- There are many father and son actor duos in Hollywood.
- From Will and Jaden Smith to Tom and Colin Hanks, Insider rounded up famous dad and son duos who have appeared in movies together.
- They're not always playing relatives.
Father and son bonding comes in many forms. Maybe it's a fishing trip, or playing catch, but for actors with equally famous sons it can also mean starring in the same movie.
Some have waited years to find the right film to do together like Kirk and Michael Douglas. Then there's Ben and Jerry Stiller who have been on screen together four times.
Keep reading to see the famous fathers and sons who have been on screen together.
Will Smith and his son Jaden both appeared in 2013's "After Earth."
It wasn't the duo's first film together. Jaden Smith starred alongside his famous dad in 2006's "The Pursuit of Happyness," too.
In an interview from 2013 with Movies Ireland, Will Smith said after seeing Jaden have fun on set of "Karate Kid" with Jackie Chan he wanted to do another movie with his son.
"I started talking about some ideas and 'After Earth' was the first thing that Jaden really vibed [with] the ideas," said Smith.
The two appear to have a carefree relationship, which you can see more of in a clip from an "After Earth" press conference.
Comedic father-and-son duo Ben and Jerry Stiller have appeared together in several movies.
Ben and Jerry Stiller have been in four movies together: "The Heartbreak Kid," "Zoolander," "Heavyweights," and "Hot Pursuit."
Jerry said his son would always invite him and his wife on set when he was working on a project.
"We go, and it's a wonderful moment for Anne and myself to watch Ben shooting a movie," Stiller told the New York Post in 2012. "He's really good at it. I don't give him advice. I can't say a word. He knows more about film than I could ever begin to think I knew. He never says, 'Dad, what did you think of that?' The only thing I'd ever take credit for is, when he was 10 years old, I gave him a Fuji Super 8 camera."
Stiller's wife Anne Meara died in May 2015. Jerry Stiller died in May 2020.
Three generations of the Douglas clan — Kirk, Michael and Cameron — starred together in "It Runs in the Family."
Michael Douglas said his father never wanted him to go into acting. Kirk Douglas was quite critical after watching his son's first performance.
"I remember the first show I did, he came back and he said, ‘Michael you were absolutely terrible,’" Michael Douglas told ITV Lorraine’s Ross King in 2016, according to People. "And he was so relieved because he thought, ‘I don’t have to worry about my son becoming an actor, he was so bad.'"
This past February, after turning 100, Kirk Douglas told The Guardian he's proud of his son for not following his advice.
"I wanted him to be a doctor or lawyer, and the first time I saw him in a play I told him he was terrible,” Kirk Douglas said. "But then I saw him a second time and I said: ‘You were wonderful!’ And I think he is very good in everything he’s done.”
Scott Eastwood has had a bunch of small cameos in Clint Eastwood's films.
You can spot Scott in "Gran Torino," "Invictus," and "Trouble With the Curve."
In a joint interview with Esquire, Scott told his father advice he remembered his famous dad giving him.
"I don't remember how old I was when you told me this, Dad. But you said, 'As an actor, I never went back to my trailer. I always hung out on set and learned,'" said Scott in 2016. "That stuck with me. I'm on this 'Fast and the Furious' movie right now, and everyone goes back to their trailer. I stick around and say, 'Why you are setting up the shot like this?' I want to learn."
Eastwood is now a part of the "Fast and the Furious" family. He appeared in "The Fate of the Furious."
Brendan Gleeson and son Domhnall both starred in the "Harry Potter" series.
Brendan played "Alastair Mad-Eye Moody" while his son played Ron's cool older brother Bill Weasley. The two also starred in 2014's "Calvary."
Lloyd Bridges plays Jeff Bridges' uncle in 1994's "Blown Away."
The pair were also together in 1988's "Tucker: The Man and His Dream."
"He taught me the basics of acting, but what I really got from him was the joy he experienced while working," Jeff Bridges said of his father, who died in 1998, to People.
Donald and Kiefer Sutherland starred in 2016's "Forgiven" as father and son.
Previously, Kiefer Sutherland made a small appearance in 1983's "Max Dugan Returns," in which his father starred and 1996's "A Time to Kill."
"As much as I planned as an actor that this is what I want to do with the character, I was not expecting how powerful it was going to be when I looked into my father's eyes," Kiefer Sutherland said to the Los Angeles Times of playing opposite his father in "Forgiven."
James and Scott Caan played an estranged father and son in "Mercy."
Even though Scott Caan wrote the script, he told the Los Angeles Times it was a bit tough to get into the role since he and his father have a good relationship.
"For me, I'm in a scene with my father where a lot of that relationship is made up. And it was hard to portray that we were not close and that we didn't have a good relationship," said Scott. "I can't deny that camaraderie that we have in real life, and as the writer I'm thinking, 'That's not what this is, our characters don't get along.'"
The two previously appeared together in 1994's "A Boy Called Hate." In 2012, James joined his son on his CBS hit "Hawaii Five-0."
Charlie and Martin Sheen both starred in "Cadence" and "Wall Street."
Emilio Estevez (Sheen's other son) originally appeared as an extra in "Apocalypse Now"; however, the scene was later removed from the final cut. You can see him opposite his father in 2010's "The Way."
Tom and Colin Hanks played father and son on screen in "The Great Buck Howard."
Colin Hanks told CBS This Morning in 2015 his father was supportive of him going into acting, but to make sure it was what he wanted to do as a career.
"He said, If this is what you want to do, great, but you really have to want to do it because if you don't it's gonna drive you crazy,' and that proved to be right because even though it [acting] is what I love to do, it still drives me crazy from time to time," said Hanks.
Josh Brolin makes a cameo with father James in "My Brother's War."
The duo first starred together in TNT TV movie "Finish Line" in 1989.
Alexander and Stellan Skarsgård appeared together in 2011's "Melancholia."
Alexander Skarsgård told MTV in 2011 he enjoyed working with his dad, who he refers to as "a cool cat."
"We've never worked together before," he said. "He's one of my best friends. I love hanging out with him. Being able to hang out for two months — we shot in [our home country of] Sweden, and I thought it was great that he wasn't my dad."
Instead, Stellan plays Jack, the boss of the woman Alexander's character gets married to, in "Melancholia."
Jeremy and Max Irons both appeared in 2004's "Being Julia."
On an episode of "Anderson Live" in 2013, Max Irons said he told his father he wanted to act.
"He sort of warned me that it was a life of fear, paranoia, instability, jealousy. Optimistic stuff," said Max.
The same year, he told the Independent he'd prefer to work with his mother, actress Sinéad Cusack, over his father.
"That's my nightmare," he said of working directly with his father on a film. "My mum maybe, but my dad… that would be really difficult. Have you ever met him?"
However, the two were both in 2004's "Being Julia." Max played a small role as a curtain call boy. Jeremy starred as the main character's husband, Michael Gosselyn.
Dustin Hoffman plays the grandfather to his real life son Jake in 2010's "Barney's Version."
Paul Giamatti plays Jake's father. Jake was also an extra eating pancakes in "Rain Man."
Jake Hoffman told Today.com in 2015 he and his father are close.
"I have a great dad; I've learned a lot from him," Jake said. "Both of my parents have been influences in my life."