Movie stars’ lesser-known siblings

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. This is especially true in Hollywood. Contacts are the way to the top and who better than an A-list brother or sister to give you a leg up? Some of the most successful Hollywood stars, from Scarlett Johansson to Jessica Alba, have siblings quietly toiling away in the less glitzy side of showbiz. They include…

[Related gallery: Hollywood actors' real names]
[Related feature: Whatever happened to 'Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey?]

Frank Stallone
The brother of ‘The Expendables’ curator Sylvester, Frank Stallone has enjoyed a lengthy career of his own thanks to his singing talent. Sly used his vocals in several ‘Rocky’s and he contributed ‘Far from Over’ to the soundtrack of his brother’s terrible ‘Saturday Night Fever’ sequel ‘Staying Alive’, which made the charts. He’s also dabbled in celebrity wrestling, amateur boxing and was the punch line of a long-running gag on SNL. Truly a ‘renaissance man’.

Bill Cusack
We couldn’t find out much about the lesser known Cusack. Suspiciously he did show up in brother John’s actioners ‘Grosse Point Blank’ and ‘Con Air’, where he played a waiter and ‘Paramedic #2’ respectively. They don’t sound like the biggest roles. He’s also appeared in the odd non-John project, such as ‘The Fugitive’ and ‘Ed Wood’. A mysterious figure.

Vanessa Johansson
It must be tricky living in the shadow of one of Hollywood’s hottest starlets, but this member of the Johansson clan has carved out a minor movie career of her own. Scarlett’s older sister starred in several tongue-in-cheek films, with ‘Sharks In Venice’ - alongside fellow minor sibling Stephen Baldwin – surely the best.

Doug Pitt
Brad’s unknown younger brother Doug stepped into the spotlight for the first time in July when he starred in a new advert for Virgin Mobile. The hilarious video shows that good looks and sex appeal don't always run in the family, as Doug goes about his daily business mowing his lawn, making a lasagne and relaxing in his 'man room'.

Charlie Murphy
One of the more talented siblings on this list. You may recognise him from the legendary ‘I’m Rick James, b***h!’ sketches from the ‘Chappelle Show’. He’s also showed up in ‘Norbitt’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’. According to brother Eddie, he used to be in a gang, going by the name ‘Omar’.

Andrew Wilson
Owen Wilson’s big brother has also done pretty well for himself. His CV includes ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and ‘Whip It!’. Two things we like about Andrew; he apparently has a BB pellet (fired by Owen) lodged in his hand, and looks like a cross between his younger brother and ‘American Pie’s Seann William Scott.

Alex Watson
Alexander Chris Watson is a British actor/model and was (probably not coincidentally) cast as an extra in the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films alongside starlet sister Emma. Those are his only major film credits but he also appeared with his sister in a photo shoot for fashion label Burberry. His hidden talent is “speaking backwards”, apparently.

Dave Franco
Hollywood star James Franco’s little brother has made a decent name for himself as an actor. The drug-dealing rich kid befriended by Jonah Hill in the brilliant ’21 Jump Street’? That was our Dave, though he’s much older in real life (27). Also appeared in ‘Greenberg’, ‘Charlie St. Cloud’ and a load of other stuff.

Joshua Alba
Joshua Alba landed his first showbiz role in James Cameron’s cancelled US TV show, ‘Dark Angel’ where he starred alongside is MUCH more famous sibling Jessica. His only other notable credits since getting a leg up from his sister include ‘Alpha Dog’ and voicing the Zack Maio character in the ‘Need for Speed: Undercover’ video game. According to IMDb he was once an estate agent, but we’re not sure if this Linkedin profile is actually him.

Hallie Kate Eisenberg
‘The Social Network’ star Jessie Eisenberg’s sister didn’t set Hollywood alight with bit roles in ‘Bicentennial Man’ and ‘The Insider’, or playing his sister (must have been tricky) in 2010’s ‘Holy Rollers’. Instead she got far more exposure for being the cute ‘Pepsi girl’ from the soft drink company’s TV adverts that ran in the late 1990s and early 2000s.