Maya Hawke, the daughter of stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, fully accepts her status as a “nepo baby.”
In a new interview with The Times of London, the “Stranger Things” star addressed the advantages and benefits of nepotism she’s had growing up in Hollywood with famous parents.
The “nepo baby” label, applied to the offspring of stars who follow in their parents’ footsteps, has been a point of contention, with critics questioning whether some of the younger generation’s stars are worthy of the opportunities seemingly handed to them over unknown performers.
“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word,” Hawke told the Times. “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.”
Maya Hawkesaid told The Times of London that she is “comfortable” with acknowledging the role nepotism has played in her career. (Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
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She continued, “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 is fine with people mocking her privilege though.
“It’s OK to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. 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,” she told the outlet.
The 25-year-old got her first major onscreen role in the 2017 “Little Women” BBC miniseries, before landing her best known role on “Stranger Things” in 2019.
Hawke said it’s fine she gets made fun of for being a “nepo baby” because admittedly, “It’s a lucky place to be.” (Michael Campanella/Getty Images)
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That same year, she also appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” as a Charles Manson acolyte, alongside other “nepo babies” like Margaret Qualley (daughter of Andie MacDowell) and Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce Willis).
Hawke fully admits nepotism had a hand in her being cast in the film, clarifying a previous comment about auditioning.
“I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned,” she said.
She explained though she had made an audition tape, she “never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did.”
Hawke landed a breakout role on “Stranger Things” in 2019. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)
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Hawke added that Tarantino “was making an active effort to cast a lot of young Hollywood,” which included a lot of second generation stars like Qualley and Willis.
She also addressed the falling out her mother had with Tarantino, who had directed her in “Pulp Fiction” and “Kill Bill Vol. 1″ and Kill Bill Vol 2.”
Thurman and Tarantino stopped collaborating after she was injured in a car crash on set, during which he had insisted she do her own stunts. He told Deadline in 2018 “one of the biggest regrets of my career” and his life.
Thurman told Entertainment Weekly that made it seem that their tensions had healed, saying, “I understand him and if he wrote a great part and we were both in the right place about it, that would be something else.”
Hawke with her mother, Uma Thurman. They recently appeared together in Thurman’s film “The Kill Room.” (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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Hawke did check in with her mother about working with Tarantino, telling The Times, “I had a lot of different conversations around it with my mum and it was always wildly supported.”
She added that working with someone who “had been such an influential part of my mum’s life was really meaningful to me.”
Perhaps even more meaningful has been Hawke’s collaborations with her parents.
Last year, she had a small part in Thurman’s film “The Kill Room,” telling the outlet, “I was excited to get to act with her for a day. I’d never really gotten to do that.”
Ethan Hawke directed his daughter in the film, “Wildcat,” last year. (Michael Campanella/Getty Images)
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She also appeared in “Wildcat,” a biopic about writer Flannery O’Connor, directed by her dad, Ethan.
Hawke recalled on set she tried calling her dad “Ethan,” but “couldn’t keep it up” and went back to calling him “Dad.”
She added, “We were both being asked constantly if we were nervous to work with each other but we weren’t nervous, because I spent my whole life making art with that guy.”