Tilda Swinton's Daughter Says She's 'Grateful' for Mom's Connections but I 'Get Jobs Because I Have Skill'

Actress Honor Swinton Byrne says it's "very important to own it," when it comes to nepotism in Hollywood

Honor Swinton Byrne and Tilda Swinton attend "The Souvenir Part 2" screening during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 08, 2021 in Cannes, France.
Honor Swinton Byrne and Tilda Swinton. Photo:

Andreas Rentz/Getty 

Tilda Swinton's actress daughter Honor Swinton Byrne is owning her "nepo baby" status.

The 25-year-old starred alongside her Oscar-winning mom, 62, in 2019's The Souvenir and its 2021 sequel. In a new interview with the U.K.'s Sunday Times, Honor admitted she is "grateful" for her built-in industry connections.

"I feel like it’s very important to own it [nepotism]. I completely admit and am grateful for the fact that I was considered for The Souvenir because of my connections."

"But," she added, "at the same time I continue to act and get jobs because I have skill. I’m still doing it."

She recalled of landing that role: "I was working as a florist’s assistant in Inverness with plans to go to Africa for a year. I had six months free, and met [director] Joanna [Hogg] in Caffè Nero in Berwick-upon-Tweed. I didn’t have a clue that she was sussing me out for the part."

THE SOUVENIR: PART II, from left: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton, 2021.
The Souvenir: Part II (2021).

Sandro Kopp / A24

"From what I understand she had auditioned so many people and hadn’t quite seen what she wanted," said Honor. "She saw the self-consciousness of 18-year-old me and, yeah, I got it."

Swinton shares twins Honor and Xavier with ex John Byrne.

Honor said she and her mom are "very similar, with very similar voices, very similar energy." She explained, "We have the same vibrancy and childishness. I’m definitely not a child, but I think we should all hang on to childishness a little bit."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In January 2022, Honor told The Guardian that her mother-daughter dynamic with Swinton in the Souvenir movies "could not be more different" than their real-life bond. Swinton played Rosalind opposite Honor's Julie in the dramas.

"My mum and I are best friends and soulmates, we have the same mannerisms. Rosalind and Julie aren’t touchy feely and all over each other like we are," she explained. "Trying not to curl up on her knee or make a joke about something felt really unnatural, but it was also a real laugh."

Honor Swinton Byrne attends the ARMANI Beauty X Harper's Bazaar Dinner during the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival at The Feuerle Collection on February 18, 2023
Honor Swinton Byrne.

Franziska Krug/Getty 

Both Swinton and Honor spoke to W Magazine last year about working together, and they explained how Honor's casting came to be.

"We had thought about lots of actresses, but then I mentioned Honor, the elephant in the room. Not to describe you as an elephant, darling," said Swinton.

"Oh, mama," said Honor with a laugh. "I was 19. I had planned to go teach in Namibia, but I postponed. I knew it would be a challenge — that there was no script and we would be creating the dialogue as we went. Joanna made writers of all of us."

"So much of our lives went into the film," said Swinton. "Most of Honor’s clothes came from my cupboard. I was in Joanna’s actual graduation film [Caprice] in 1986, and Honor wore the same shoes that I wore for that film at her character’s graduation film in The Souvenir Part II."

Related Articles