Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson has admitted having a famous father helped her ‘get in the door’ of the acting world – but it later became ‘a hindrance’.
The actress, 28, said that while some of her drama school friends struggled to get an agent or an audition, she has never had the same experience because of her family connections.
The screen star claimed filmmakers and fellow actors often ‘can’t separate you from your father or see you as an individual’ and conceded that most have ‘very low expectations’ of her skills.
Fame game: Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson (pictured in February) has admitted having a famous father helped her ‘get in the door’ of the acting world – but it later became ‘a hindrance’
Speaking in an interview with this week’s Radio Times, she said: ‘In the beginning, I think it was easier for me to get in the door. Some of the friends I went to Tisch with are the most talented actors but have found it difficult to get an audition.
‘That’s never been a problem for me, and I think that’s because of my family. That’s not the way the system should work, of course, but if the door is open, walk through the door.
‘It can then become a bit of a hindrance, because they can’t separate you from your father or see you as an individual.
‘Often, they have very low expectations, and they really don’t think you’re going to be good. And then you are quite good, and they are quite surprised.’
She said: The actress, 28, said while some of her drama school friends struggled to get an audition, she has never had the same experience because of her family (pictured in 2013)
Eve also revealed her plan to get back to work in March went quickly downhill when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
The Bridge Of Spies and Robin Hood actress was in New York when the rapid spread of Covid-19 turned into a pandemic.
She decided to flea the country and return to Ireland on March 16 – the day when the US government announced a ban on all non-US citizens travelling in from Europe, the UK and Ireland.
She said: ‘I have never loved a city more than New York, I’ve lived there for 10 years and it’s my favourite city in the world so it’s a very strange thing that I can’t get back there at the moment.’
Tough: The screen star claimed filmmakers and fellow actors often ‘can’t separate you from your father or see you as an individual’ (pictured in This Must Be The Place in 2011)
Eve is currently spending lockdown at her hometown of Dublin and is living with her entire family.
The actress has said it’s been lovely to be able to spend lots of time with her siblings, Jordan, 31, Elijah, 20, and John, 19, without the distractions of normal life.
And her family being made up of creatives has helped keep them all entertained. Her sister, Jordan, is a poet and her brother is a musician.
Her mother, Ali, is an activist and businesswoman while her father, Paul, is better known as Bono from U2.
Eve had to spend six months filming in New Zealand as she starred in her first BBC drama, The Luminaries – playing Anna Wetherell.
So she is particularly enjoying time with her family because no one was able to fly and visit her during that time of filming.
Big break: Eve shot to fame after starring in Bridge of Spies as Tom Hank’s daughter (pictured)
Anna Wetherell is the heroine of the six-part period drama adapted from the Man Booker prize-winning novel by Eleanor Catton.
Six years ago she played nurse Lucy Elkins in the HBO series The Knick opposite Clive Owen as a drug-addicted Dr John Thackery. Eve also played Tom Hanks’s daughter in Bridge of Spies in 2015.
But Eve admits that she didn’t always know she wanted to be an actor.
She said: ‘I was a really bad student. I was one of those kids who was like, ”I’m not going to apply myself, this is all bulls**t, why am I here?”
‘I got to go away on my own to North Carolina to film while everyone else was in school, that was when I realised this was what I wanted to do.’
Away from home: The actress last year had to spend six months filming in New Zealand as she starred in her first BBC drama, The Luminaries – playing Anna Wetherell
Opening up: Eve made the comments in a tell-all interview with the Radio Times
However, although her parents were supportive of her ambitions, they still had doubts about her success.
The pair tried to prepare their daughter for the inevitable rejection every actor must face but when Eve moved to New York at the age of 18 to study drama at Tisch School of the Arts, her parents relocated for a while too.
One she finished drama school she first starred in Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place alongside Sean Penn and Frances McDormand.
She then played James Gandolfini’s daughter in Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said.
More recently, she starred in a psychological miniseries for Netflix – Behind Her Eyes and the film Tesla with Ethan Hawke.
Quality time: Eve is currently spending lockdown at her hometown of Dublin and is living with her entire family (pictured with her parents and sister in 2011)