Joshua Jackson Revealed He’s a 'Nepo Baby' & We Had No Idea His Mom Worked in Hollywood

With titles like Dawson’s Creek and Fatal Attraction in his career, Joshua Jackson is one of Hollywood’s many household names. But, if viewers tuned into his interview with Access on the 2024 Emmys red carpet, they might’ve learned an unexpected fact about him that they didn’t know before: he’s a “nepo baby!”

In the interview, as Jackson reminisced about the beginning of his career on the carpet, the actor admitted he only got the part because of his mom, Fiona Jackson.

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“My first movie job I booked on my 11th birthday, 1989,” he told the outlet. “And I only got the audition [because] actually, technically, I’m a “nepo baby” in the weirdest possible way.”

“My mother was the casting director and she was a single mom and so I was in the office all the time because she didn’t have childcare,” he explained. “As they were trying to cast up these roles, they couldn’t find the kids and so they were like ‘Hey you, do you want to come and jump in here?’ and that’s how my career started.”

Fiona worked on several famous projects throughout her casting director career, including MacGyver and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

And, at just 11 years old, Jackson was cast by her “to play the younger version of Pete Berg’s character in a flashback sequence in a movie called Crooked Hearts.” And the rest is history!

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 11:  (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) (L-R) Aisleagh Jackson, brother Joshua Jackson and mother Fiona Jackson pose at the opening night after party for the play "Children of a Lesser God" on Broadway at The Edison Ballroom on April 11, 2018 in New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
Aisleagh Jackson, Joshua Jackson and mother Fiona Jackson pose at the opening night after party for the play Children of a Lesser God on Broadway at The Edison Ballroom on April 11, 2018 in New York City.

But despite being basically born into the entertainment industry, Jackson admitted on another red carpet that his life as an actor isn’t all sunshine and roses.

“I’ve had such an unbelievably lucky life, [a] fortunate life, to be able to do this for 35 years now, but through those times, there are some difficulties — like every life,” Jackson told Laverne Cox for E! News. “Some bumps and bruises.”

“There have definitely been times where I’ve questioned whether or not I still had the fire, the passion to do this because I truly love what I do and when the passion isn’t there, it feels like someone else should have that opportunity,” he added.

Luckily, it seems Jackson’s been able to garner passion for his work no matter what. Later this month, for example, he’s set to star in the new series Doctor Odyssey. We can’t wait!

Before you go, click to see all the best looks at the 2024 Emmys.

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