White Lotus Star Sam Nivola Reacts To ‘Nepo Baby' Label, Feels Proud To Have Found Work Himself
Sam Nivola is 'proud" he's never relied on his famous parents for help with his career.
The White Lotus star is the son of actors Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola and the pair banned him from auditioning for roles before he turned 18, but a year before then, his high school drama teacher helped him land an audition for White Noise and he sent in a self-tape in secret.
Once he made it through to the next round to play the son of Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig's characters, he confessed to his parents and they said: 'Holy f****** s***, it's a Noah Baumbach movie?! You have to do the callback!"
And asked about being a 'nepo baby", he laughed to Variety: 'Other than my genes, I don't think I can attribute much of my success to my parents. I feel proud that I've done it for myself, and sometimes in spite of them."
'[With my first role] I didn't get my dad's agent to call up so-and-so. I did it by myself. I didn't want to give anyone an excuse to be able to say that anything I've achieved has been because of anyone other than me. And I'm proud of that."
Emily and Alessandro were further 'upset" when Sam, now 21, dropped out of college after just one semester studying Latin and film at Columbia.
He said: 'My parents were upset. It totally scared them, which is understandable. I wasn't happy at the time because I couldn't dedicate everything in me to acting.
'And, I have problems with authority figures."
Despite growing up with parents in the public eye, Sam was unprepared for the level of fame The White Lotus would bring him.
He said: 'When The White Lotus was at its peak, I literally couldn't walk down the street in Brooklyn — my hometown — without being swarmed."
To escape the attention, the Perfect Couple actor and his friends asked ChatGPT to find 'the worst bar in the East Village" and ended up in a taproom where speaking was banned.
He recalled: 'We're yelling, 'This place is f****** awesome!' and everyone's like, 'Shhh!'"
view comments
First Published:
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
23 minutes ago
- News18
Want to work but people hesitant to cast after cancer diagnosis: Hina Khan
Mumbai, Aug 10 (PTI) A year after Indian TV star Hina Khan announced her breast cancer diagnosis, she says she can sense that people from the industry are still hesitant to work with her. The actor said work took a backseat after she fell ill and she had to leave a lot of offers. She is now back on the small screen with 'Pati Patni Aur Panga". 'This is my first project after the whole thing (breast cancer diagnosis) happened. I want to work. No one has directly said to me that, 'You've still not recovered completely', but I can sense that maybe people are hesitant (to work with me) for all the right reasons. 'It's okay. I'll have to break that norm. Maybe the show will do it, I understand it. Had I been in their place, I would've thought about it a thousand times. I'm open to auditions, where did I stop? No one has called me for the last one year, for all the reasons. I'm open to everything, please call me," Khan told PTI in an interview. The 37-year-old actor, known for shows such as 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai", 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2", 'Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8" and 'Bigg Boss 11", said she feels glad to have made a comeback to work with her ongoing reality show, which is currently on air on Colors Channel. The show features fan-favourite celebrity couples including Hina Khan-Rocky Jaiswal, Debinna Bonnerjee-Gurmeet Choudhary, Rubina Dilaik-Abhinav Shukla, Avika Gor-Milind Chandwani, Swara Bhasker-Fahad Ahmad, Geeta Phogat-Pawan Kumar, and Sudesh Lehri-Mamta Lehri. 'It was a big step for me to take up the show and it was an experiment as far as my health is concerned, like whether I'll be able to do it or not. So far so good, I get tired a bit, but apart from that, everything is fine. I'm ready to take up anything, be it a digital show, or anything, I would not take up long term commitment. If anything is offered (in films), if they find me worthy enough, then why not," Khan said. The actor said she is keen to play a spy agent. 'I want to be part of the spy universe, be it in OTT or in films. I was watching a show, 'Special Ops', I so wanted to play a spy, manifesting it," Khan said. PTI KKP BK RB view comments First Published: August 10, 2025, 11:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
38 minutes ago
- News18
Ayushmann Khurrana And Sharvari To Star In Sooraj Barjatya's Next, Shooting Underway In Mumbai
Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya says his next film is with Ayushmann Khurrana, who he described as a 'dedicated and fine' actor. Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya says his next film is with Ayushmann Khurrana, who he described as a 'dedicated and fine" actor. 'We're shooting the film with them (Ayushmann and Sharvari) in Mumbai, it's a story set in Mumbai. He is a dedicated and fine actor. It's all about getting the right story, and making it look real and making it with the right cast. Besides them, we've more people in the cast, like how we've it in all my films," Barjatya told PTI in an interview. The director has often teamed up with superstar Salman Khan in most of his films including his debut, 'Maine Pyaar Kiya", 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun", 'Hum Saath Saath Hain", and 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" – all of them blockbuster hits. He has also directed 'Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon", 'Vivaah", and 'Uunchai". Barjatya said he is a bit 'nervous" as the shooting for the film approaches. 'I've this nervousness before the shoot of every film. This has been there even when I made my first film, 'Maine Pyaar Kiya', it's (nervousness) still the same. As a creator, it's not about how much box office (numbers) it will do, it's about whether you're able to connect or not, with that thought or scene." 'For me, whether it's a film or a show, everyone should feel that the world that I'm creating is honest, it shouldn't look fake, like everyone should feel that this is how my house is. That is my biggest challenge. I want to make what I know, it's important to make every kind of film, but it's important to make family films," the 61-year-old director said. Media reports suggest that the upcoming film, a family drama, will see Khurrana take on the iconic role of Prem that Salman used to portray in Barjatya's films. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Sholay to be screened at TIFF in 4k restored version
Agency: New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) The restored 4k version of one of the greatest films, 'Sholay", which is set to complete its 50th anniversary next week, will be showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Ramesh Sippy and featuring an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Jaya Bachchan, and Hema Malini, the film released on August 15, 1975. It failed initially and picked up as the weeks went by, emerging as a classic film over the years. Be it dialogues, the friendship between Amitabh's Jai and Dharmendra's Veeru, Sanjeev Kumar's vengeful turn as Thakur or Amjad Khan's portrayal of the dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh that went on to redefine the Hindi film villain, 'Sholay" has stayed at the top of the pop culture charts — for five decades and counting. The Film Heritage Foundation shared the announcement of the film's screening in the restored version on its official Instagram handle on Friday, featuring the poster of the film. The event will take place on September 6. 'Indian cinematic epic 'Sholay' (1975), directed by Ramesh Sippy, celebrates 50 years with the North American Premiere of the restored version at the 50th edition of the TIFF Toronto International Film Festival! This special screening will take place on September 6, 2025, at a gala event at the 1800-seater Roy Thomson Hall befitting the legendary status of the film. The film has been restored in 4k by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Sippy Films Pvt," read the caption of the post. The restored version of 'Sholay" featuring six minutes of extra footage, including its original ending where Gabbar is killed by Thakur, was also screened at Italy's Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in June. The restoration process was spearheaded by Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films Pvt Ltd. PTI ATR ATR ATR view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
