Rafe Spall Shares His Surprising Take On The 'Nepo Baby' Debate

While plenty of so-called “nepo babies” in the entertainment industry are trying to keep as far away from the discourse as possible, Rafe Spall is clearly not among them.

The Jurassic World actor, whose dad is fellow performer Timothy Spall, recently spoke about his relationship with his famous father in an interview with The Guardian.

“My dad’s working class,” he told the newspaper. “I don’t know what I am, I can’t lay claim to be that. But when I told my friend recently I was gonna have another baby, he was like, ‘You working-class people really make babies easily’.”

During the interview, it was noted that Rafe is “asked often whether he would have become an actor, were it not for hero-worshipping his father”.

“And of course I can never answer,” he said. “But I have thought about it. So many people feel like [the acting industry] is not for them. Especially people that don’t come from privileged backgrounds, or go to nice schools. They feel like it’s beyond the realm of possibility.”

He then joked: “That’s where nepotism came in handy for me. You know the nepo baby stuff? I always think, why am I not getting mentioned? Turns out no one cares about me enough.”

Earlier this week, Rafe made headlines when he and his Trying co-star Esther Smith announced they are expecting their first child together.

Rafe is already a dad to three children from his previous marriage to Hollyoaks star Elize du Toit.

While discussions about industry nepotism are far from anything new, the debate was exacerbated in 2022, when New York Magazine ran a feature dubbed The Year of The Nepo Baby. 

Since then, plenty of public figures who have benefited from nepotism have spoken out on the subject – and they have very different feelings about.

While Dakota Johnson and Lily Allen are both among the camp who are firmly against being referred to as “nepo babies”, Girls star Allison Williams (whose dad is US news anchor Brian Williams) won widespread  praise for her take on the matter.

READ MORE:

• 'Incredibly Annoying And Boring': Dakota Johnson Has Some Feelings About The 'Nepo Baby' Debate

• Lily Allen Says 'Nepo Baby' Title Is Like Being Called A 'Karen'

• Tom Hanks Doubles Down On His Recent Comments In 'Nepo Babies' Debate