Maya Hawke is fine with being called a “nepo baby.”
Hawke, the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, recently admitted to the Times of London that she believes her family ties influenced her casting in Quentin Tarantino’s “once Upon a Time in Hollywood” as Flower Child, one of Charles Manson’s followers.
“I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned,” Hawke said of “once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” “I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did.”
Hawke got her big break playing Robin Buckley in the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” and her other credits include “Do Revenge,” “Asteroid City” and “Maestro.”
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While talking about if she deserves the opportunities she’s had, Hawke said, “‘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. I saw two paths when I was first starting, and one of them was: change your name, get a nose job and go to open casting roles.”
Hawke opted for the second path by embracing her nepotism, even if others judged her for it.
“It’s OK to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air,” she explained. “It’s a lucky place to be. My relationships with my parents are really honest and positive, and that supersedes anything anyone can say about it.”
Hawke previously spoke to PvNew about nepotism while promoting “Wildcat,” the Flannery O’Connor biopic directed by Ethan.
“I had moments of insecurity about it while we were shooting the movie,” she admitted. ”But the internet doesn’t have a lot of nuances. My dad has been a massive teacher for me, and we want to work together. We like being with each other.”
Ethan added, “If someone wants to criticize us for working together, that’s totally fair. You have to let people have their opinion. You just have to try to do a good job when you’re onstage.”
