Ben Still should still be a name relevant enough for younger readers, but he’s been a huge star since the 90’s and is most beloved as the catwalking Zoolander. (As well as Tropic Thunder, Night at the Museum and Royal Tennenbaums)
But you may not know he is the son of a prominent pair of actors, Jerry and Anne Meara Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Jerry played Georges dad on Seinfeld and Carrie’s dad on King of Queens.
Ok… so we’re all caught up.
So this week there was a bit of criticism over a new movie short called The Rightway that is … take a breath… written by Stephen King’s son Owen, acted by Sean Penn and Robin Wright’s son Hopper Penn and directed by Steven Spielbergs daughter Destry. Like good gracious.
Ben was quick to defend the celeb spawn and the assumption that nepotism played a part in them getting a shot.
“People, working, creating. Everyone has their path. Wish them all the best.”
He added: “Just speaking from experience, and I don’t know any of them, I would bet they all have faced challenges. Different than those with no access to the industry. Showbiz as we all know is pretty rough, and ultimately is a meritocracy.”
It’s that old complaint that some people in Hollywood wont work with the child of a star and so that is a disadvantage. That may be true (though no one has ever given proof) but that still leaves hundreds of other people in high places that WILL work with them.
Bunch of bullshit.
But these are hardly the first people to do this. Much of the cast Girls have famous parents and pretty much 70% of all models are somehow related to a celebrity. That’s life.
