The performances that we see in Hollywood are so convincing that we never really realize that the actors we’re seeing aren’t actually family! Take The Conjuring, for example – the protagonists are so impossibly convincing as a family that it’s almost dismaying to think that they aren’t really related in real life. Or you could take the Stark sisters from Game of Thrones, who’ve become an extremely iconic duo in pop culture because they stick around each other off-screen as well, being silly and uploading Instagram posts together. However, none of that really comes close to how it is when two actual family members are on the cast together. Especially when the roles they’re playing are the same as the bonds they share when they’re not on the set. Different actors have different opinions on how that position complicates things, or perhaps even makes it easier, but we’re convinced that it’s really special to have someone so close to you being right next to you while acting. It’s almost like these people don’t have to act at all when they’re being siblings or spouses since the mindset is already established. You’ll probably be surprised to see some of these faces in our list if you didn’t know that they were related in real life!
Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal
You might remember Maggie Gyllenhaal from Batman: The Dark Knight, in which she did a spectacular job. In fact, we can’t really think of a movie in which this talented actress didn’t completely steal the show. Jake, on the other hand, became all-out famous due to his roles in Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko, and The Zodiac – he was one of the main reasons that these movies were the classic hits that they were. These two are siblings, and they’ve been given acting roles in movies as siblings more than just once. The first time they ever appeared on the screen as siblings were in a show directed by their own father, in which they got to act with their mother. Perhaps their most popular appearance together was in the movie called Donnie Darko, in which Maggie initially refused to take the role, citing that the director only wanted the role for her since she was related to Jake, and not due to her own acting skills. However, her humble attitude only impressed the director further seeing that he had specifically meant for the role to be hers, and this sibling duo went on to create a great film.
Dave Franco and James Franco
Dave actually didn’t want to act with his older brother, James, since he wanted to build his success on his own. He didn’t want to live in his brother’s shadow and have people think that everything he has is due to his brother offering him a crutch to lean on.
However, the duo is so good together that it’s hard to imagine them apart. Their most famous appearance together took place in the movie The Room, which is considered one of the best movies of all time just because of how goofy it is. They’ve worked on other movies too, including one called The Broken Tower, one that they made for their university degree in NYU. They’ve still kept away from each other for the most part, and have stuck to their own projects, but we’d all love to see them acting together more often!
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen
It’s probably everyone’s dream to act as themselves in a show, sort of like what Miley Cyrus did in Hannah Montana. Well, Mary-Kate and Ashley, famously known as the Olsen twins, did exactly that for their show called The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley. The duo have been together for a wide list of titles, and have even switched roles between each other when they were young due to how similar they look. They stopped acting as they grew older, but they’re still business partners and love working together. Talk about a perfect sibling dynamic!
It’s great to see siblings develop their personal bonds on stage, and them acting together simply makes the movies all the better. There are plenty of siblings and spouses who’ve acted together, and these were some of our favorites!
