17 actors who involved their children in the film (18 photos)

According to Angelina Jolie, her daughter Vivien Jolie-Pitt got the role of baby Aurora in the movie "Maleficent" because other children were too afraid of Angelina in makeup and costume. They were frightened by the large black horns and scary eyes, and they refused to approach her. Stories of actors involving their own children in their films are not uncommon.





1. In the film "Maestro", written, directed and starring Bradley Cooper, his daughter, Leah Cooper, played the daughter of Leonard Bernstein (Jamie) as a child



This was her first on-screen appearance in a TV show or film.

2. In the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sean Astin's daughter (Aly) starred as Elanor, the daughter of his hero Samwise Gamgee





This was her first appearance on screen. She went on to star in several television shows and films, most recently The Morning Show and Candy Lane.

3. In the TV series Mr. and Mrs. Smith, John Smith is played by Donald Glover. His son, Legend Glover, appears in the fourth episode as Benjamin, the son of John's ex-girlfriend



This is his first on-screen appearance in a TV show or movie. Donald's real mother, Beverly, also appears in the final two episodes of the first season as John's mother.

4. Dominic West plays Prince Charles in the TV series The Crown. His son Senan West appeared in three episodes of the fifth season as the young Prince William



This was his first on-screen appearance in a television show or film. In the sixth season, the role of Prince William was played by Ed McVey.

5. In Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Hemsworth's daughter India Rose Hemsworth appears as Gorr the Godslayer's daughter Luv, who is eventually adopted by Thor



This role was her first acting job in a television show or film.

6. Also in the movie Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris's son, Tristan Hemsworth, portrays Thor as a child at the very beginning



This was his first acting job in a TV show or movie. In addition to Chris's children, the film also stars the children of Taika Waititi and Natalie Portman.

7. In the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Ewan McGregor's daughter, Esther McGregor, appeared in the second episode as Theta Grieg, a spice seller. Obi-Wan encounters her while searching for Princess Leia



This was one of her first acting jobs in a TV show or film after appearing in several short films. After that, Esther starred in the series "High School in 2022".

8. Vin Diesel has been starring in the Fast and Furious films since 2001. In 2021, in the film "Fast & Furious 9: The Final Saga," his son, Vincent Sinclair Diesel, appeared as a younger version of his hero Dom Toretto



This was his first on-screen appearance in a television show or film.

9. In 1999, Melanie Griffith starred in the film Mad Men in Alabama, directed by her then-husband Antonio Banderas. Melanie's daughter, Dakota Johnson, made her film debut at just 10 years old.



As already mentioned, this was Dakota’s first acting job. She got her next one 11 years later, when she starred in the movie The Social Network. Subsequently, she made a pretty good career, starring in such films as “Fifty Shades of Gray”, “Actively Searching”, “Suspiria”, “Stranger Daughter”, “In the Rhythm of the Cha-Cha-Cha”, “Madame Web” and others.

10. In 1992, Denzel Washington played the lead role in the film Malcolm X, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. His son, John David Washington, appears at the very end of the film as a student in a class in Harlem.



This was his first on-screen appearance in a television show orfilm. After John played one season of professional football for the St. Louis Rams, he had a great acting career. He starred in such films as “BlacKkKlansman”, “Tenet”, “Malcolm & Marie”, “Amsterdam”, “Creator” and others.

11. Melissa McCarthy starred in and wrote the screenplay for The Big Boss, written and directed by her husband Ben Falcone. In the film, their daughter, Vivian Falcone, played the child version of Melissa's character, Michelle.



This was her first on-screen appearance in a TV show or film. She later appeared as the younger version of the character Melissa in The Power of Thunder in 2021.

12. At the beginning of the film "Maleficent" you can see Angelina Jolie's daughter, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt. She plays five-year-old Aurora



This was her first on-screen appearance in a TV show or film. Vivien reportedly got the role of young Aurora because other young actors were too afraid of Angelina in Maleficent makeup and costume. Angelina explained: "The other three and four year olds were afraid to come near me. It had to be a child who liked me and wasn't afraid of my horns, eyes and claws. So it had to be Viv."

13. And in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt asked his daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, to play the child version of Caroline



This is her first on-screen appearance in a TV show or movie. She also lent her voice to the animated film Kung Fu Panda 3, which starred Angelina Jolie.

14. Bryan Cranston's (Breaking Bad) daughter Taylor Dearden appeared in the first episode of Season 3 as the "sad-faced girl" who speaks at a school assembly after a plane crash.



This was her first on-screen appearance in a TV show or film. Since then, Taylor has appeared in several television shows and films. The most notable was the role of Ophelia in the series “Sweet and Vicious”.

15. In Rocky II, Sylvester Stallone's son Sergio Stallone appeared as Rocky and Adrian's newborn son Robert "Rocky" Balboa Jr.



Sly's son, Sage Stallone, continued to play the role in Rocky V, and Milo Ventimiglia took over the role in Rocky Balboa.

16. While filming City Slickers, Billy Crystal asked his daughter Lindsay Crystal to play the role of his character's daughter in the film.



This marked her first on-screen appearance in a television show or film. Lindsay has directed such shows as Busy Tonight, Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl, The Daily Show and others. She also reprized her role in City Slickers 2.

17. And finally, when Martin Sheen was filming The West Wing, his youngest daughter Renee Estevez was cast in the role of Nancy, assistant to the executive secretary of the US President.



Renee starred in 44 episodes of the series, from the first season to the finale. Before appearing on The West Wing, she starred in TV shows such as Addams Family Reunion, New Agent MacGyver and Growing Pains.