Kevin Smith has revealed that he tried to cast his daughter Harley Quinn Smith in his new film but she refused citing nepotism as the reason.
His latest film, The 4:30 Film is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age movie.
According to a synopsis: “During the summer of 1986, three 16-year-old buddies spend their Saturdays sneaking into movies at the local cineplex. When one of the guys invites the girl of his dreams to see an R-rated film, all hilarity breaks loose as a self-important theatre manager and teenage rivalries interfere with his best-laid plans.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Smith opened up about wanting to cast his daughter for the lead role in the film since his wife – Jennifer Schwalbach Smith – considers Harley to be very similar to her father but when asked if she was interested in the role, the actress – who previously starred in Smith’s 2016 film Yoga Hosers and 2019’s Jay And Silent Bob Reboot – she declined the opportunity.
“She was just like, ‘You don’t think I’ve got enough nepo baby shit to deal with online? You now want me to play you? Fuck that,’” Smith told the outlet. He went on to share that the role ended up going to Harley’s boyfriend Austin Zajur. Zajur previously worked with Smith on 2022’s Clerks III.
“Honestly, [Austin Zajur] was more Kevin Smith than Kevin Smith. He was the perfect, perfect choice,” he said.
Harley is the not the first actor to discuss the “nepo baby” title. Recently, Billie Eilish‘s mother, actor Maggie Baird, responded to claims that her daughter and son Finneas are “nepo babies”.
“I think that people don’t really understand there’s a whole industry of people who are creative and they’re working and they’re struggling, and they make perfectly happy lives, and they feel creative, and they feel fulfilled. But that’s a very different life than on this side of the door where you’re suddenly playing in this different arena,” Baird said while speaking as part of a Glamour cover interview with other celebrities’ mothers including the likes of Tina Knowles, Mandy Teefy and more.
Elsewhere, Emma Roberts has said that her famous relatives have actually caused her to be turned down for jobs in Hollywood in the past.
“I’ve lost more jobs than I’ve gained from being in the business,” she told Flaunt magazine. “People have opinions and sometimes maybe they’re not good opinions of people in your family. I’ve never gotten a job because of it, I know I definitely have lost a couple of jobs because of it.”
Roberts also previously spoke about the difficulty of people assuming she has it easy and ignoring the failures that she has had to endure.
Touching on her family connections, she said: “I think there’s two sides of the coin. People like to say: ‘You know, you have a leg up because you have family in the industry’.”
“But then the other side to that is you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people don’t have good experiences with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”
Lily Allen has also recently spoken out against the ‘nepo baby’ concept, describing it as sexist.
“I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing,” she said. “I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors – not that they should be called out. I don’t think anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dream.”
Willow Smith, meanwhile, has admitted to feeling a sense of “insecurity” about the term.
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