“F**k Yeah. Are You Kidding Me?”: Thunderbolts* Star Addresses His Hollywood Nepo Baby Status By Admitting It’s “A Million Times Easier”

The debate about nepotism in Hollywood has been raging for several years now. It was started, seemingly out of nowhere, by a New York Magazine article in 2022 analyzing the current crop of young actors with parents who are either in the entertainment industry or have strong connections. The cover story featured an image of several actors’ heads – John David Washington, Dakota Johnson, Jack Quaid, Maya Hawke, Maude Apatow, Lily-Rose Depp, Ben Platt, and Zoë Kravitz – pH๏τoshopped onto babies and popularized the term “nepo babies” to refer to those who have benefited from their parents’ fame or connections.

Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, was one of the first to speak out and dismiss the term “nepo baby,” saying that storytelling runs in her family’s blood and arguing that nepotism is more common in other industries, such as modeling. Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, says the nepo baby debate is “designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.” Tom Hanks, whose three sons Truman, Chet, and Colin, are involved in the entertainment industry to various extents, dismissed the debate, saying his sons are involved in a “family business.”

Wyatt Russell Weighs In On The Nepo Baby Debate

The Thunderbolts* Star Is The Son Of Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn

Wyatt Russell becomes the latest actor to address his Hollywood nepo baby status. The son of actors Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Wyatt Russell rose to fame for his portrayal of John Walker in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a role he will be reprising in the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie, releasing in theaters this May, and Avengers: Doomsday in May 2026. In addition to the MCU, Russell also stars in the upcoming Western movie, Broke, alongside Dennis Quaid.

During a recent interview with MovieWeb, Wyatt Russell revealed his reaction to the “nepo baby” label. The actor started by sharing how he used to struggle with whether he should distance himself from his parents’ fame earlier in his career. While he never felt pressured to enter Hollywood, growing up around film sets sparked his interest in the industry. That’s partly why he’s comfortable with the “nepo baby” label and doesn’t shy away from acknowledging the advantages he’s had. Read his full comments below:

This stuff doesn’t really occur, like what not to do? Kill your career, 101, put it on an eyepatch. Everybody first thought that’s where I went. We weren’t raised to be that way. And if I wanted to be something totally different, dad was supportive. I saw this life, and it actually connected in a way that I thought I could be very good at. And I’d seen it a million times. I’ve been on the set. It’s like, you get comfortable with something. People talk about Nepo babies and stuff, and you’re like, Yeah, 100% is it 1000 times easier? F*ck yeah. Are you kidding me? It’s a million times easier. When you get on to set, the thing that actually makes it easier is the fact I’ve seen this, I’ve seen this 1000 times, and you have never seen it. So it’s like family business, right?

Our Take On Wyatt Russell’s Nepo Baby Response

He Openly Acknowledges The Advantages

Wyatt Russell is certainly well aware of the “nepo baby” label which, on social media, has become a term that is often used to downplay an actor’s abilities. As the son of two Hollywood icons, it’s no surprise that his family’s reputation has helped open doors for him in Hollywood. Wyatt Russell openly acknowledges that being a “nepo baby” can make navigating Hollywood easier, though perhaps not in the way that most critics would expect.

Thunderbolts* releases in theaters on May 2.

Source: MovieWeb