Like secrets, laundry (seriously, I will never be one of those people who sends her dirty clothes out to be cleaned by some random dudes) and green-bean casserole, Hollywood, in a lot of ways, is best kept in the family. Going as far back as the Barrymore clan, we see this familiar trend: film, TV, and music becoming a family business. You can't throw a rock without hitting a pair of siblings (John and Joan Cusack) or other types of familial relationships (director Francis Ford Coppola is Nic Cage's uncle). But, in my opinion, the most popular combination seems to be father-son duos. This old standard has been made new again with mega-famous Will and son Jaden Smith, who currently costar in the summer popcorn flick After Earth, which is opening worldwide today. With those two in mind, let's take a look of some more famous father-son duos:
Alan and Robin Thicke
Y'all, I love me some Robin Thicke. He is so good-looking, a great singer, and a good actor. His comedic turn in Kevin Hart's The Real Husbands of Hollywood was a welcome surprise. Who knew he was funny? All right, maybe I should've had a clue considering his dad is the one and only Alan Thicke, who will always be awesome TV dad Dr. Jason Seaver from Growing Pains. Well, what about the music thing? That's out of nowhere, right? Nope. Turns out Papa Thicke was a music composer and wrote the theme songs to Wheel of Fortune, Diff'rent Strokes, and Facts of Life. Well, damn. Seems like it was destiny for Alan and Robin to become a great father-son combo.
Master P & Romeo
Now before you judge me for this selection, check this out: Romeo, formerly Lil Romeo, was signed to a rap contract (his father's now-defunct No Limit record label) at the age of five. That's impressive. When these two weren't rapping, they starred in a Nickelodeon show called Romeo! even though he was still Lil Romeo. That, my friends, is what we call range. In all seriousness, most people would be lucky to be successful in either TV or music. The person would be even luckier to succeed at both. And finally, the person would be the luckiest in the world to have their offspring be just as successful in the same industries.
Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen, and Emilio Estavez
OK, I'm cheating because I'm going to include Emilio in this section even though he's not in the above photo. Story of his life, am I right? Anyway, this trio is damn good. One is my favorite TV president of all time, one starred in my fave John Hughes movie of all time, The Breakfast Club, and one's life is an endless loop of the E! True Hollywood Story sentence, "And then he hit rock bottom..." a.k.a. he makes a lot of bad decisions. Can you match the Sheen/Estavez with the correct above description? You probably can. But, to be fair, Charlie's not the only one to deal with setbacks. Martin had a heart attack on the set of the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, and Emilio's career has been up and down since the '90s. Despite these troubles these guys have put out quality work such as The West Wing, Wall Street, *Spin City *(Charlie joined the show after Michael J. Fox departed for health reasons), the Brat Pack movies, etc...
Tom and Colin Hanks
First off, who doesn't love Tom Hanks? Seriously, show me a person who's not into Tom Hanks, and I'll show you a person who is anti-happiness. T-Hizzy is kind of perfection. OK, fine, his Da Vinci Code hairdo was a little on the "creepy college art professor who sunbathes in the nude on campus" side, but everyone is allowed a misstep or two in their lives. The point is that he can do comedy and drama, a skill that a lot of actors in Hollywood can't master. His son, who also does comedies and dramas, also has a special place in my heart as he starred in the amazing early-aughts teen drama Roswell (Dido theme song! Pre-Grey's Anatomy Katherine Heigl). The quality of his work since the show ended have been a little inconsistent, but that doesn't change the fact that the Hanks men are one of Hollywood's most famous duos.
Jeremy and Max Irons
Thanks to Max having a breakout year with his performance in The Host and a starring role in this summer's Starz series The White Queen, he and his highly respected father have joined the list. Hooray! I've been a fan of Jeremy ever since he played Scar in The Lion King, and it's great to see his talented and good-looking son getting in on the acting game.
Donald and Kiefer Sutherland
These two have only appeared together on-screen once, and that was in the 1996 legal drama A Time to Kill. Their performances in their individual projects; however, is what they're known for. Kiefer's 24 is one the top water-cooler TV shows of this century (I know we're only 13 years in, but hey, it's still an achievement), and Donald starred in many classic films like Mash and the Oscar-winning drama Ordinary People. These guys act their butts off and consistently put out good work. No wonder they've remained so famous for so long.
Jerry and Ben Stiller
I think we can all agree that Jerry is one of the funniest comedic actors in the biz. Don't believe me? Check out this blooper from Seinfeld that still makes me laugh:
He does so much with so little. A little inflection here. A pause there. And it's all hilarious. So it's no surprise that Ben (his mother is funny lady Anne Meara) has taken the comedy (and drama) baton and run with it: Zoolander. Meet The Parents. Dodgeball. Reality Bites. Separately, they are great. Together, they've got a little comedy dynasty going on.
Kirk and Michael Douglas
Between the two of them, they've collected three Oscars (two for Michael and an honorary one for Kirk's illustrious career), so I think it's safe to say that the Douglas family is Hollywood royalty. They've both made long-lasting movies—Kirk with Spartacus and Michael produced the award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest—and represent old Hollywood with their highly intensive acting training background and their ability to keep as much of their lives private as possible, except for that whole awkward moment when junior Douglas said oral sex caused his throat cancer. Moving on. The point is that I simply have to give it up for these guys being the oldest and most long-lasting duo on this list.
Who are some of your favorite father-son duos in Hollywood?
