Tom Hanks Weighs in on Hollywood Nepotism Conversation and His Kids Acting: 'We Have to Do the Work'

Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty The Hanks family

Tom Hanks is giving his two cents on the Hollywood nepotism debate.

The Academy Award winner recently spoke with Reuters, per The Sun, about his role in A Man Called Otto and the "family business" of entertainment, which is participated in by Tom, wife Rita Wilson and his four kids: Colin Hanks, Elizabeth Hanks, Chet Hanks and Truman Hanks.

"This is what we've been doing forever," said Tom, 66. "It's what all of our kids grew up in. We have four kids — they're all very creative, they're all involved in some brand of storytelling."

"And if we were a plumbing-supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year," the actor added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Karwai Tang/WireImage Tom Hanks and son Truman Hanks

RELATED: Tom Hanks Makes A Man Called Otto Premiere a Family Affair with Wife Rita Wilson and Son Truman

"The thing that doesn't change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not," he said, referring to his family's respective projects.

"That's the issue anytime any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story, or create something that has a beginning, middle and end," the Forrest Gump star said. "Doesn't matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience."

"And that's a much bigger task than worrying about whether anybody's going to try to scathe us or not," he concluded.

Tom's comments come amid others from several successful actors born into famous families, like Jamie Lee Curtis, Kate Hudson and Allison Williams, in response to conversation sparked last month by a New York magazine cover story on nepotism.

Truman, Tom's youngest child, plays the younger version of his dad's crotchety character in A Man Called Otto, based on Fredrik Backman's 2012 novel A Man Called Ove.

"I talked [to Truman] a little bit about some physical gestures and the way to walk when you're pissed off," Tom said last month during a screening and Q&A for the film at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

"The good news is that I looked like him when I was 26. The bad news is he's gonna look like me in another 40 years," Tom joked in addition. "He is just gonna have to deal with that."

A Man Called Otto is in theaters now.