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There are some professions that seem to be passed down through generations, like being a doctor or a musician. Sometimes it’s a choice that the younger generation makes by themselves and it just is in their blood. But there are cases when they are forced to continue the family tradition.

In cases when children choose or are forced to choose a career path similar to their parents, it can be easier for them to get a better paying job through connections as their parents or grandparents surely have them.

It may seem unfair, but it happens more than you would think. However, others really appreciate and respect when someone comes from a background that didn’t help them pave their own career path. Reddit user PM_me_Thor_nudes was worried that most big actors are a product of nepotism, but actually, other redditors proved them wrong, listing all the actors they know who didn’t have an advantage of knowing someone in the family who was already in the industry.

Do you think that actors who came from nothing deserve more respect than the ones who came from families having a background in the entertainment industry? Also, let us know if you know any more names that you think need to be mentioned in the list!

More info: Reddit

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#1

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Steve Buscemi was a firefighter before making it as an actor, but I think that's common knowledge by now.

Cats-over-People , Death of Stalin 02 Report

Final score:
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#2

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered The Olsen Twins. They literally supported their families financially by working their entire lives and then people have the audacity to belittle them and act like everything was handed to them on a silver platter. They literally didn’t have a childhood and have always been working. They don’t get the respect they deserve. They’re now still massively successful with their fashion lines and have earned the privacy to stay out of the spotlight.

Their sister on the other hand definitely benefited from the pathway they paved. But I just think about all the child stars who were literally the sole support of their family and they had no control over it. People make jokes about child stars going down bad pathways, but that’s more on the environment and the industry than it is on the kids. Imagine blaming kids for being introduced to things at a young age they shouldn’t have been introduced to. Drew Barrymore’s talks about the things she was exposed to as a kid being part of a family dynasty are so disturbing and the media blames the kids and not the industry that cultivated that environment.

End of rant.

svargs01 , Warner Bros. Report

Final score:
159points
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Chris Scritchfield
Chris Scritchfield
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think people project more anger at their mother onto them. As there have been several interviews roast and even documentaries made that villifies her as a monster onset. That and good old fashion jealousy.

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#3

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Mila Kunis used to work at the store her mom worked at even while she was staring on that 70s show to not let it go to her head.

Snake_Plissken224 , ColliderVideo Report

Final score:
151points
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varwenea
varwenea
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I liked her in the show, and I still like her today. She seemed more genuine than most. She and Ashton Kutcher are a great couple.

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#4

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Ryan Reynolds had a pretty humble background. I used to rent movies to his brother, back when rental stores were a thing.

givemethebat1 , vancityreynolds Report

Final score:
139points
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varwenea avatar
varwenea
varwenea
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

LOVE this man! Philanthropist, loads of local donations, owns Mint Mobile and Aviator Gin, always charming, humorous, and kind. His movies are always entertaining, too. I hope to see much more of him!

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#5

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Donald Glover. Dad was a postal worker and his mom was a daycare provider. Went on to be an insanely talented musician, producer, actor, etc.

SPOOKESVILLE , Jesse Chang Report

Final score:
138points
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Benyovszky
Benyovszky
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Up until this moment I sincerely thought his father was Danny Glover.

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#6

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered If you still count her, there is Milla Jovovich who was the daughter of a single mother from Ukraine. She's a nice lady who is still very down-to-earth. I've heard many good things about her.

nosmelc , millajovovich Report

Final score:
137points
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#7

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Mark Ruffalo is definitely not from a wealthy or well connected family. His family actually owns a pizza place in Kenosha, WI.

staffsargent , markruffalo Report

Final score:
125points
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Fat Harry
Fat Harry
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Saw the comment once, "Mark Ruffalo sounds like the false name a dog would give if it were pretending to be human".

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#8

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered I have a lot of respect for Adam Driver. He was the only main actor on Girls who didn't come from privilege or didn't have a parent who was already in the industry. Not surprisingly, he was the most successful actor after Girls ended.

PotentMiracleTonic , dtstuff9 Report

Final score:
113points
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#9

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Elijah woods parents ran a restaurant in Iowa city and weren’t particularly wealthy

DigitalFireStorm , New Line Cinema Report

Final score:
107points
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vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that he was acting from a young age i suppose helped them though

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#10

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Jessica Chastain. Grew up in a low income family and could only make it through Julliard thanks to a scholarship (actually awarded by a foundation led by Robin Williams, if I'm not mistaken).

thefrayedfiles , jessicachastain Report

Final score:
107points
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#11

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Channing Tatum. Grew up in Alabama and Mississippi, he basically only got into showbiz by being signed as a dancer, and he was only a Dancer because he used to be a stripper.

Ihateregistering6 , channingtatum Report

Final score:
104points
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#12

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Anna Kendrick is one of the prominent ones I can think of. No show biz parents, got her start in theater as a kid.

puppeteer23 , annakendrick47 Report

Final score:
103points
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varwenea avatar
varwenea
varwenea
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She was a sidekick in the Twilight movies, which transitioned to a prominent supporting role with George Clooney in Up in the Air, followed by 3 Pitch Perfect, Into the Woods, and numerous leads in rom coms. While the movie plots aren't always the best, she is always a joy to watch.

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#13

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Brad Pitt. Was working as the El Pollo Loco chicken on the corner of Sunset and La Brea while trying to make it in Hollywood.

revocer , DoD News Features Report

Final score:
103points
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vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And even though he didn't have a strong background he had the guts to threaten Harvey Weinstein to defend Gwyneth Paltrow! This could have destroyed his career

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#14

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Jennifer Lawrence is def one. She's such a good actress and comes from a normal background. Grew up in Kentucky and her parents run a summer camp for kids.

dancersniper , Gage Skidmore Report

Final score:
100points
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snipergun
snipergun
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She's just so humble and human at all times. Yes she also enjoys what she made and she has right to do so, but still, when everyone was cra*ping over Kirsten Stewart, Jennifer just came to her and gave her big hug when they met on red carpet, or when she came with perfect reply to question about diet she does when she wants to loose weigh, etc. She's unbelievable, very charming to me with that rough but pure big mouth.

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#15

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Sandra Oh. Her parents were middle-class South Korean immigrants and she paid out of pocket for her drama education at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. Her mom was a biochemist and her dad was a businessman.

InsomniaticAlien , iamsandraohinsta Report

Final score:
98points
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#16

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Wasn't Harrison Ford a carpenter or something first?

Edit: he pretty much was always an actor, but he wasn't satisfied with the roles he was getting early on, so he became a carpenter until he was discovered by George Lucas.

TortureSteak , Gage Skidmore Report

Final score:
97points
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#17

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Rachel McAdams

“born on November 17, 1978, in London, Ontario, Canada, to nurse Sandra (née Gale) and truck driver Lance McAdams

hamer1234 , Gage Skidmore Report

Final score:
94points
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#18

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered selena gomez. she literally came from nothing and worked as a child to support her family.

sel017 , selenagomez Report

Final score:
87points
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#19

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Awkwafina (daughter of IT worker dad, mother passed away when she was young), Simu Liu (son of engineers).

Kagomefog , awkwafina Report

Final score:
75points
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#20

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Matthew Mcconaughey and Forest Whitaker both came from Longview, TX. Both from modest families.

zetabur , officiallymcconaughey Report

Final score:
73points
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#21

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Chris Evans? Isn't his dad just a plain old dentist?

blackrock55 , chrisevans Report

Final score:
70points
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#22

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered First thing that came to mind was Dev Patel. Mother was a caregiver, father was an IT guy.

amig_135 , Gordon Correll Report

Final score:
65points
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#23

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered kelly marie tran (lead voice actor in raya, rose tico in star wars) was a nobody whose parents were vietnam refugees. she did collegehumor videos before rian johnson casted her in star wars. tbh i think most asian-american actors are a good place to look if u wanna search for talent without nepotist connections because most asian immigrants don’t start off in hollywood.

shrinkcylamen , MTV International Report

Final score:
63points
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UpQuarkDownQuark
UpQuarkDownQuark
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She was so charming in The Last Jedi. She didn’t deserve to be treated the way she was.

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#24

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Seth Rogen - went to public school, mom is a social worker and dad worked at a non-profit.

Fresca_p , sethrogen Report

Final score:
55points
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#25

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Vin Diesel was raised by a single mother and was doing community theater and independent projects which got him discovered for saving private ryan.

Finn Wolfhard: His father was a history researcher his mother was an assistant and designer.

I think in the UK something like 80% of the name brand actors come out of a few of the elite preparatory schools. There are a few standouts like John Boyega.

TBBT-Joel , vindiesel Report

Final score:
51points
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#26

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered I guess Simu Liu from Marvel's Shang Chi counts. He was an accountant for a brief amount of time before becoming an actor. I'm sure he didn't get rich being an entry level auditor. Simu attended a private school in Toronto. He probably didn't make Hollywood connections there but being around affluence is an advantage. Edit: I thought it would be an advantage being brought up around affluence and communicating with the other wealthy people around. Apparently I'm wrong.

Impressive-Potato , simuliu Report

Final score:
38points
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V Martinez
V Martinez
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I haven't seen the Marvel movie he's in, sorry. I have seen him in Kim's Convenience. He's a good actor and handsome young man.

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#27

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered Andrew Garfield’s parents were interior designers

YomYeYonge , Gerald Geronimo Report

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38points
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#28

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered The banger cast of Short Term 12 (2013) were pretty much nobodies.

Brie Larson - parents are chiropractors.

John Gallagher Junior - parents were folk musicians in Delaware.

Kaitlyn Dever - father voices barney. Make that what you will, not sure how much a voice actor can get you connections.

Rami Malik - immigrant parents (insurance worker and accounting) from Egypt.

LaKeith Stanfield - no info on his parents. Grew up in dysfunctional family in the middle of nowhere California.

Stephanie Beatriz - Immigrant from Argentina and grew up in Texas.

The director and writer of Short Term 12, Destin Cretton, was born in Hawaii to a hairdressor and firefighter. He is now the director of Marvel's Shang Chi movies.

Pancake_muncher , brielarson Report

Final score:
37points
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#29

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered I was suppose to be childhood friends with Taylor Lautner. (His dad would ask my mom for us to hang out together as children and play I guess?) He got the gig because his karate teacher just happened to know the yellow power ranger at the time according to my mom. And his dad was a jerk apparently.

Oniketojen , Eva Rinaldi Report

Final score:
30points
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tayobabalola14 avatar
TheBlackPanda (JustABlackBear)
TheBlackPanda (JustABlackBear)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This guy ruined his career because he thought he was a bigger actor than he really was. After Twilight he would ask for more money than he's worth when he got offered roles. Eventually they'd find someone else that would take what they're offering. He kept doing that until people forgot about him

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#30

Someone In This Online Group Asked “Which Currently Popular Actor Is Not A Product Of Being Well-Connected And/Or Rich?” And 30 Folks Delivered I think DiCaprio and Toby Maguire weren't connected. They were best friends growing up though and came up in the business together.

mbattagl , Georges Biard Report

Final score:
27points
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Patricia Murray
Patricia Murray
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know what to believe here. The movie Molly game it's well known that the AH (player X) is supposedly based on Tobey McGuire. That movie ruined me as a fan for him. I couldn't like him after that.

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