10 Actors Who Played Younger Versions of Their Parents on TV

Dan Clarendon
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Jake Cannavale and Bobby Cannavale attend the New York premiere of 'The Watcher' on October 12, 2022, in New York City
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix

Jake Cannavale has gone from Bobby Cannavale’s child to his costar in the new Prime Video series Scarpetta. The father-and-son duo plays the same character at two different ages in the crime drama, which starts streaming on Wednesday, March 11.

“I’d say the biggest challenge is … once you do all this work with your counterpart off-screen, you kind of have to trust that they’ll do that on set and vice versa,” Jake previously told TV Insider with a laugh. “I remember every time I was not working and my dad was on set, I’d be thinking like, ‘Dude, you better do what we talked about, or I’ll come down there.’”

Check out more celebrity offspring who played younger versions of their famous folks below — including at least one who still had to try out for the role!

Scarpetta, Series Premiere, Wednesday, March 11

Jake and Bobby Cannavale as Pete Marino in 'Scarpetta'
Prime Video

Jake & Bobby Cannavale, Scarpetta

Jake plays the 1998 iteration of Detective Pete Marino in Scarpetta — opposite Rosy McEwen as a younger version of Nicole Kidman’s titular medical examiner— while Bobby plays the character in the present day.

Wyatt and Kurt Russell as Lee Harvey in 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters'
Apple TV+

Wyatt & Kurt Russell, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Wyatt told USA Today he resisted the urge to imitate his famous father’s onscreen mannerisms as he played a younger Lee Shaw on Monarch, since decades separate the two versions of the monster investigator.

Alice Richmond and Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in '30 Rock'
NBC

Alice Richmond & Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Richmond had a brief appearance in the 30 Rock Season 7 episode “Mazel Tov, Dummies,” playing a 7-year-old Liz Lemon and nailing her mother’s eye roll. But Fey told Seth Meyers in 2017 that Alice, 12 years old by that point, found the hit comedy “too weird” to watch.

Quinn Welliver as Harry Bosch in 'Bosch,' Eamonn Welliver as Harry Bosch in 'Bosch: Legacy,' Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch in 'Bosch'
Prime Video

Quinn, Eamonn & Titus Welliver, Bosch & Bosch: Legacy

Quinn played a child version of Titus’ Harry Bosch in the first three seasons of Bosch, and then older brother Eamonn took over the role for the Bosch: Legacy Season 1 episode “Bloodline.”

DeVaughn Dixon as Norm Nixon in 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,' Norm Nixon
Warrick Page/HBO, Stephen Dunn/NBAE/Getty Images

DeVaughn Nixon & Norm Nixon, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

In his preparation to portray his NBA star father in Winning Time, DeVaughn had to drop 30 pounds, add muscle, and pick up a basketball for the first time since high school, as he told Variety.

Zoe Perry as Jackie Harris and Sara Rue as Roseanne Conner in 'Roseanne,' Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris and Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner in 'Roseanne,' Zoe Perry as Mary Cooper in 'Young Sheldon,' Laurie Metcalf as Mary Cooper in 'The Big Bang Theory'
ABC, Don Cadette/Carsey-Werner/Paramount Television/ABC/Courtesy: Everett Collection, Troy Harvey/Warner Bros., Michael Yarish/CBS/Courtesy: Everett Collection

Zoe Perry & Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne & Young Sheldon

Perry played Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie Harris in flashbacks in two episodes of Roseanne and then played a younger version of Mary Cooper, her mother’s Big Bang Theory character, as a main character of Young Sheldon.

Dasany Kristal Gonzalez and Dascha Polanco as Dayanara Diaz in 'Orange Is the New Black'
Netflix, JoJo Whilden/Netflix/Courtesy: Everett Collection

Dasany Kristal Gonzalez & Dascha Polanco, Orange Is the New Black

Polanco played Dayanara Diaz in Orange Is the New Black, but for flashbacks in Season 5’s “Tied to the Tracks,” it’s her real-life daughter in the part. They’re not the only OITNB family act: Laverne Cox and twin brother M. Lamar shared the role of Sophia Burset on the show.

Sean and Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 'NCIS'
CBS, Bill Inoshita/CBS

Sean & Mark Harmon, NCIS

Sean played a younger Leroy Jethro Gibbs in seven episodes of NCIS, as his famous dad played an older Gibbs. For NCIS: Origins, however, Sean ceded the role to Austin Stowell and served as an executive producer alongside Mark.

Michael and Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge in 'Riverdale'
Katie Yu/The CW/Courtesy: Everett Collection, Shane Harvey/The CW/Courtesy: Everett Collection

Michael & Mark Consuelos, Riverdale

Though Michael ended up playing the teenage counterpart of his dad’s Hiram Lodge in two episodes of Riverdale, he still had to audition for the part. And he said on Live With Kelly and Mark that “a bunch of people who could have been brothers or cousins” also tried out.

30 RockBoschBosch: LegacyMonarch: Legacy of MonstersNCISOrange Is the New BlackRiverdaleRoseanneScarpettaWinning Time: The Rise of the Lakers DynastyYoung SheldonBobby CannavaleDascha PolancoDeVaughn NixonJake CannavaleKurt RussellLaurie MetcalfMark ConsuelosMark HarmonSean HarmonTina FeyTitus WelliverWyatt RussellZoe Perry



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  1. V

    Vevvie

    And Morgan Freeman's son Alfonso Freeman was the in the picture of Morgan Freeman's mugshot, from when Red was young.

  2. G

    Gaf1973

    There's was also an Adam Sandler flick where Susan Sarandon and her daughter played the same character at different ages.

  3. A

    Athena

    Gary Lewis played a younger Jerry Lewis as well in the 1958 movie Rock-a-Bye Baby but I guess you don't bother with older classic movies.

    You probably don't even know who they are ..... Jerry Lewis the actor / comedian and his real life son Gary Lewis the singer.