Tom Hanks Defends His Family, Dismisses Nepotism Debate

Hollywood star Tom Hanks dismissed the recent debate on nepotism in showbiz and defended his family when recently talking to The Sun on the occasion of the release of his latest project, A Man Called Otto.

The movie, based on a number one New York Times bestseller, sees Hanks’ son, Truman, playing a younger version of his character, Otto, while his wife, Rita Wilson, co-wrote and performed an original song for the movie and also produced the film alongside her husband.

The debate on nepotism in Hollywood was rekindled by a New York Magazine cover story last month, which analyzed the current boom of actors with industry parents.

Tom Hanks’ family of actors

The Oscar winner has two children with his first wife, Colin and Elizabeth Hanks, and another two, Chet and Truman, with Wilson, all of whom work in filming and entertainment.

“Look, this is the family business,” Hanks commented in his interview with The Sun. “This is what we’ve been doing forever, [and] this is what all of our kids grew up in. We have four kids, they are all very creative, they are all involved at some brand of storytelling, and if we were a plumbing supply business, or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year.”

“The thing that doesn’t change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not,” the multiple award-winning actor added. “That’s the issue any time that any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story and create something that has a beginning and a middle and an end.”

“It doesn’t matter what our last names are—we have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience, and that’s a much bigger task than worrying about whether anyone is going to, like, try to scathe us or not,” he concluded.