10 Projects That Let Actors Team Up With Their Kids

Sometimes Hollywood families bring their real life bonds onto the set, and the results are projects that place parents and children side by side in front of the camera or in a mix of acting and directing roles. These collaborations span decades and genres, from classic road adventures to award winning limited series and blockbuster connected universes.

Here are ten projects where actors worked directly with their own kids. Each one pairs a real family relationship with characters and stories that fit naturally within the production, whether through shared scenes, parallel timelines, or a parent guiding from the director’s chair.

‘Paper Moon’ (1973)

Peter Bogdanovich directed this black and white period film based on the novel ‘Addie Pray’. Ryan O’Neal plays traveling con man Moses Pray, and Tatum O’Neal plays Addie Loggins, the sharp orphan who joins him on the road during the Great Depression. The film follows their cons and cross country travels as they sell Bibles and pull small time schemes.

Tatum O’Neal became the youngest Academy Award winner for acting with her Best Supporting Actress win. Production used period appropriate cars, costumes, and locations to recreate the 1930s Midwest, and the father and daughter pairing anchors key scenes that show the duo working together as a team.

‘Rocky V’ (1990)

John G. Avildsen returned to the director’s chair for this entry in the boxing franchise. Sylvester Stallone again portrays Rocky Balboa, while his real life son Sage Stallone plays Robert Balboa Jr. The story places Rocky back in Philadelphia after financial trouble, with training and family scenes that include classroom and street moments for Robert Jr.

The film continues the series timeline after ‘Rocky IV’ and features scenes in South Philly gyms and neighborhoods. Sage Stallone appears throughout as the title character’s son, which allows multiple sequences where the two actors share dialogue that connects the family strand of the franchise to its boxing plot.

‘The Great Buck Howard’ (2008)

Sean McGinly wrote and directed this comedy drama that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Colin Hanks plays recent college dropout Troy Gable, who becomes the road manager for a veteran mentalist played by John Malkovich. Tom Hanks appears as Troy’s father, which brings the real life father and son into several scenes together.

The film was released theatrically after its festival debut and includes cameos by media personalities who appear as themselves. The casting places Colin Hanks in the central assistant role, with Tom Hanks as a parent who reacts to his son’s career choices, creating an on screen family dynamic that mirrors their real relationship.

‘Evening’ (2007)

This adaptation of Susan Minot’s novel follows a woman reflecting on a formative weekend from decades earlier. Meryl Streep appears as Lila Wittenborn Ross late in life, and Mamie Gummer plays Lila in her youth. Their casting uses a real life mother and daughter to portray the same character in different time periods.

The production also includes Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson, another real life mother and daughter pairing who play an older Ann Grant and her adult child. The ensemble approach lets several families work within one story, with scenes that shift between past and present while keeping character identities clear through the casting.

‘The Way’ (2010)

Emilio Estevez wrote and directed this drama that follows a grieving father who travels to Europe to complete the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Martin Sheen plays Tom Avery, and Estevez appears as Tom’s son Daniel in flashbacks and memories that guide the journey. The project pairs a real father and son in front of the camera while also placing the son behind it.

Filming took place on location along the Camino routes in Spain and France, using towns and landscapes associated with the pilgrimage. The film was released in multiple countries and brought attention to practical details of the walk, including the route markers, hostels, and the stamped pilgrim passport that documents each stage.

‘The Crown’ (2016–2023)

This historical series created by Peter Morgan chronicles the reign of Queen Elizabeth II across six seasons. Dominic West portrays Prince Charles during seasons five and six, while his son Senan West appears as Prince William for part of the season five timeline. Their casting places a real father and son into the roles of father and son within the royal family.

Senan West joined the cast for episodes covering events in the early and mid 1990s. Production used locations across the United Kingdom and detailed recreations of royal settings, with scenes that include Windsor and school environments for the young prince, which allowed shared storytelling between the two actors as their characters move through family milestones.

‘Maid’ (2021)

This limited series is inspired by Stephanie Land’s memoir and was created by Molly Smith Metzler. Margaret Qualley stars as Alex, a young mother who leaves an abusive relationship and takes work as a house cleaner. Andie MacDowell plays Paula, Alex’s mother, which pairs a real life mother and daughter in central roles throughout the ten episode story.

The series was filmed in British Columbia and uses specific details from the source material, including the client to client structure of cleaning jobs and the challenges of securing housing and childcare. The production schedule and episode order present both characters across past and present scenes that show their relationship as part of the main narrative.

‘Flag Day’ (2021)

Sean Penn directed this drama based on Jennifer Vogel’s memoir ‘Flim-Flam Man’. Dylan Penn stars as Jennifer Vogel, a journalist who investigates her father’s criminal past, and Sean Penn appears as John Vogel, the father at the center of the story. The production credits list Sean Penn as director and actor alongside his daughter in the lead role.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and later opened in North American theaters. It incorporates period details drawn from the memoir, including locations and timelines associated with the real events, and it uses scenes between the two leads to adapt the source material’s account of family history and legal troubles.

‘You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah’ (2023)

This coming of age comedy is based on Fiona Rosenbloom’s novel and was released by Netflix. Sunny Sandler plays Stacy Friedman, with Adam Sandler as her on screen father Danny Friedman. The film also includes Sadie Sandler in the role of Stacy’s sister, which places multiple members of the Sandler family in the main cast.

Production used contemporary middle school settings and community spaces for party planning, ceremonies, and friend group dynamics. The film credits Happy Madison as the production company and includes supporting roles for classmates and parents that frame the family unit at the center of the story, with several scenes featuring the real life family members together.

‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ (2023)

This Apple TV Plus series expands the MonsterVerse that includes ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Kong: Skull Island’. Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell portray Lee Shaw at different ages, which uses a real father and son to play the same character across separate timelines. The show links past and present investigations into the organization known as Monarch.

Episodes intercut the two time periods to show how events connect across decades. Production used international and North American locations along with large scale visual effects, and the choice to cast both Russells as Lee Shaw lets the timelines match mannerisms and character history through a single role shared by two actors who are related in real life.

Share your favorite parent and child team ups in the comments and tell us which project belongs on the list.