a movie that I really believed in. This was a scenario in which I knew that I was going to be in safe hands, and have a relative amount of — not control, but say in the matter. And so I figured, ‘Well, if this is going to happen, this might as well happen on this one.’ Because it’s not like me and him have ever had these conversations before, like Troy and his father have had. So, you know, we’re not exorcizing serious demons here,” Colin told Female.com.au.
13. Eugene Levy & Dan Levy
Eugene Levy’s son Dan had long tried to avoid working with his father in order to forge his own path in Hollywood, but when he began to work on Schitt’s Creek, he knew he had to get his dad involved. Over the course of six seasons, Dan admits he ended up learning a lot.
“I think what I learned from him, just from a comedy standpoint, is that.. .there’s so much generosity, I think, to great comedy. You have to just give people space. There’s just such a joy in knowing that you have each other’s back,” he told Today.
14. Sylvester Stallone & Sage Stallone
Before the ultimately passing of Sylvester Stallone’s son Sage, the pair got the chance to work together on screen. In 1990, Sage and Sylvester played a father-son duo in Rocky V. Prior to filming, Sage says he had a difficult relationship with his dad but the movie changed everything.
“It was three wonderful months in which we actually became what we were pretending to be. We’ve remained close ever since,” Sage reportedly said in a 1996 interview.
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