Some might call it the unbearable weight of being in the public eye — or of Hollywood nepotism.
“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” star Lily Sheen, daughter of Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen, is speaking about the “difficult” experience of growing up with famous folks — like her character in the film in which Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself.
“I was lucky enough to not have this exact upbringing, but having a dad that is Nick Cage, having a family member that is in the industry, it can be difficult and relationships can really easily be frayed,” the actress, 23, told Los Angeles Magazine in an interview published Tuesday.
Though a large part of the film sees Cage (fictionalized Nick instead of real-life Nic) struggling to stay relevant in film and in turn ending up embroiled with the CIA and drug cartels, the strained relationship between the actor and daughter Addy is a running theme.
Sheen — who was previously seen in her mom’s films like “Underworld: Evolution,” “Click” and “Everybody’s Fine” — said she found the process of “finding the comparisons and contradictions between me and (my character) Addy” to be “really cool.”
In real life, Sheen said she had a hard time having “to go yell at” the 57-year-old actor “about being a bad father,” because she “liked him so much as a person” off-screen.
“He’s the ideal scene partner to have as an actor and he’s incredibly giving and patient with every other actor on set, especially with me, which was really important for our relationship as well,” Sheen told the magazine.
Now viewing the Oscar winner as a sort of second father, Sheen said the “National Treasure” star’s “own real family is really important to him so I wouldn’t want to do anything to take him away from his own kids.”
Though Addy serves as Cage’s only child in the flick, which makes many an allusion to his illustrious career, he has two sons in real life — and is only now expecting his first daughter. The actor announced earlier this year that he and fifth wife Riko Shibata, 27, are expecting a child. Last week, he confirmed they’re expecting a little girl, who will be named for John Lennon.
Sheen’s own parents’ relationships have landed them in the spotlight more than once. Dad Michael, 53, and girlfriend Anna Lundberg — who at 27 is just four years older than her would-be-step-daughter — are reportedly expecting their second child. And Beckinsale, 48, had two recent romances with men in her daughter’s age range.
Beckinsale was reported to be dating Pete Davidson, 28, in early 2019 and the following year was with 24-year-old Goody Grace.
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