13 Celebrity Kids Who Played Younger Versions of Their Famous Parents on Screen

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October 31, 2024 at 4:22pm EDT

In Hollywood, just like everywhere else, some kids look like a carbon copy of their parents. From John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s son Miles looking identical to his dad or Bindi Irwin’s daughter Grace Warrior looking so much like her mama, so many celebrity kids have us seeing double! So, of course, it should come as no surprise that some celebrity kids have played younger versions of their parents onscreen. After all, there’s no one who looks more like them than their own kids, right?

Seasons" at Regency Bruin Theatre on January 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.

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Back in 2017, for example, actress Zoe Perry was cast as Mary Cooper in Young Sheldon, a character her mom Laurie Metcalf made famous in The Big Bang Theory. “We have lots of similarities when it comes to our voices and mannerisms, and I’m lucky that I have that at my disposal — not only for this part, but in general,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter of her casting. “When I act, if I stumble upon something that reminds me, unintentionally or unconsciously, of either of my parents, I’m grateful for it because I respect them so much for what they’ve done.”

“She’s been really supportive through the whole thing and I feel lucky that I get to share this with her in that way,” Perry said of her and her mom’s connection through the role. “At the end of the day, she’s a parent and she’s happy to see that her kids are OK.”

To check out more stars and their kids who have played younger and older versions of one another, scroll below!

Meryl Streep & Mamie Gummer

Image Credit: ©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

With a talent like Meryl Streep’s, it’s no wonder talent runs in the family!

In the 2007 movie Evening, Meryl Streep and her daughter Mamie Gummer played the older and younger version of their character, Lila Wittenborn.
Meryl Streep & Grace Gummer

Image Credit: Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection

Streep’s other daughter Grace has also stepped into playing their mom’s younger version. Grace played a child version of Streep’s Clara in 1993’s The House of Spirits.
Fernanda Montenegro & Fernanda Torres

Image Credit: © Sony Pictures Classics /Courtesy Everett Collection

In the touching 2024 Brazilian movie I’m Still Here, or Ainda Estou Aqui in Portuguese, Oscar-nominated Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro plays an older version of her character Eunice Paiva. Her daughter, fellow Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, plays her younger version.
Tom & Truman Hanks

Image Credit: Niko Tavernise / © Sony Pictures Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection, Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images

If you watched the 2022 film A Man Called Otto, chances are you scratched your head a couple of times by how uncanny Tom Hanks’ character Otto’s younger version looked just like Hanks. As it turns out, his younger version was played by his son, Truman.
Ice Cube & O’Shea Jackson Jr.

Image Credit: Brian To/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images, Jamie Trueblood/©Universal Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

Have you ever thought about who would play you in a biopic of your life? Well, for Ice Cube (né O’Shea Jackson Sr.) the story of his life in Straight Outta Compton was played by his own son, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
James & Michael Gandolfini

Image Credit: Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection, Barry Wetcher / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Michael Gandolfini paid homage to his late father James Gandolfini in 2021’s The Many Saints of Newark. In the movie, he played a teenage Tony Soprano, a role his dad made famous in The Sopranos from 1999 to 2007.
Susan Sarandon & Eva Amurri

Image Credit: Tracy Bennett/©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Susan Sarandon and her daughter Eva Amurri have shared a role a few times over the years. In addition to playing older/younger versions of each other in Sarandon’s Oscar-winning performance in Dead Man Walking, the pair played the same character yet again in the 2012 movie That’s My Boy.
Laurie Metcalf & Zoe Perry

Image Credit: Michael Yarish / ©CBS / courtesy Everett Collection, Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection

In The Big Bang Theory, Laurie Metcalf played Sheldon Cooper’s mom Mary from 2007 to 2018. Then, when the prequel Young Sheldon was announced, casting directors pulled the ultimate power move and cast her daughter Zoe Perry as Mary’s younger version.
Sean & Mark Harmon

Image Credit: Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection

In many ways, Mark Harmon is a legend in the world of NCIS. Through the years, he’s starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans and NCIS: Origins. And, between 2008 and 2020, his son Sean Harmon has stepped into Gibbs’ shoes to give fans a glimpse of his back story.
Mark & Michael Consuelos

Image Credit: Shane Harvey / ©The CW Network / Courtesy Everett Collection & Katie Yu / ©The CW / Courtesy Everett Collection

With parents like Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa, it’s no wonder that their son Michael Consuelos is dipping his toes in the acting pool. In 2018 and 2021, he even played his dad’s younger version as Hiram Lodge in Riverdale.
Max & Henry Winkler

Image Credit: Steven Ferdman/Everett Collection

Arrested Development fans, listen up, we’ve got a fun fact for you! Did you know that Henry Winkler’s own son Max Winkler was the one who played a young Barry Zuckerkorn in three flashback episodes? We didn’t either until now!
Robert Downey Jr. & Indio Falconer Downey

Image Credit: Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images

Looking at Robert Downey Jr. and his Indio Falconer Downey next to each other, it’s no wonder that they’ve once played older/younger versions of each other – they’re almost identical!

Falconer Downey played a 9-year-old version of his dad’s character Harry in 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Glenn Close & Annie Starke

Image Credit: Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett Collection

In the 2018 movie The Wife, Glenn Close’s character Joan was seen in two different timelines. The older timeline followed Close while the younger followed Close’s daughter Annie Starke.