20 actors who only took movie roles to impress their kids

James Marsden took his role in Sonic the Hedgehog to impress his kids because they were previously very unimpressed by his career. He noted that his daughter was not a fan of his work in Enchanted. 

We have Raúl Juliá’s kids to thank for his appearance on Street Fighter. Juliá’s children were big fans of the video game franchise, so he jumped at the chance to be part of the screen adaptation. 

Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t making appearances on children’s shows when his children were younger, but once he became a grandfather, he changed his tune. Osbourne voiced a character on an episode of Bubble Guppies as a way to surprise his granddaughter. 

Richard Harris wanted to get the approval of his granddaughter, too. When he was first offered the role of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter, he wasn’t sold. But after his granddaughter told him he needed to take it, he did. 

Lots of kids were fans of Harry Potter in the 2000s, and unsurprisingly, some of those kids had actors for parents. Gary Oldman took a role in the Harry Potter series, and it garnered him lots of favor with his own children. 

David Bowie took on the role of Lord Royal Highness for a SpongeBob SquarePants special because his daughter, then six years old, was a huge fan of the show. Bowie praised SpongeBob for being one of the best animated series on TV.

Parents who watched Hannah Montana with their kids were probably surprised to see Larry David on an episode. The famed actor’s daughters loved the show, so he took a role in the series, and his daughters appeared in the scene with him. 

It’s hard to imagine Kate Winslet needing to earn coolness points from anyone, but apparently, she needed to get some from her daughter. She did so by taking on a role in the screen adaptation of Divergent, which also got her coolness points from her daughter’s friends. 

Some actors’ kids are such big fans of shows, the actors reach out themselves. Such was the case for Robert Downey Jr., who asked to be on an episode of Family Guy since his son loved the series so much. 

It’s objectively hilarious that Michael Caine was in The Muppet Christmas Carol. The actor wanted his daughter to be able to watch one of his films, so he went the Muppet route. He made a classic film that lots of children love. 

Will Smith all but confirmed that kids movies are pretty much only made because parents want to impress their children. That’s why he joined the cast of Shark Tale. 

Matthew McConaughey was repeatedly asked which of his films were his kids’ favorites. It made him realize they couldn’t watch any of the films he’d been in, so he took on some animated work and ended up in Sing. His daughter got to be in the sequel, too. 

Like loads of pre-teens, Michael Sheen’s daughter was a huge fan of the Twilight books. She was very excited to learn that Sheen had been offered the role of Aro. Sheen killed the role, so we’d imagine his daughter was just as happy with his performance. 

Julianne Moore’s kids were such big fans of the Hunger Games series they forced her to read the books. She was cast as President Coin in the last two films of the series, making her kids very happy in the process. 

Kids can be rewarded in all sorts of ways for their parents’ efforts. After Viggo Mortenson’s son implored him to take the role of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, the son got to be in the film, too. It was a huge win for the entire family. 

Ryan Reynolds’ filmography isn’t exactly suitable for children. Well aware of this, the actor took on a role in Detective Pikachu so that they could watch something he’s in. One day, they’ll be ready for Just Friends and Deadpool. One day. 

An Oscar and a Grammy apparently weren’t cool enough for Jamie Foxx’s kids. Foxx took on the role of the villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to curry favor with his daughter, and it totally worked. She visited him on set and loved it. 

It would be pretty dope as a kid to have a parent who’s literally been a superhero. Ben Affleck took on the role of Batman to impress his kids. He also wore the costume to his kid’s birthday party, so we’re assuming his kids were adequately impressed. 

Idris Elba wanted his kids to see their father in a classic film, and that inspired him to take the role of Shere Khan in the live-action remake of The Jungle Book. Granted, they only got to hear him as he appeared as a lion, but it’s still awesome. 

Cate Blanchett’s kids are totally into Marvel, so much so that it inspired her to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe herself. Blanchett played the villain in Thor: Ragnarok to impress her kids, and she became the first female villain in the MCU.