Tom Hanks seemed to get heated about the “nepo babycontroversy during an interview with Reuters (video via The Sun, below) posted earlier this week.

A “nepo baby,” short for “nepotism baby,” is a fashionable, albeit condescending, term that refers to celebrity children who are now famous in part because of their parents’ fame. The topic reached boiling point in late December when New York Magazine declared 2022 “The year of baby Nepo.”

Hanks was speaking to Reuters about his new film “A Man Called Otto,” which employed a few members of his family. He co-produced the film with his wife Rita Wilson, who also co-wrote the screenplay and performed an original song in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter..

Hanks plays the titular Otto in the film, and his son, Truman Hanks, plays the younger version of Otto in flashback sequences.

“Look, it’s a family business,” Hanks says in the video (above), seemingly in response to his son’s presence in his film. “That’s what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all our children grew up in.

He added: “If we were a plumbing supply business or we ran the flower shop down the street, the whole family would put in time at some point, even if it was just inventory. at the end of the year.”

While employing family members in your plumbing or florist business would still be a form of nepotism, the actor’s tirade wasn’t over.

Hanks went on to claim that his kids didn’t get a head start in their Hollywood careers thanks to his famous last name.

His son Colin Hanks starred in “Fargo” and also appeared in dozens of movies, including “King Kong,” “Jumanji: The Next Level” and “The House Bunny.” His son, Chet Hanks’ work includes roles in the television shows “Shameless” and “Empire”.

“The thing that doesn’t change, no matter what happens, whatever your last name is, is whether it works or not,” Hanks said.

“That’s the problem every time one of us tries to tell a new story or create something that has a beginning, middle and end. It doesn’t matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make it a true and authentic experience for the public.

Hanks said, “it’s a much bigger task than figuring out whether someone is going to try to hurt us or not.”

Although the cultural discourse around “nepo babies” is relatively new, actors deploying the family business excuse are getting quite old.

Zoe Kravitz – the daughter of musician Lenny Kravtiz and actor Lisa Bonet – used the same tactic.

“It’s completely normal for people to be in the family business,” she said. QG in November.

Kate Hudson, daughter of actor Golden Hawn and stepdaughter of actor Kurt Russell, took a similar approach talking to The Independent last month.

“I look at my children, and we are a storytelling family. It’s definitely in our blood,” Hudson said.

Maybe these celebs could take a page from “nepo baby” Allison Williams’ playbook and take some responsibility.

The ‘Girls’ star, the daughter of former NBC reporter Brian Williams, called “just unfair” nepotism in an interview with Vulture published earlier this week.

“Period, end of story, and nobody’s really working hard to make it right,” she told Vulture. “Not acknowledging that I’m starting out as an actress versus someone who has no connection is not the same – it’s ridiculous. It doesn’t take away from the work I’ve done. It just means it’s not as fun rooting.