Jack Whitehall on being a 'nepo baby' who spawned 'nepo parents'

Although Jack Whitehall is currently working in the US, he says he hasn't cracked America yet - just given it a little dent.

“There's a small dent, a tiny little scratch. You couldn't return it to the shop, put it that way, but I don't think it's completely cracked yet.”

Whitehall says filming the new TV series The 'Burbs in the backlots of Universal Studios was like being "part of history".

“The only bit that was slightly demoralising is when you'd be going up to set in your golf buggy and then the tram with all of the tourists would grind to a halt as you went past so that they could all peer out and see who it was.

“The look of disappointment on their face when it was me, not The Rock or Kevin Hart or someone else that was working on the lot at the same time, was palpable and a bit of a ding to the ego first thing in the morning,” Whitehall told RNZ’s Culture 101.

Whitehall describes The ‘Burbs as a "fresh take" on the 1989 cult film of the same name starring Tom Hanks.

“It's a really beloved film and so you want to do it justice and honour its legacy and there's lots of little Easter eggs in there and little references for the fans of the original but yeah, as I say, it's like a completely new story line and a new set of characters as well so it's a kind of fresh take.”

The show, in which Whitehall stars alongside Keke Palmer, is a "dark and twisty mystery".

“When I was reading the scripts, I just never saw any of them coming. I'm such a sucker for these things and I literally chase after every red herring that is placed in front of me and fall for every rug pull imaginable and honestly, I'd read these scripts and at the end of each episode, my jaw was on the floor.”

Whitehall comes from a British showbiz family. His father Michael was a theatrical agent and producer, his mother, Hilary an actor. He says he was always destined to follow them into the business.

“I'm a massive nepo baby and was born in the industry and adjacent to the industry and so was, you know, bitten by the bug very early doors and they tried to deter me as much as they could. “

The term 'nepo baby' became popularised about three years ago. Nepo is short for 'nepotism', and it's a child of someone who is already successful.

Whitehall was persuaded to get a degree so that he wouldn’t join the ranks of the many out-of-work actors his father had represented, he says.

“I went to Manchester and did an art history degree for like two terms and then dropped out to be a stand-up comedian, which slightly backfired on him.”

The nepo baby has now spawned nepo parents.

In his TV series Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father , the son made a star of his curmudgeonly father and elevated the profile of his mother, who was already a regular on British TV shows and a podcaster.

“I was a nepo baby, but then I subsequently created nepo parents because I then became relatively successful and then did a lot of stuff with my parents. So, then they became famous off the back of me. So, it’s kind of, I guess, evened it out.”

Michael and Hilary are now forging their own careers, Whitehall says.

“And like, you know, no thanks. Just used me and discarded me when I was no longer necessary. And now they're off doing their own thing. Nepo leeches. Nepo parasites.”

In 2027, Whitehall will go on tour with his latest stand-up show Bad Influence. This part of the world, where he feels at home on stage, will be on the itinerary, he says.

“The audiences are so fun. And I feel so like, I don't know, liberated on stage. I don't know why I just feel a bit tense if I'm in the UK sometimes or on stage in America.

“There's just something about the audiences that I've experienced down there that I've just like, I've really felt like very, very at home on stage and really, really relaxed and I've loved it.”

The ‘Burbs is streaming on TVNZ+ from 23 February.