There is a chemistry between siblings on screen that can only be equaled by the magnetic attraction of actors and actresses portraying couples in love. Many of the motion pictures or television shows featuring these sibling pairings have produced memorable films and programs, many of which were made when the performers were just children.
24/7 Tempo has assembled a list of the most legendary sibling acting collaborations. For sources, we tapped entertainment website CinemaBlend, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), and Biography. We tried to limit our list to the most well-known and celebrated sibling acting collaborations in movies and television. These thespian siblings have carved out careers in cinema and television apart from each other. Some have appeared in only one film while others have been featured in more than one motion picture.
Some of these legendary siblings performing together are the offspring of those who gained fame in front of the camera such as Jeff and Beau Bridges (sons of Lloyd Bridges); Bill and Alexander Skarsgård (sons of actor Stellan Skarsgård); Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez (sons of Martin Sheen); and Angelina Jolie and James Haven (progeny of Jon Voigt).
Others such as Sean and Chris Penn were the children of director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, and Maude and Iris Apatow are the daughters of actress Leslie Mann and writer/director Judd Apatow.
Siblings such as Ron and Clint Howard, Dakota and Elle Fanning, and Macaulay and Kieran Culkin made their mark in television and films as children.
Five of the siblings on the list have won Academy Awards as actors (Jeff Bridges, Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Jared Leto) and directors (Ron Howard). Five others have won acting Emmy Awards: Debbie Allen, Jason Bateman, Alexander Skarsgård, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Dan Levy.
John, Joan, Ann, Bill Cusack
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Where appeared together: “Grosse Pointe Blanke” (1997)
Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo Marx
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
- Where appeared together: “Duck Soup” (1933) and “Horse Feathers” (1932)
Moe and Curly Howard
Source: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
Source: Fox Photos / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
- Where appeared together: “Disorder in the Court” (1936) and “Woman Haters” (1934)
Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal
Source: Courtesy of Arrow Films
Source: Courtesy of Arrow Films
- Where appeared together: “Donnie Darko” (2001)
Jeff and Beau Bridges
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Where appeared together: “The Fabulous Baker Boys” (1989)
Tia, Tamera Mowry
Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company
Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company
- Where appeared together: “Sister, Sister” (1994-1999)
Ron and Clint Howard
Source: Courtesy of New World Pictures
Source: Courtesy of New World Pictures
- Where appeared together: “Grand Theft Auto” (1977) and “The Andy Griffith Show” (1960-1968)
Jason and Justine Bateman
Source: alan-light / Flickr
- Where appeared together: “Arrested Development” (2003-2019); “Can You Feel Me Dancing?” (1986)
Kate and Rooney Mara
Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Where appeared together: “Urban Legends: Bloody Mary” (2005)
Sean and Chris Penn
Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
- Where appeared together: “At Close Range” (1986)
Luke, Owen and Andrew Wilson
Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing
Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing
- Where appeared together: “Bottle Rocket” (1996) and “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001)
Chris and Luke Hemsworth
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
N/A
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
N/A
- Where appeared together: “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
Maude and Iris Apatow
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
- Where appeared together: “Knocked Up” (2007), “This Is 40” (2012), and “Funny People” (2009)
James and Dave Franco
Source: Courtesy of A24
Source: Courtesy of A24
- Where appeared together: “The Disaster Artist” (2017)
Dakota and Elle Fanning
Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
- Where appeared together: “I Am Sam” (2001) and “Taken” (2002)
Jared and Shannon Leto
Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company
Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company
- Where appeared together: “My So-Called Life” (1994) and “Prefontaine” (1997)
Zooey And Emily Deschanel
Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
- Where appeared together: “Bones” (2005-2017)
Angelina Jolie and James Haven
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation
- Where appeared together: “Gia” (1998), “Hell’s Kitchen,” (1998) and “Original Sin” (2001)
Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen
Source: Courtesy of PBS
N/A
Source: Courtesy of PBS
N/A
- Where appeared together: “The Cosby Show” (1984-1992), “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-present), “The Old Settler” (2001)
Brian and Domhnall Gleeson
Source: Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Source: Courtesy of Amazon Studios
- Where appeared together: “Mother!” (2017) and “Frank Of Ireland” (2021)
Bill and Alexander Skarsgård
Source: Courtesy of Scanbox Entertainment
N/A
Source: Courtesy of Scanbox Entertainment
N/A
- Where appeared together: “White Water Fury” (2000)
Bill and Brian Doyle Murray
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
- Where appeared together: “Caddyshack” (1980), “Scrooged” (1988), “Ghostbusters II” (1989), and “Groundhog Day” (1993)
Macaulay and Kieran Culkin
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
- Where appeared together: “Home Alone” (1990) and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992)
Damon, Kim, Keenen Wayans
Source: Vince Bucci / Getty Images
Source: Vince Bucci / Getty Images
- Where appeared together: “In Living Color” (1990-1994)
Fred and Ben Savage
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
- Where appeared together: “Little Monsters” (1989), “The Wonder Years” (1988-1993), “Boy Meets World” (1993)
Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez
Source: Courtesy of Triumph Films
Source: Courtesy of Triumph Films
- Where appeared together: “Young Guns” (1988), “Men At Work” (1990), and “Rated X” (2000)
Mary-Kate, Ashley, Elizabeth Olsen
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
- Where appeared together: “How the West was Fun” (1994) and “New York Minute” (2004)
Dan and Sarah Levy
Source: Courtesy of Pop TV
Source: Courtesy of Pop TV
- Where appeared together: “Schitt’s Creek” (2015-2020)
Blake and Lori Lively
Source: Courtesy of Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment
Source: Courtesy of Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment
- Where appeared together: “Simon Says” (2006)
Chris and Scott Evans
Source: Courtesy of RADiUS-TWC
Source: Courtesy of RADiUS-TWC
- Where appeared together: “Before We Go” (2014) and “Playing It Cool” (2014)