Robin Wright Talked About Co-Parenting With Sean Penn And Nepotism In Front Of Her Adult Son Hopper Penn

Let’s say you have two parents. One is a beautiful, glamorous actress who seems like she’s got her shit together, and the other one drinks Ambien and vodka shakes for breakfast and tried to name you Steak after his favorite food. I’d imagine that the latter parent would be the more embarrassing of the two. But for 29-year-old Hopper Penn, spawn of Robin Wright and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy’s most annoying pen pal, Sean Penn, mom is probably the most embarrassing.

Robin and Hopper recently chatted with E! News, and while mom didn’t technically lick the corner of a napkin and reach over and wipe a booger off Hopper’s nose for him on camera, she might as well have. Robin says that the reason she and her ex-husband Sean were recently seen together in public for the first time in six years was that they were “going to an event for [their] children.” Hopper’s sister, Dylan Penn, is also an actor, and they both had roles in dad’s movie Flag Day.

The former couple made headlines last month after they were spotted in public together for the first time in six years. And according to Robin, their kids Dylan, 31, and Hopper Penn, 29, were the reason behind their recent reunion.

“We were going to an event for our children,” the House of Cards alum exclusively told E! News’ Francesca Amiker, adding, “We’re always gonna be a family, whether we’re together or apart, you know, and I think that’s beautiful and I wish that for everybody.”

Maintaining a friendship with her ex—whom she officially split from in 2010 after initially filing for divorce in 2007—is something Robin called “a gift,” as she noted, “We know divorce with children is one of the most difficult things in life.”

Robin didn’t say what the family event was, but she got super excited about the prospect of the Penn Family Players of Malibu giving the von Trapp Family of Austria a run for their money.

As for whether fans will see the whole family on the big screen together in the future? “Oh my gosh, wouldn’t that be amazing?” Robin delightfully shared. “This is a family unit. We’ve always been a unit, and I hope that we’ll always work together, one of us with the other or three of us or four.”

But for as much as Hopper says he “loved working with his mom,” he told E! News, “I want to my own thing. Every movie I’ve done has been with a family member.”

Being the loving and encouraging mother she is, Robin responded to her son, saying, “You will.”

Ouch. At least they were in separate rooms so we didn’t have to see Hopper’s pained face as Robin tenderly pats him on the knee. Hopper’s right, though. Even though he was implicated in The Great Ben Stiller Debate of 2021, that was a short film. He has only done actual movies with his family. This is embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as being asked to weigh in on nepotism when you don’t have the range. Which is unfortunately what happened. Hopper, whose mom plays his mom in his upcoming movie Devil’s Peak, said of nepotism: “Honestly, it doesn’t affect me.” Yes, with a straight face! Well, as straight of a face as one can when one has the same face as Sean Penn. E! News reports:

“This is just a business that, luckily, for me, and not like a lot of actors, it was able to kind of just fall into my lap,” he noted. “I was given the opportunity with almost no preparation.”

He continued, “I’m very lucky to have that, but I don’t think it’s nepotism. I mean, if I messed up on the film the first day, I’d be fired just like everyone else. Or, if I was terrible, I’ll be terrible. And I have been terrible.”

Bless his heart. Good thing mom was there to throw him a line as he was floundering. I almost feel bad for the kid. He’s a perfect example of the seedier side of the nepotism coin that Lily Allen spoke of, given that his dad is, as Lily put it, “probably narcissistic.” Thank god for moms right? If it weren’t for Robin, Hopper would unemployable. I don’t care who your parents are. There’s no way a man named Steak could cut it in Hollywood. Here’s the yin to Sean and Dylan’s yang on E! News:

Pic: YouTube