Matthew Broderick Slams The Nepo Baby Label And Questions Working With His Kids

Anna GoodSat, November 14, 2026 at 4:16 PM UTC

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Actor Matthew Broderick recently made an appearance on the Nepo, Baby! podcast, hosted by actor Jake Robards and actor-producer Emily Wachtel. In the interview, he shared a strong opinion about the term "nepo baby."

Nepo, Baby! / YouTube / Viayoutube.comWachtel asked Broderick, "Would you ever want to do a play with one of your kids?" Broderick told her, "I do think about it. We even had a real discussion about it, but I’m so scared of putting that pressure on him."

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Broderick went on to explain his reasoning and the struggles he has with his son following in his parents' footsteps. He said, "I suppose it has its drawbacks. I think it’s mostly a huge advantage if you have a parent in the [business]. A huge advantage. At the same time, there’s probably a lot expected of you, too. Comparing, and I don’t know."

CBS Photo Archive / Getty ImagesRobards jumped in to say, "When we chatted, you said something like, 'I don’t want to have him get hired for his name, but I don’t want him to not get hired for his name.' That’s so true."

Nepo, Baby! / YouTube / Viayoutube.comThat is definitely a difficult balance to strike, especially for those who have industry connections simply because of their parents or relatives. Watchel asked pretty directly, "Do your kids ever use the word 'nepo baby'?"

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Broderick said that he was sure they knew the term, but that James had never mentioned it to him. Robards claimed to hate the term (so why is your podcast named that?), while Wachtel "loves" it, seeing it as a boon to someone's career. Meanwhile, Broderick simply said, "It’s a nasty term, you know?"

Nepo, Baby! / YouTube / Viayoutube.comThere is a reason that Broderick, who himself is the child of an actor and screenwriter, thinks that the nepo baby term is nasty.

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He explained, "People got very into, like, crapping on kids of actors. Even though I think forever actors’ kids have gone into it. For thousands of years. Shakespeare, I’m sure all those theater companies had kids who went [into this]." Broderick sees it as "something to pick on; it’s just fun to pick on people."

Bruce Glikas / Getty ImagesBroderick is far from the only actor to call out the phrase "nepo baby." In a 2022 interview with GQ, Zoë Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, said of the term, "It's completely normal for people to be in the family business."

Rodin Eckenroth / Getty ImagesLily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp, explained, "People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part."

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And Jamie Lee Curtis, who is the daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, said, "There’s not a day in my professional life that goes by without my being reminded that I am the daughter of movie stars. The current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt."

Stefanie Keenan/Oscars / Getty ImagesNow, while James Wilkie Broderick is getting established as an actor, he's certainly not a household name yet. His first on-screen role was in the 2024 TV miniseries Lady in the Lake, with only a handful of other roles since then.

Sara Jaye / Getty ImagesWhat do you think of the term "nepo baby"? Is it positive, negative, or somewhere in between?

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”