Maya Hawke is "comfortable with not deserving her life" while discussing nepotism and getting opportunities in Hollywood

Maya Hawke, the American actress and singer-songwriter, recently opened up about her path to Hollywood. She spoke about being a "nepo baby" while talking about her life in show business.

The 25-year-old is the daughter of Hollywood actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. On Saturday, June 1, 2024, The Times of London published an interview with the actress, titled "Maya Hawke: My life as a Hollywood nepo baby". She talked about her current life, saying:

"'Deserves' is a complicated word. There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway. And I know that my not doing it wouldn’t help anyone. I saw two paths when I was first starting and one of them was: change your name, get a nose job, and go to open casting roles."

Hawke claimed she was “comfortable” choosing the second option and embracing her nepotism.

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Maya Hawke talks about nepotism and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ casting

Maya Hawke acknowledged that she has had an advantage in the music and acting industry because of her parents, Ethan and Uma. She was cast by Quentin Tarantino in the movie Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood back in 2019. The actress played the role of Flower Child, one of Charles Manson's followers. It was one of her first major projects.

On Saturday, Maya Hawke had an interview with The Times of London about getting the role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, in 2019, the star claimed that she got an audition "through the normal channels through my agents" However, she also added that she recorded the tape with her father in her bedroom and sent "the tape to Quentin and I got a callback."

Maya Hawke said in the Times interview that she was mocked for her comments that implied she was cast in the movie based on skill alone. She added,

"I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned. I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did."

The Stranger Things actress said she was comfortable with "not deserving" her life and said that she had chosen the option to go to open-casting roles. However, Maya Hawke mentioned people making fun of her and claimed that it has not affected her relationship with her parents. She said,

"It’s OK to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. It’s a lucky place to be. My relationships with my parents are really honest and positive, and that supersedes anything anyone can say about it."

In the interview, she revealed that she had several conversations with her mother Thurman about working with Tarantino, saying that "it was always wildly supported." She said that collaborating with the film director who "had been such an influential part of my mum's life was really meaningful to me."

Maya Hawke also expressed gratitude for her biggest role to date, Robin in Stranger Things. She appreciated the character saying,

"I feel so lucky that my, for lack of a better word, breakout role was this smart, funny, awkward and goofy person. I didn't have to be a femme fatale — not that I have what it takes to be one."

She played the role in the the third and fourth seasons of the sci-fi Netflix series.

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Maya Hawke's third album Chaos Angel was released on May 31, 2024.