No, he’s not the heir to the empire that is Arm & Hammer, but he is the great-grandson of oil tycoon Armand Hammer (I can’t believe the company and that family are actually unrelated in origin). But he did live in the Cayman Islands for five years of his childhood, and his father and grandfather were big into real estate and business and film and television production, so it’s understandable that his career has consisted of several so-called “entitled douchebag” characters. To his credit, he seems to be trying to make it on his own name as Armie, and has said that his parents essentially disowned him (whatever that may mean) for becoming an actor instead of going to college. Then again, if Lena Dunham and Sofia Coppola get criticized for coming from privilege before becoming bigtime movie folks, it’s a criticism that needs to be made for everyone or no one.
The two sides of me are being pulled about by this Armie Hammer guy. On one hand, the part that resents the whole notion of old inherited money and folks who come from it yet still claim they’ve worked just as hard as anyone else thinks his good looks and high class bravado are surface traits that have got him where he is today. On the other hand, he seems like a genuinely decent dude who is trying to make it in the business the same as anyone else, and has put together a respectable resumé thus far. And he’s young. He has loads of time to prove himself. It’s just hard to see the publicity he has received and immediately jump to yeah, that Armand Hammer guy totes deserves all this for those of us who are also 26 and thrive on spite and jealousy.
Do you have strong feelings either way about Armie Hammer? Share your impressions in the comments section below.
