Nepo babies: Is there such a thing as being a "good" nepo baby?

"Trench coat buttoned to the TOP and these ballerina ass slippers."

This old Instagram post about Lily-Rose Depp has been floating across every platform imaginable, and I simply cannot get it out of my head. It has consumed my life and been on loop everywhere I go. With Nosferatu coming out on January 1st and Lily-Rose Depp being one of the main characters in this highly anticipated horror film, it got me thinking about so-called "nepo babies" and their affiliations with the industry—not just in the acting world but in music as well.

It’s no secret who her parents are, with her last name obviously being "Depp," but what about the ones who are not so obvious? The ones who have slithered their way through the "nepo baby" status. I could honestly write a 10-page essay on this absolute phenomenon that is the world of nepo babies, but this post isn’t going to be about Lily-Rose Depp or her trench coat.

I had actually been on my way home listening to I’ll Try Anything Once (You Only Live Once) by The Strokes, and I just thought,

"You know what’s more annoying than a nepo baby? A talented one."

Julian Casablancas is the lead vocalist of The Strokes and the son of John Casablancas, who happens to be the founder of Elite Model Management. Casablancas attended two elite schools growing up, one in Switzerland and one in New York, where he met his future Strokes bandmates. So maybe a bunch of rich kids and a nepo baby started a band, but if you can produce songs like The Adults Are Talking and Call It Fate, Call It Karma, do you get a pass?

Please listen to Call It Fate, Call It Karma, because I literally transcend every time I hear, "Can I waste all your time here on the sidewalk?"

There are countless threads and polls discussing whether a nepo baby is talented or simply a product of their connections, but of course, everyone views talent differently. I mean, there are actors who are not nepo babies that I find utterly infuriating like Ryan Reynolds (Sorry)

But there is one person I specifically wanted to discuss in this post. He came to mind when I had the idea of writing this: Cooper Hoffman, who has recently been cast in the movie I Want Your Sex, directed by the great Gregg Araki. What I wanted to highlight about Cooper Hoffman is how charming he is on screen. I watched Licorice Pizza (2021) and most recently Saturday Night Live (2024) and he is like the perfect mix of burgeoning talent and family legacy.

Cooper Hoffman is the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, a legend in his own right who sadly passed away in 2014. Cooper has an impressive presence that feels so authentic, so natural, that it makes me think, "Wow, this is someone who is meant to be an actor."

Maybe I’m being too kind, but that’s how I feel.

Is there such a thing as being a "good" nepo baby? And does being one diminish any actual talent? I could give you a list of all the nepo babies I believe are worthy of their status, but there’s a real issue here that’s way more important. Sure, there are talented nepo babies, but there is also immense talent being overlooked simply because they are not.

Seeing Nicholas Hoult alongside Lily-Rose Depp in Nosferatu reminded me of a post I read that articulated exactly what I’ve been thinking when it comes to talent in the industry.

Ayan Artan wrote: "I wonder how many Daniel Kaluuya’s we’ve missed out on in the last two decades because the UK’s creative industries refuse to recognise that casting from the same private schools can only get you thus far."

This is outstandingly true. The story of how Skins came about is an old tale we don’t see anymore. The writers went to youth clubs to find teenagers like Daniel Kaluuya and even held open auditions. This alone meant those who weren’t from wealthy backgrounds had the chance to display their talent. What happened to this? A friend of mine, an actor herself, told me how casting directors today just go to the same four prestigious drama schools to cast anyone in anything.

Why did we ever stop investing in working-class talent?

To end this post, I need to tell you about a magazine my brother mentioned called Tatler. If you ever want to read about anything nepo or high society, this magazine has it. There’s even a section titled "Schools," featuring the best schools in Britain with the finest education—and yes, they’re all private.

I have two more posts that I am planning on writing before the end of the year! One being about my favourite films I’ve watched in 2024.