Zosia Mamet Weighs in on Nepotism in Hollywood
Zosia Mamet. Frederic J. Brown / AFP
Zosia Mamet, the star of the hit HBO series Girls, has shared her thoughts on the nepotism discourse in Hollywood, revealing that her famous parents didn’t make her journey to stardom easy.
As the daughter of renowned filmmaker David Mamet and actress Lindsay Crouse, Zosia admits that having a famous name opened some doors for her, but it also presented unique challenges. “I was actually met with more of a challenge,” she explained in a recent interview. “Because people knew I was coming in with a famous name, it meant that I was walking into the room with baggage.”
Zosia recalled an instance where a casting director commented on her resemblance to her mother, and another where a producer had a bad experience working with her father. These experiences, she believes, made her work harder to prove herself in the industry.
Zosia emphasized that having a famous family doesn’t guarantee success. “It’s not like you’re born to a famous family and the red carpet rolls out for you and your career is made. Because also at the end of the day, if you don’t have the talent or the ability to back it up, a name can only get you so far.”
Despite the challenges, Zosia acknowledges that her famous relatives have helped her in some ways. One of her early film roles was in the 2004 action thriller Spartan, directed by her father.
Zosia and David Mamet. Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
Zosia’s father, David Mamet, has faced criticism for downplaying his daughter’s nepotism, claiming that she earned her career through “merit.” Zosia admits that she gets annoyed by her father’s comments, but has learned to take a step back and focus on her own journey.
“I guess it’s sort of my version of counting to 10 when he says s–t like that — I’m just like: ‘OK, take a breath, count to 10, and let it go,'” she said.