Father and Son Acting Duos (& Trios) Who Have Worked Together

The Russells. The Smiths. The Hanks and the Douglases. Check out these legendary Hollywood fathers who've starred alongside their sons

Following in the steps of Kurt Russell, Will Smith and Tom Hanks can probably feel impossible at times.

And though their sons Wyatt, Jaden and Colin (respectively) may have at some points tried to steer away from intertwining their careers with those of their legendary fathers, a few good projects presented themselves and we got to see these dynamic duos — and in some cases, trios — on-screen together.

Check out these father-and-son actors who've appeared in movies and series together through the years.

Kurt Russell & Wyatt Russell

Though they've both been in the business for ages, Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell only recently worked together. This lookalike pair just finished playing the same character in the new Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Part of the allure of that project was that they got to play the same character at different stages of his life, not father and son.

"We started hammering away at it and saying, 'Let's make this good!' " Kurt told Entertainment Tonight during a sit-down interview with Wyatt.

Wyatt echoed his dad's sentiment saying, "[Playing] father and son is like low-hanging fruit. And we've never been people, genetically, who have gone for low-hanging fruit. It's just never been interesting [for me], it's never been interesting in his career."

Will Smith & Jaden Smith

Will Smith and son Jaden Smith famously appeared together in 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness and delivered powerful performances that earned Will an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Since then, they've collaborated on other artistic endeavors, including two films — 2010's The Karate Kid (which Will and wife Jada Pinkett Smith produced) and After Earth in 2013. The two have also done some music together, with Will jumping on the remix of Jaden's "Icon" in 2019 and then performing the song live at Coachella the same year.

Jerry Stiller & Ben Stiller

Jerry Stiller and Ben Stiller flexed their strong comedic genes on-screen several times. They first shared the screen back in 1987 when they played Victor and Chris Honeywell in Hot Pursuit. They continued to rack up the credits as Jerry appeared in Ben's productions, including Zoolander, The Heartbreak Kid and Anchorman.

Ben also had a cameo on The King of Queens, playing his father during flashbacks of the show.

Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas & Cameron Douglas

Three generations of the Douglas family came together when Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas and Cameron Douglas all worked together on 2003's It Runs in the Family. The trio mirrored their dynamic on screen, with Kirk playing the grandfather who had just suffered a stroke and Michael playing a womanizer going through a midlife crisis who's trying to save his son — played by Cameron — from falling into some detrimental pitfalls.

Tom Hanks & Colin Hanks

Though they've kept their careers largely separate, Tom Hanks and Colin Hanks came together for The Great Buck Howard, in which Tom played the support to Colin's lead role.

Tom & Truman Hanks

Years later, Tom Hanks again shared the screen with one of his children: his youngest son Truman Hanks. The then 27-year-old played a younger version of his dad's character in A Man Called Otto, which came out in 2023.

"Without a doubt, it's special because, you know, I changed his diapers," Tom said of working with Truman. "But you get past that right away because you gotta show up, and you gotta hit the marks, and you gotta do it on time, and you gotta be right there."

"I know what that takes, and he does too. It's a little different when it's the whole shebang," Tom continued. "He was cast for a very specific reason. We resemble each other, he's not a stranger, and he knows what the pressure is, and he's gotta do it."

Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez & Charlie Sheen

Martin Sheen acted with both his sons on separate occasions. He famously starred with Charlie Sheen in 1987's Wall Street before Charlie made a small cameo in Cadence, in which Martin was the lead.

Martin and Emilio Estevez then worked together on 2010's My Way, which Emilio acted in, produced, wrote and directed.

Clint Eastwood & Scott Eastwood

Long before he was a leading man in his own right, Scott Eastwood made several appearances in his dad's productions. Scott appeared in Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Torino, Invictus and Trouble with the Curve which either starred or were directed by Clint Eastwood.

Brendan Gleeson & Domhnall Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson and Domhnall Gleeson played two pivotal members of the Order of the Phoenix in the Harry Potter film franchise. Brendan first appeared as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) before Domhnall made his debut as Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010).

Donald Sutherland & Kiefer Sutherland

Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland delivered incredible performances when they played father and son in 2015's Forsaken. And though it was hardly Kiefer's first rodeo, he found that acting alongside his father added an emotional layer to his performance.

“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,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

“There was something about my dad being there that was a real trigger for me,” he added.

Stellan Skarsgård & Alexander Skarsgård

Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier tapped father-son duo Stellan Skarsgård and Alexander Skarsgård for his 2011 sci-fi/horror film, Melancholia. The two didn't play father and son, however.

"We've never worked together before," Alexander told MTV. "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."

Dustin Hoffman & Jake Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman and Jake Hoffman put a twist to their relationship when the Tootsie actor played Jake's grandfather in Barney's Version. They would pair up again for Sam & Kate in 2022, in which Dustin did play his son's on-screen father.

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