Making it in Hollywood is no easy feat and many top stars have had moments where they were starving artists just waiting to land their first big role. It’s a pretty brutal industry and it’s not easy to get cast in a role that will transform dreams into a long-lasting career, well, that is unless you come from an entertainment family and you have a lot of connections.

Turns out, there are quite a few actors and actresses who got their first taste of fame, thanks to their famous parents' decision to cast them in their films or TV series. Did they decide to do this because of nepotism, or was this actor really right for the job? It's true that some actors deserved the part their parent gave them, but others were criticized for their performance and critics questioned the directors choice to cast their child was the right one. But, not all roles are just handed to these Hollywood kids, because Scott Eastwood, the son of the famed actor-turned-director, Clint Eastwood, has claimed that he had to audition for any parts he got in his dad’s movies.

Below are 15 stars who appeared in roles, ranging from minor to major, in their famous parent’s films.

Stephen Gyllenhaal Gave Jake Gyllenhaal Direction In Homegrown

Most people know Jake Gyllenhaal has a sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is also in the entertainment industry, but it’s lesser known that he actually comes from a showbiz family and his father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a director. And before Jake was a big star, he had small parts in some of his dad’s films, including the 1998 film, Homegrown, as well as the 1993 film, A Dangerous Woman. The latter, in which he played the small part of Edward, was really a family affair because it was directed by his father and written by his mother.

It seemed likely that Jake would develop a love for the arts, given that both his parents were so passionate about working in the industry, and he previously shared a little about his childhood in an interview with The Guardian. He said, “Home was like a circus, with writers and filmmakers coming in and out. We had a room above the garage rented by Steven Soderbergh— before he was Steven Soderbergh. We were brought up with a great respect of storytelling.”

Clint Eastwood Made Scott Eastwood Audition For His Roles, Including Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood is one of those people in the entertainment industry that can do just about everything, and after a long and successful acting career, he became a director— who had no problem bringing his children in for roles in his films.

Scott Eastwood is one of Clint’s children and is now a talented actor in his own right with movies like The Longest Ride and Pacific Rim: Uprising under his belt, but before he was the big star he is today, he appeared in the 2008 movie, Gran Torino, as the character, Trey. Despite this role in a film his father directed, Scott, revealed his father hasn't handed him everything on a silver spoon.

Scott had to pay for his own college tuition, as well as audition for the roles in his dad’s movie, which he’s now really grateful for. He told Sunday People, “It was probably the best thing dad could have done for me. He could have made it easy but I wouldn’t have learned anything from that.”

Clint Eastwood Found A Part For Francesca Eastwood In Jersey Boys

I know, you’re probably wondering why Clint Eastwood has made this list twice, but that’s because he has more than one child and it's not just his son, Scott, who has appeared in his movies, but also his daughter, Francesca Eastwood.

When she was six, she landed her first role, playing the part of Kate Everett in the 1999 film, True Crime, and, more recently, she had a small part as a waitress in her father’s 2014 film, Jersey Boys. Francesca’s not as famous as her brother, and a New York Post interview notes that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to follow in her parent’s footsteps and become a Hollywood star. She admitted, “I didn’t want to be just another kid who becomes an actress — another struggling actress.”

That has obviously changed, and in addition to the parts she’s auditioned for with her father’s movies, she has also appeared in Final Girl, M.F.A., and The Vault.

Richard Linklater Included His Daughter Lorelei Linklater In His Masterpiece, Boyhood

Lorelei Linklater is an only child, and she starred in her director father, Richard Linklater’s movie, Boyhood, the film that took more than a decade to make.

Lorelei’s character was Samantha, and she was nine when her dad first started filming over a 12-year period. She told Dazed that she wanted the part after her dad told her about the characters that would be in his movie (which was finally released in 2014), and said, “I figured out that one of them was my age, and I was very interested in acting at that age and I begged him for the part.”

Lorelei also told the publication that watching her life on screen “was really hard to watch.” And the reason for this is because she felt she “really unhappy” with the way she looked in the movie, even going so far as to say she was an "ugly" kid.

Judd Apatow Made This Is 40 A Family Affair With Maude Apatow And Iris Apatow

The director, Judd Apatow’s, movie, This Is 40, was really a family affair because, in addition to casting his wife, Leslie Mann, in the film, he also chose to cast his two daughters, Maude Apatow and Iris Apatow, as his wife’s character, Debbie’s, kids.

As for why he decided to cast their daughters, he told Reuters this decision was made because it was very important for him to have his family involved. He said, “The key for me was that 3/4 of the family was a real family so when they looked at each other, you could tell they love each other or they’re hating each other and the emotions are very real.” He also commented on how children in movies often don’t seem as though they are a really apart of that family, but by casting his own kids this was obviously not a problem.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Daughter Patricia Hitchcock Appeared In His Big Hit, Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock is celebrated for being one of the most one of the most influential directors in cinema, and his daughter, Patricia Hitchcock was also an actress, who secured a couple of roles in her father’s films. These included the 1960 film, Psycho, in which she played the role of Caroline, and the 1951 film, Strangers on a Train, in which she played Barbara Morton.

Years later, in 1999, Patricia gave an interview to The Guardian, in which she discussed many aspects of her life, including her parents, and she had nothing but praise for her late father. She said, "My parents were ordinary people. I know a lot of people insist that my father must have had a dark imagination. Well, he did not. He was a brilliant film-maker and he knew how to tell a story, that's all."

Ernie Lively’s Movie, Sandman, Initially Put Blake Lively Off Acting

Blake Lively has proven herself as a serious, dedicated actor, but her very first role was thanks to her father, the director, Ernie Lively, who cast her as Trixie/Tooth Fairy in his 1998 movie, Sandman. She was 11 at the time, and after her role, she didn’t care for being an actress and, instead, decided to focus on her studies. The National notes that it was her brother, Eric Lively, who got her back into acting.

Lively said at the time, "I was preparing to go to college. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew it wasn't acting. However, I didn't want to upset my brother so I went on a few auditions.” She was lucky she listened to him because she ended up landing a role in the 2005 film, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. After which she admitted, "I loved the experience and thought maybe I was wrong and I did want to act…” we all know what happened next.

Bruce Paltrow And Gwyneth Paltrow Joined Forces For High

Bruce Paltrow was a screenwriter and director, as well as the father of Gwyneth Paltrow, who he cast in his in 1989 TV movie, High. And according to Gwyneth’s IMDB profile page, this was her first film credit. She also praises her father for teaching her to have a good work ethic because he was self-made.

"I grew up with the benefit of a great education and a beautiful house, but my father always said: 'The day you leave, that’s it. You’re not getting anything,'" she said, The Telegraph reports.

She says Bruce was adamant she should make it on her own, and he never changed his mind about giving her financial support, saying,  “He stuck to it. He was so hardcore about me making my own way. I’ve earned everything myself, and I’ve never taken any money from anyone – my father really pounded that into me, so I got the message.”

Francis Ford Coppola Received Criticism For Casting Sofia Coppola In The Godfather: Part III

There was a bit of a controversy surrounding the director, Francis Ford Coppola’s, decision to cast his daughter, Sofia Coppola, in The Godfather: Part III because the part in the 1990 film had already been given to Winona Ryder. Ryder was too exhausted and ill to continue with it, but, instead, of casting another well-known and established actress, Francis took a risk and chose his daughter for the part.

Sofia played the role of Mary, the daughter of Mafia Don Michael Corleone, and the decision to cast her raised a lot of eyebrows because according to Entertainment Weekly, she had little acting experience and this was a bigger part than one she’d ever had before. The publication also notes that when the film was screened it was met with harsh reviews and members of the audience laughed at Sofia’s performance.

Matthew Weiner Found The Perfect Part For Marten Holden Weiner In Mad Men

When Matthew Weiner created Mad Men, he ensured that there was a part for his son, Marten Holden Weiner, in the hit series, even though he had never acted before he landed this role. Marten played the role of Glen Bishop in 12 episodes of the show from 2007 to 2015, and although it wasn’t a particularly big part, it was a recurring one.

Matthew discussed his decision to cast his son in an interview with NPR, telling them simply, "He was cast because he was the best person available for the role." He also revealed that it was not initially his idea and that he had been “counseled against it from all the complications that could happen from him failing at that job" but his son did a fantastic job.

Apart from his son’s acting abilities, Matthew also noted that it was “beautiful” to be able to have his son with him because he works a lot, and it was a great opportunity for them to spend time together.

Tim Robbins and step-daughter Eva Amurri Martino In Bob Roberts

This is not so much a case of a father directing his child in a movie but it could be seen as a case of nepotism because Tim Robbins cast his (almost) step-daughter, Eva Amurri Martino, in his 1992 film, Bob Roberts. It wasn’t a big role, and according to the film’s IMDB page, she was cast as a child in a hospital, but it was her first ever acting part.

For those who don’t know how these two are linked, Eva Amurri Martino is the daughter of Susan Sarandon and the Italian director, Franco Amurri, and after her parents split, Sarandon started dating Tim Robbins in the ‘80s.  The pair met on the set of Bull Durham and were together until 2009, and their relationship produced two sons, Jack Henry Robbins and Miles Robbins— plus, a role for Eva.

Kevin Smith Directed His Favorite Star Harley Quinn Smith In Yoga Hosers

Kevin Smith released the comedy/horror flick, Yoga Hosers, in 2016, and the two main stars were his own daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, and Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose Depp— the two girls are actually friends in real life. But this is about Harley Quinn Smith’s relationship with her dad, not Depp, and it appears the two are very close because he has even admitted that she is his favorite actor to work with. He also credits her for helping him renew his love for films.

According to Comic Book, in a Q&A session with his daughter, Kevin gave a big speech about why she is the best person for him to work with, and one of the reasons was because when he worked with her and Depp he felt young and fun again. He concluded by telling his daughter, "You made me want to be a better filmmaker, more than anyone in this world, because I was like, 'Oh, I could be useful to her.' So, yeah, because of that, you're my favorite performer."

Jules Mann Stewart Cast Kristen Stewart In A Cameo For K-11

Kristen Stewart made it big thanks to her role in the Twilight saga, but after her success, she agreed to appear in a cameo role for her mother, Jules Mann Stewart’s, prison drama, K-11. According to her IMDB page, she was the woman credited with Ray's Secretary’s voice, but she chose not to take on a bigger role than that.

Unfortunately for Jules, the film did not get rave reviews and actually, critics had a lot of unpleasant things to say about the film with The New York Times commenting on how “K-11 was wisely abandoned by Ms. Stewart’s more famous daughter, Kristen.”

Even though their work together was not critically acclaimed, and it was not a case of nepotism considering Kristen had already earned her place in Hollywood, it is interesting all the same that these two women worked together.

Ron Howard’s Own Daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, Was In Parenthood

This is the smallest case of nepotism you’ll ever see, but Ron Howard’s daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, did appear in his 1989 film, Parenthood before she was famous. Although she was only an uncredited extra with red hair in the audience, so it was definitely not a big part. That said, the fact that Ron Howard had children helped him relate to the child stars on set, at least, that’s what Alisan Porter, who portrayed Taylor, has claimed, Huffington Post reports.

But it’s not surprising that the role she got was insignificant, because Bryce even dropped her last name when she first started acting. The reason? She confessed, “I had dropped it because of insecurity. I didn’t want people to say I’d got a role because of my dad, but then later my parents asked me, “Aren’t you proud to come from our family? Is there something that we’ve done?” And I was like, “Omigosh, no, I am so proud of you guys!”

Aaron Spelling Influenced Tori Spelling’s Role In Beverly Hills, 90210

Aaron Spelling was the executive producer of Beverly Hills, 90210, in which his daughter, Tori Spelling, played the role of Donna Martin. He was reportedly also very involved in decisions taken about her character, as Entertainment Weekly notes that the writer/producer, Larry Mollin, has said that after fans criticized Donna for staying with her no-good boyfriend Ray (played by Jamie Walters), Aaron demanded the character was written off the show, despite being in breach of contract.

Tori also benefited from having family in high places and later admitted to asking her father to get rid of Shannen Doherty on the show, because of the incidents that took place between Doherty and Jennie Garth. Her father gave her everything on a silver spoon, but this has been damaging for Tori later on in life, and according to Daily Mail, she revealed in her book, Spelling It Like It Is, that because she grew up the way she did she finds it very hard to live a simple life.

References: Dailymail.co.uk, News.com.au, EW.com, HuffingtonPost.com, NYTimes.com, IMDB.com, Collider.com, Comicbook.com, EOnline.com, TheNational.ae, Telegraph.co.uk, Dazeddigital.com