As much as Peaky Blinders fans—myself included—like to drool over Cillian Murphy’s character, Tommy Shelby’s Birmingham lilt, in real life, the actor is a proud Irishman, and his accent reflects the same. So you can imagine Murphy’s surprise (and disapproval) when he realised that after living in London for 14 years, his two sons, Malachy and Aran, were beginning to speak in a posh English accent.
Speaking to the Armchair Expert podcast in April 2022, the actor revealed he took the decision back in 2015, “We were in London for 14 years, both our kids were born there and we only came back to Dublin in 2015. It’s kind of an Irish story to move away, do your thing and come home, that seems to be a common narrative for Irish people.”
Murphy continued, “And then we wanted the kids to be Irish. They were sort of at that age where they were pre-teens, they had very posh English accents, and I wasn’t appreciating that too much so we decided to come back.”
While on the podcast, the star was also asked if he could picture himself living in a place like Los Angeles, to which he admitted he’s happy to hit the West coast more as a visitor rather than live there permanently. “I love visiting and I love the food and I do love the weather,” he said. “I don’t know, I just feel European, I just feel Irish. I’d feel like a bit of an interloper if I lived in California, I couldn’t envisage living there permanently.”
We’re finding it hard to imagine Murphy living in sunny California too if we’re being honest, and we’re still not sure what we did to deserve being blessed by his and his family’s presence in London for so long either.
Now happily back in Dublin—much to my dismay—Murphy said that he’s enjoyed watching his children grow up, and shared that because of their two-year age gap, they’re more like great friends than brothers. “My lads definitely kicked the shit out of each other quite often when they were younger but that’s boys. They’re great pals,” the actor told Armchair Expert.
As sad as we are that our chances of bumping into Tommy Shelby in real life are slimming down, we hope that the actor being back in Dublin also helps him avoid getting papped too much. Speaking to The Guardian at the beginning of the year, Murphy commented, “I really don’t go out much, and people are so underwhelmed when they encounter me, so I’m very happy with that. And I’m always happy to chat.”
“What I don’t like is people surreptitiously taking photographs, which someone said is like the amateur Stasi. It’s so fucking weird. I’ve been sat on the tube and people have started filming me. I don’t want to be like, ‘poor fucking celebrities’ but I think this thing of having cameras everywhere is something we need to sort out,” he explained, concluding, “Or maybe I’m just old.”
There is a lot of discourse surrounding what people are calling ‘nepotism babies’ online with various arguments on both ends. The term is shrouded with many meanings. For starters, a nepotism baby could be someone with extremely famous (and therefore wealthy) parents, the obvious kind—take the Smith kids, Jaden and Willow, or Lily Rose Depp for example. It could also be used to describe someone who was born to parents with connections or even those with a legacy of entertainers in their family line. That being said, many point out that those with familial ‘connections’ (who aren’t famous themselves) should not be considered nepotism babies. Either way, there have also been cases made as to those nepotism babies who actually have some talent and are ‘worthy’ of their roles in the industry, and those who just aren’t.
Regardless of the angle you find yourself leaning towards, we have compiled a list of celebrities who may fit the bill.
Maude Apatow, who plays our favourite Lexi in Euphoria, is the daughter of Judd Apatow—a well established director, producer, writer and comedian—and actress Leslie Mann, who has starred in movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 17 Again, The Other Woman and This is 40.
The creator of Euphoria is also a nepotism baby. His father Barry Levinson is a film director, producer, actor and writer.
Angelina Jolie is the daughter of actor parents Jon Voight (Oscar winner) and Marcheline Bertrand.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a successful film director and his mother, Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, is a screenwriter. His also-famous older sister is Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Emma Roberts’ connection to Hollywood is well-known, most notably by her relation to one of the most famous actresses in the business: Julia Roberts. The younger Roberts is her niece but her father, Eric Roberts, who starred in Suits, is also a notable actor.
While his father Marc Chalamet is an editor for the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, his entertainment roots can be traced back to his mother’s side of the family. Nicole Flender, who is now a real estate agent, was a Broadway dancer, actor and daughter of writer and filmmaker Harold Flender. Chalamet’s maternal uncle was also a filmmaker while his maternal aunt was a writer and television producer.
Kate Hudson is the daughter of uber-famous celebrity parents. While her mother is Academy Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn, her father is the renowned actor and musician Bill Hudson. Her stepfather is another well-known name in the industry: Kurt Russell.
Dakota Johnson’s family has some history in the entertainment industry. Born to actor parents Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, the actress is third-generation famous with her maternal grandmother—Tippi Hedren—being one of Alfred Hitchcock’s muses. Her former stepfather was also the famous Spanish actor Antonia Banderas.
Star of Emily in Paris—which has previously come under fire for ‘rigging’ its Golden Globes nominations—Lily Collins is the daughter of iconic and legendary drummer, writer and music producer Phil Collins.
Though not uber-famous, Kristen Stewart’s parents were also in the entertainment business. Her mother is a script supervisor and her father a stage manager who worked on a large number of projects including the 2014 Oscar Red Carpet Live.
Blake Lively’s family was also neck-deep in the entertainment industry. Her mother is a talent scout and her father was an actor. They starred alongside each other in The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants.
Kiera Knightley was also born to actor parents: Will Knightley and Sharman Macdonald.
Another actor with a film legacy in his family, Pine’s maternal grandmother Anne Gwynne was—according to the Los Angeles Times—“a horror [movie] icon at Universal in the 1940s.” His maternal grandfather, on the other hand, Max M. Gilford was president of the Hollywood Bar Association. His parents were also very successful actors.
Stranger Things star Maya Hawke is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
Jennifer Anniston was also born to actor parents and guess what Friends fans? Her father John Anniston was actually an actor on the real-life Days of Our Lives and has also appeared in numerous other projects. Her godfather, a very close friend of her dad, was Telly Savalas, a legendary actor whose career lasted over 40 years from 1950 to the 1990s.