Maya Hawke isn't shying away from the "nepo baby" label, admitting that her big film break was definitely due to her famous parents. Daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, Maya was cast by Quentin Tarantino in his 2019 hit, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. In the film, she played Flower Child, one of Charles Manson's followers. At the time, Maya mentioned she auditioned for the role, which led to some mockery. She now reflects, “I never meant to imply that I didn't get the part for nepotistic reasons - I think I totally did.”
- Hollywood Connections: Quentin Tarantino's casting choices for the movie were quite deliberate. Alongside Maya, he included Margaret Qualley (Andie MacDowell's daughter) and Rumer Willis (daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis), clearly aiming to cast "a lot of young Hollywood."
Maya's perspective on whether celebrity offspring deserve these opportunities is refreshingly candid. She shared, "'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." Maya acknowledges her privilege but also recognizes that stepping away wouldn't benefit 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."
- Staying Grounded: Despite the criticism, Maya maintains a grounded view. "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."
Recently, Maya has had the chance to work alongside both her parents. She starred with her mother, Uma Thurman, in The Kill Room and took on the lead role in Wildcat, a biopic about writer Flannery O'Connor, directed by her father, Ethan Hawke.
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