Blood is thicker than water, however family is rarely considered with casting calls. Family members are typically on the bottom of the list when it comes to casting, but there are instances when the production team is searching for the perfect casting choice and call upon a younger relative to portray kin.
Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson is set to play his late uncle in an upcoming biopic. The Jacksons aren’t the only household to keep it in the family. Casting directors sometimes use the maneuver for flashbacks and biographical films.
10 Willow Smith (Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa features Jada Pinkett Smith as the lovable hippo Gloria. When flashback scenes were needed to capture a young version of Jada’s character, the studio chose her daughter Willow Smith to voice a young Gloria.
The Smith family regularly collaborates on projects. Jaden Smith and Willow played the son and daughter of Will Smith’s character in The Pursuit of Happyness and I Am Legend respectfully. The Madagascar sequel marks the only time a Smith child has starred as a younger version of one of their parent’s characters.
9 Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
Tom Hanks portrayed Fred Rogers in the biopic about the television program centered around Fred Rogers. During promotion of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Tom Hanks discovered he and Mr. Rogers were sixth cousins.
Ancestry.com LLC linked the star of the biopic to Rogers. The family tree connects both celebrities by a great-great-great-great-great grandfather. The thin family ties offered no advantage and Hanks relied heavily on studying old episodes of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood for inspiration for the role.
8 Antandwa Kani (Black Panther)
The 1992 flash back scene at the beginning of Black Panther features a young King T’Chaka who bears a remarkable resemblance to the older actor, John Kani, who stars as the mature version` of the character. The parallels are a result of the lineage between the father-son castmates.
The MCU frequently leans on de-aging technology with flashbacks of their older characters. Special effects were avoided by casting Antandwa Kani who looks like a clone of his father.
7 Jaafar Jackson (Michael)
An upcoming biopic based on the King of Pop is currently in pre-production. Michael’s casting department selected the late singer’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, to portray the pop icon.
Michael Jackson’s biographical film is a family affair and has Jackson’s estate serving as producers of the film. Handpicked by the estate, Jaafar’s novice acting credits were overlooked because they feel the nephew’s singing and dancing from music videos will do Michael Jackson justice.
6 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (That ‘70s Show)
On the “That Wrestling Show” episode of That ‘70s Show, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson makes a guest appearance. The former professional wrestler portrays a younger version of his father Rocky Johnson.
Rocky Johnson rose to stardom in the 1970s in the National Wrestling Alliance. The sitcom capitalized on The Rock’s mainstream success by bringing him in to play his father.
5 Caleb and Cody Walker (Furious 7)
Brian O’Conner is a major character in the Fast and the Furious franchise and was played by Paul Walker. In Furious 7, after Paul’s death, his brothers Caleb and Cody Walker were used as stand-ins for Paul to help wrap production on unfinished scenes.
Walker suffered in untimely death after a fatal car crash in 2013 and Furious 7 became his last performance. The movie is dedicated to his memory and his brothers carried his torch in the action picture. Paul’s brothers and the special effects technology used in the Lord of the Rings series was used to recreate Paul Walker’s likeness.
4 Melissa Rivers (Joy)
2015’s Joy received critical acclaim for the acting in the biographical comedy-drama. Melissa Rivers lent her talents to the motion picture and starred as her late mother Joan Rivers in the biopic.
It was Joy director David O. Russell’s idea to cast Joan’s daughter in the role. The spitting image of the late television host is displayed during the QVC scenes in the movie.
3 Michael Gandolfini (The Many Saints of Newark)
Rolling Stone considers HBO’s The Sopranos one of the best television shows of all time. When the film prequel The Many Saints of Newark’s casting department were on the hunt for actors that could carry the mantle once held by James Gandolfini, they found a replacement in his son Michael Gandolfini.
Michael honors his late father by playing a teenage Tony Soprano. Michael was fourteen when his father passed and in an interview with Esquire, he revealed it was a difficult decision to take the role because he had to watch old episodes of The Sopranos to prepare.
2 Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!)
In 1971’s Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song, black filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles starred as the titular character and chose his son to portray the younger version of Sweetback. Over twenty years later, Mario Van Peebles directed a biographical film based on the making of his father’s blaxploitation film and portrayed his dad in the movie.
Since his acting debut in his father’s movie, Mario Van Peebles has followed in his dad’s footsteps as a director. Rotten Tomato critics awarded the movie with a 91% critic rating and the site labels Mario’s Baadasssss!, where he stars as his father, “an entertaining and intriguing tribute to a father from his son”.
1 O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton)
After director F. Gary Gray called for open auditions for the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea Jackson Jr. was cast as the rapper Ice Cube. The unknown actor was literally born to play the role as he is the son of Ice Cube.
Ice Cube served as a producer for the biopic. The nepotism garnered critical praise for his son’s strong acting chops. His acting skills, along with the uncanny resemblance, made the viewing experience for the audience seem like a time travel trip.