Hanks joined the ranks of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Pierce Brosnan’s sons and more when he gave his two cents about Vulture’s viral Nepo Baby exposé. Earlier this month, the Captain Phillips actor called the entertainment industry “the family business” in response to the feature. “This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all of our kids grew up in. We have four kids, they’re all very creative, they’re all involved in some brand of storytelling,” he said of his children: Colin, 45, and Elizabeth, 40, whom he shares with his first wife Samantha Lewes, and Truman, 37, and Chet, 32, whom he shares with Rita Wilson. “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,” he added in the interview. “The thing that doesn’t change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not.” When asked about those remarks on the red carpet at the New York City premiere of his new film, A Man Called Otto, which also features his son, Truman. “I think my kids are all like Renaissance artists, you know? [They] are good at whatever they choose to be. But the question here is, can you make it stick?” he told ET’s Rachel Smith, referring to the “family business” commentary. “You’ve got to have a passion, you’ve got to have a drive. And yeah, our household has existed in the company town that is Los Angeles.” He reiterated that it’s not just their names that have made them successful, emphasizing “a combination of talent, perseverance, drive, and no small amount of luck.” He admitted, “Now, without a doubt, we had a director who said, ‘Well, why can’t your kid play you at an early age?’ And that would make sense because we do resemble each other a lot.” But in the end, he says it came down to his kids’ capabilities.
