The relativity of fame

Their faces are familiar, and their surnames are famous, but these two actors are not quite who you might think they are.

The names Hanks and Culkin are guaranteed box-office gold, at least when attached to the names Tom and Macaulay. Now London's Garrick Theatre is hoping the less famous Colin Hanks and Kieran Culkin will produce the same buzz their superstar relatives are guaranteed to do.

The two actors are to star in This Is Our Youth, which has already brought Matt Damon to the West End. Both are well used to being on screen in their own right. But the eight-week run at the Garrick, starting next Wednesday, will be the first time they have stepped out onto a public stage and they are braced for the verdict of the critics.

Hanks, 24, will make his debut with his family watching, undoubtedly conscious of his father Tom's two Oscars. "I love London, and to do a play here is huge, awesome," he said.

He will play the role of Dennis, a sharp-tongued, occasionally violent teenage drug dealer, previously played by Damon and Hayden Christensen. "He's pretty unpleasant but I identify with his anger, and, yeah, I kind of like him," said Hanks. "There's no safety net with this play: you're proud to be an actor, up there on stage every night. In LA, I think the word actor has much more of a negative connotation. I don't like saying I'm an actor. Everyone else is or wants to be one there."

Culkin has not disclosed if his more famous sibling, Macaulay, will attend. The two were on screen together in Home Alone, Kieran playing Macaulay's younger brother. While Macaulay famously went off the rails and tried to drop out of his life of fame, Kieran steadily worked his way up through Hollywood in films such as The Cider House Rules and The Secret Lives of Altar Boys.

In This Is Our Youth the 20-year-old plays Warren, who is caught up with Dennis and the third character Jessica, played by Alison Lohman, as they try to blow in one night $15,000 they have stolen, apparently due to boredom.

Hanks and Culkin are only the latest Hollywood relatives to appear in the play: earlier this year Summer Phoenix (sister of River and Joaquin) and Casey Affleck (brother of Ben) starred.