Tuesday
Nov272018
The Hedges
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at 1:47PM 
Lucas Hedges, Susan Bruce, and Peter and Simon Hedges
The Hedges were out in force in NYC last night for a special screening of Ben Is Back starring Lucas Hedges and written and directed by his dad Peter Hedges (Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life). The movie opens in limited release on December 7th. [More pics of the event at Just Jared]
(Woof at Lucas's older brother. Pity he's not an actor! But he is in the industry: he's an assistant director, recently worked on the great Jewish lesbian drama Disobedience and currently working on the new Les Misérables miniseries)
Reader Comments (21)
all three gentlemen look exactly alike!!!
Did Peter ever appear as an actor? He looks familiar.
::sips glass of water:: Well, hello there Simon.
I would like to suck Simon's balls
Simon Hedges has star potential
So Hedges is famous because of his family.
Jamie -- no, since none of them are famous - Lucas's rise began when Wes Anderson cast him in MOONRISE KINGDOM. But his dad has been a screenwriter/sometime director in the industry for awhile, yes.
I didn't know there was nepotism involved in Lucas Hedges' career but it makes a bit of sense.
Me34 -- but there wasn't. Hmmm. Where are people getting this from. This is the first time he's working with his dad! And his Dad isn't a famous director. It's like any case where you go into the same business as a parent. If you're not employed by them how is it nepotism? It's just being in the same business.
Of course nepotism is at play. Any child with a parent in the industry has access to many rooms that no one else has at that age (maybe ever).
Lucas Hedges has nothing left to prove.
A similar tempest happened on the Miss Golden Globe thread. A bunch of things can be true at once:
Having parents in the industry opens doors. Kids who grow up around the industry are more inclined to pursue entertainment careers.
You don't need to be famous to have connections. Moviemaking is a family business for many. Creative talent often runs in families.
And finally, who cares? I brought up Jamie Lee Curtis and Carrie Fisher on that other post and people got defensive like I was faulting them.
For making logic clear to the naive among us, condragulations Hayden, you are the winner of this week's challenge.
Yep, as an actor in London with a fair few actor friends with famous/industry parents, let me just say they are doing very nicely - much more so than those of us without. And a few of them like to labour under the delusion that they got there ENTIRELY by themselves, which can be frustrating.
But the key is not to get hung up on it and carry on regardless because they can't help their situation, and neither can you! If someone is good it shouldn't matter. Lucas is an excellent actor, so why shouldn't he be doing well?
Anyone denying Lucas Hedges has his career because of nepotism is ridiculous.
You don't need to be a super famous, household name A-lister to give your offspring a leg-up in the industry. Peter Hedges is an Oscar nominated screenwriter (About A Boy). He wrote and directed Pieces Of April. He wrote one if Johnny Depp and Leo DiCaprio's most memorable films (What's Eating Gilbert Grape). Even if you hhave never heard of Peter Hedges, he has the resume of a super connected industry player.
Lucas Hedges is a decent actor, but I don't think there is anything remarkable enough about him in looks or talent to have this flourishing career as a young actor, without his father's impressive achievements and rolodex. It's not a knock on Lucas, it's just the truth.
To be clear I really don't mind nepotism as long as the actor/filmmaker is actually talented. Lucas Hedge's is phenomenally talented. If anything I'm glad their connections brought the talent we can enjoy to a wide audience. But to pretend as though it didn't play a part and that he definitely would have the career he has now without an industry father is dishonest.
It's also not like Hollywood otherwise delivers a steady stream of artistic genius from obscurity. Plenty of basic, boring people become famous and successful without connections.
It's not super fair or meritocratic no matter how you look at the industry, so fixating on "nepotism" (when so many of those cases have turned out well!) feels like wasted outrage.
LOL- I was just curious and surprised.
As everyone knows- I am a huge Streep fan and all of her daughters are in the business.
I agree with- hiro
Maybe if Lucas had been cast in, like, Star Wars with no prior experience. Otherwise, no.
Also, the brother is damn sexy!
Agree for the most part with with Eoghan McQ. I think that Lucas has a talent that deserves to thrive, so I don't mind his connections. And hiro, it's nice you're not knocking him, but don't confuse your opinion with truth.