Hollywood loves a buzz word and for the last few years, it feels like “nepo-baby” has been the buzziest. When you really think about it though, family giving family a leg up in life — in most cases — is rather innocuous and the concept doesn’t only apply to work in the entertainment industry, but in every field. Or at least this is what Maya Hawke — daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman — would want you to believe. Talking to The Times of London for a recent interview, Hawke defended her benefiting from her parents’ fame and admits she can’t help the life she was born into.
“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word… 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,” Hawke said when asked if she deserves the work she’s been given. Adding later, she said, “And I know that my not doing it wouldn’t help anyone. 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 didn’t end up doing that, instead opting to accept her lot in life. When considering how people would judge her, she said, “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.”
And people can say a lot. Especially considering one of her first roles was in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Thurman, Hawke’s mother, is well known for her collaborations with the writer/director on films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Kill Bill” and Maya wasn’t deterred from benefiting from that relationship.
“I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned. I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did,” Hawke said, later adding, “I had a lot of different conversations around it with my mum and it was always wildly supported.”
