Michael Gandolfini, son of the late Sopranos star James Gandolfini, has shared a tongue-in-cheek response to being labelled a “nepo baby” – joking that having a deceased parent makes the label acceptable.
Speaking on The Downside podcast, Michael revealed that he and Cooper Hoffman – son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman – have developed a bit to deflect criticism. “Me and Cooper Hoffman have this bit where we're like, ‘we’ve gotta get rid of those nepobabies’. And then when someone says ‘...aren’t you guys that?’, it’s like ‘if one of your parents is dead, it’s fine. That’s the rule’,” he said.
Both Michael and Cooper have pursued acting careers following the deaths of their famous fathers. James Gandolfini died in 2013 at age 51, while Philip Seymour Hoffman died in 2014 aged 46. The pair have often faced scrutiny over their Hollywood connections.
The comments come amid ongoing debate about “nepo babies” in the entertainment industry. Other celebrity offspring have been less light-hearted: Lily-Rose Depp has insisted her famous parents didn’t secure her roles, while Dakota Johnson called the scrutiny “incredibly annoying and boring”.
Kate Winslet recently defended her son Joe, who wrote the screenplay for her film Goodbye June, arguing that “these kids are not getting a leg up” and noting that Joe was concerned his work would be dismissed because of their family connection.
