Maya Hawke's candid take on nepotism and her Hollywood journey
Maya Hawke has been conquering Hollywood for several years, appearing in popular films and TV series. The daughters of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman do not hide, however, that her excellent start in the industry was due to nepotism.
3 June 2024 10:59
The phenomenon of nepotism in Hollywood is nothing new. Some try to hide their kinship (like Nicolas Cage, real surname Coppola), while others sign their names without any qualms, attributing their success to the family they were born into.
She got a role in Tarantino's film due to nepotism
Maya Hawke belongs to the latter group. She is privately the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman and professionally Robin from "Stranger Things." Since her debut, the young actress has already participated in many well-known productions, such as Wes Anderson's "Asteroid City" and the upcoming "Inside Out 2."
Before the world loved her as Robin in the Netflix hit, many viewers recognized her in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." There, she played one of Charles Manson's followers, who planned to murder Roman Polanski's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie).
Although the actress stated years ago that she auditioned and got the role through good auditions, in a recent interview with The Times of London, she reflected that this was not entirely true:
"I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did," admitted Hawke.
Did Tarantino cast her intentionally?
Hawke later emphasized that, in her opinion, Quentin Tarantino completely consciously made the decision to cast her in this role. The director also cast other children of stars in the film (Andie MacDowell's daughter, Margaret Qualley, and Rumer Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore). According to the actress, he wanted to show "young Hollywood."
On this occasion, Maya Hawke said that, in her opinion, benefiting from being the child of famous people is not bad because it doesn't harm anyone. She also said that it is difficult to say whether the children of celebrities "deserve" special treatment:
"'Deserves’ is a complicated word…there are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway. And I know that my not doing it wouldn’t help anyone."
She also added that she is happy with her parents, as she has very good relationships with both, and for her, this is the most important thing.
