Jessica Biel Draws a Hard Line on Nepo Babies, Even With Son Silas in Her New Movie

Jessica Biel is officially anti-nepo baby, and she’s not shy about saying it. On“The Great Chat”podcast this week, the actress said she and Justin Timberlake are determined that their sons won’t get handed Hollywood opportunities because of the family name. Her argument is simple: other kids work hard in acting and theatre classes, and her son can’t just take a part from them because he’s hers.“That’s not cool. We’re not doing that,”she said.

Except there’s a wrinkle. Their 11-year-old, Silas, does appear in Biel’s new film,“Matchbox: The Movie.”Biel explained that producer Jules Daly offered the part, and it’s genuinely tiny, no big monologue required. In fact, she said if the role had come with a monologue, she wouldn’t have let him do it. So the line, according to Biel, is about effort, not access.

Silas is also exploring DJing and comedy, which means the Timberlake-Biel house is basically a talent lab with strict rules attached. The whole thing lands right in the middle of the nepo baby debate, and honestly, it’s a conversation a lot of parents are having. So what do you think: is a tiny role in mom’s movie still a foot in the door, or is this exactly how you teach a kid about earning it? Sound off in the comments.