'The White Lotus' star Sam Nivola opens up about nepotism allegations

Sam Nivola, who rose to success after his role in The White Lotus season 3, inherited his acting talents by parents, Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola.

However, other than genes, the 21-year-old didn’t take any help from his famous parents to build a career in the entertainment industry.

“Other than my genes, I don’t think I can attribute much of my success to my parents,” he said in an interview with Variety. “I feel proud that I’ve done it for myself, and sometimes in spite of them.”

Sam debuted his acting career in 2022 with the movie, White Noise. “I didn’t get my dad’s agent to call up so-and-so,” he noted of the job. “I did it by myself. I didn’t want to give anyone an excuse to be able to say that anything I’ve achieved has been because of anyone other than me. And I’m proud of that.”

Although Sam’s career blew up with his recent role as Lochlan Ratfliff in The White Lotus, he admitted that it’s not a measure of his talent.

“But that just goes to show the trappings of fame because I’m not half as talented as my father or my mother,” he said, speaking about being recognised in public.