Hollywood Brothers & Sisters

Star siblings are one of the oldest traditions in entertainment.

We've got Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty, the Baldwin and Wahlberg brothers, James and Dave Franco, Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal.

For generations, Hollywood has produced many successful show business families, and oftentimes, many rise up the ranks together in the dog-eat-dog industry

We take a look at three sets of It pairs - Chris and Liam Hemsworth, Kate and Rooney Mara, and Dakota and Elle Fanning - who show that two are indeed better than one.

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ACTION 
HEART-THROBS

CHRIS, 32, & LIAM HEMSWORTH, 25

These hunky brothers from Down Under must be blessed with lots of luck - or an extremely good agent.

It did not take them much time to break into the US after cutting their teeth on evergreen Australian TV series - Chris was in Home And Away (2004-2007) while Liam starred in Neighbours (2007-2008).

ACTION 
HEART-THROBS: Liam (left) and Chris Hemsworth. PHOTOS: SHAW ORGANISATION, GOLDEN VILLAGE PICTURES

Both moved to Los Angeles to further their careers, and Chris quickly scored a small but vital part in JJ Abrams' Star Trek (2009), which led to Thor two years later, the superhero role that turned him into a global star.

For Liam, his break came in The Last Song (2010), starring opposite US singer-actress Miley Cyrus. Being her leading man (and even one-time fiance) on- and off-screen meant constant media attention, which turned him into a hot commodity.

While Liam, who was director Kenneth Branagh's initial choice to play Norse god Thor, lost the part to Chris, he was offered his own franchise as Katniss' love interest Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games franchise (2012-2015).

The Hemsworths, with their impressive physique and macho good looks, are destined to be action heart-throbs.

Chris, a father of three young kids whom he shares with actress-wife Elsa Pataky, was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine last year.

GOING PLACES

Chris is expanding his repertoire beyond the Marvel universe by taking on a variety of roles.

He demonstrated his comic timing in Vacation (2015) and will do so again in next year's Ghostbusters.

He is also out to show he can tackle a historical figure with In The Heart Of The Sea.

Opening here tomorrow, it is an epic tale about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820 by a sperm whale, causing the crew to be shipwrecked at sea for 90 days and more than a thousand miles from land.

Chris plays First Mate Owen Chase to Captain George Pollard Jr (Benjamin Walker), and the story later serves as an inspiration for the 1851 novel Moby-Dick.

 

 

For Liam, his Hunger Games journey has come to an end with final instalment Mockingjay - Part 2 now showing in cinemas.

But his action journey has only just begun. He will be in the driver's seat in next year's Independence Day: Resurgence, another possible franchise.

However, the focus on Liam is skewed more towards his love life. Following his high-profile romance with Cyrus, he is now rumoured to be dating his Hunger Games co-star Jennifer Lawrence.

Starring as Kate Winslet's squeeze in the upcoming dark comedy The Dressmaker (opening here Jan 28) will further enhance his heart-throb status.

 

 

FAMILY TIES

The brothers have remained close during their Hollywood ascent, bonding over their love for surfing and supporting each other at their respective film premieres.

They also make fun of each other, with Liam posting a photo of his dog chewing on a Thor action figure on Instagram, while Chris proclaims to be on Team Peeta during a recent Twitter chat with his fans.

Liam told The Independent that he admires Chris for paying off their parents' debt, while Chris is open to working with Liam on a movie "if the right thing came up, but we might get sick of each other".

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DRAMA DOYENNES

KATE, 32, & ROONEY MARA, 30

They may both be dramatic actresses, but the surly brunettes' levels of success could not be more different.

Kate, who entered show business at age 14, took 16 years to finally gain recognition, thanks to her work in TV series House Of Cards in 2013, where she received an Outstanding Guest Actress Primetime Emmy nomination.

DRAMA DOYENNES: Kate (left) and Rooney Mara. PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS

Rooney, who was inspired to become an actress because of Kate, started to overshadow the latter by receiving a Best Actress Oscar nomination for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), five years after she embarked on her career.

Rooney went on to appear in highbrow films such as Side Effects (2013), Her (2013) and Trash (2014).

It was only this year that Kate caught up with superhero blockbuster Fantastic Four, which bombed at the box office and was critically trashed.

Thankfully, her supporting role in the hit sci-fi drama The Martian, which was released a few months after Fantastic Four, kept her on the radar.

Likewise, Rooney's recent big-budget actioner Pan also tanked.

 

 

But she looks set to be back for awards season soon with Carol, opening here Dec 24, where she plays a department store clerk who falls for the titular older married woman (Cate Blanchett).

Rooney has already won the coveted Best Actress honour at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for Carol.

Kate, whose career is threatened to be eclipsed by Rooney's, is proud of her sister.

"It's complicated. You're constantly being compared to other actresses and if you don't have a good perspective on that then it can be confusing," she told The Independent of their supposed competition.

"But luckily my sister and I know that, while it may be both of our passions, it is just a job at the end of the day. It's not the most important thing to either of us."

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INDIE DARLINGS

DAKOTA, 21, & ELLE FANNING, 17

You can call them veterans, considering they started acting at a young age.

Dakota was only seven when she was chosen to star opposite Sean Penn in I Am Sam (2001), while Elle made her debut in that movie playing the younger version of Dakota's character. She was only three.

INDIE DARLINGS: Dakota (left) and Elle Fanning. PHOTOS: UNIQLO, AFP

Since then, the willowy blonde sisters have continued working, with Dakota becoming a highly sought-after child actress, acting alongside A-listers such as Denzel Washington (Man On Fire, 2004), Robert De Niro (Hide And Seek, 2005) and Tom Cruise (War Of The Worlds, 2005).

For Elle, it was through JJ Abrams' sci-fi flick Super 8 (2011) that saw her booking more high-profile jobs.

That was also the time when Dakota focused more on independent cinema, earning acclaim in The Runaways (2010) opposite her Twilight Saga co-star Kristen Stewart.

 

 

Following her starring role as Disney Princess Aurora in Maleficent (2014), Elle looks to be following Dakota's footsteps into the indie film world, taking on edgy roles like a transgender teen in About Ray and as Bryan Cranston's daughter in Trumbo (opening here Dec 17).

Elle hung out with Dakota while filming About Ray in New York, where the latter is a student at New York University majoring in women's studies. "I miss her at home and it's kind of weird because we share a bathroom, but she's not there anymore," Elle told The Mirror Online.