4 Fathers & Sons Who Played Fathers & Sons in Movies

In Hollywood, Bring Your Child To Work Day is kind of a big deal.

In Hollywood, Bring Your Child To Work Day is kind of a big deal.



Photo: 20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection | Licensed to Alpha Media Group 2013

Martin & Charlie Sheen in Wall Street 

Martin Sheen has acted the part of father to both of his celebrity sons in various movies: He played Emilio’s father in The War at Home, In the Custody of Strangers, and The Way, while also playing Charlie’s father in Wall Street and No Code of Conduct, as well as holding the memorable role in Charlie’s “When repercussions of an absentee celebrity father go wrong,” a short-lived web series. What’s sweet about Wall Street, though, aside from the father-as-a-moral-compass part, is that Oliver Stone gave young Charlie the choice of Jack Lemmon or his own father to play Carl Fox, and Charlie picked his pops. Hashtag WinningOurHearts, you guys. 

Tom & Colin Hanks in The Great Buck Howard 

In The Great Buck Howard, Colin Hanks plays Troy Gable, a young man who defies his father (Tom Hanks – duh) by dropping out of law school to chase the illustrious dream of being a Hollywood writer. While it’s pretty obvious Colin has followed the wisdom of his father to a T, we can’t imagine what Tom would do if – and we’re just talking hypothetically here – he maybe had another son, one that, instead of focusing on his education at a prestigious school, wrote fratboy rap songs instead or, even worse, showed up in Bratz: The Movie. That’s the kind of relationship someone should make a movie about!

Sylvester & Sage Stallone in Rocky V

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg-D3OMV1uk

The only character that was portrayed by a different actor in each of the Rocky movies was Rocky’s son, Robert. Robert’s was first played by Stallone’s real life infant son, Seargeoh, and then taken over by different child actors until the role fell back into the Stallone bloodline in Rocky V, when Sylvester’s eldest son Sage took over. Robert and Rocky’s tumultuous (you thought we were going to say “rocky,” didn’t you?) relationship on the screen wasn’t all that far from reality, which might explain why Sylvester chose not to recast Sage for Rocky VI, despite Sage allegedly wanting to take the role. Though the two reconcile in the series, it’s unclear whether the father and son reconciled in real life before Sage’s tragic death in July 2012.

Will & Jaden Smith in ThePursuit of Happyness and After Earth


Following in Martin Sheen’s footsteps, Will Smith is throttling down the Exploit your Son Expressway by thrusting Jaden into two of his own major movies before his 15th birthday. A wiry, teenage Jaden is currently being bossed around a post-apocalyptic Earth by his pops in After Earth, but before that, a bright-eyed, homeless Jaden was being pulled around by his father in the ThePursuit of Happyness. In an interview regarding their working relationship, the elder Smith said that their current flick was, “A great opportunity for he and I to talk in character about the emotional issues of Cypher and Kitai, and secretly address some of Will and Jaden’s stuff.” So, look forward to the next few Will and Jaden Smith father-son blockbusters: Where Babies Come From, Talking To Girls Is Scary, and It’s Okay, Just Wash The Sheets And Don’t Read Playboy Right Before Going To Sleep.

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