Oh my God.
I know it’s fashionable these days to use OMG along with LOL and all the other goofy text-messaging terms, but when I saw the picture at the beginning of this piece, I was totally blown away.
The young man in the picture — he’s 22 — is my nephew Nathan Malin. He is an exceptional young man who grew up in the shadow of a brilliant brother, but has blossomed into a wonderful actor who has been making a name for himself in Boston-area theatres and soon will be heading for New York.
His mother — my middle sister — was an exceptionally talented actor who tried for 15 years in New York and never got the breakthrough she needed. How good was she? In her first year in the University of Virginia drama department, he was cast in an important role in a major production.
Juliet.
Yes, that Juliet.
A few years later, she played one of the most difficult roles a young woman can play in another production at Virginia — Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker.”
I would have bet a lot of money on someday seeing her win a Tony … or an Emmy … or even an Oscar. But there’s no way of knowing how or why it doesn’t happen for some people. It’s often as important to make contacts and have friends who can help you as it is to be talented, especially when there is so much money at stake.
The last time I saw Nathan in person was the summer of 2010, my last in California. He was 11 and a cute kid, but he showed no sign at all of the talent he would later display.
Or the growth. When I reached my full growth I was 5-foot-11, and 50 years later I’m 5-8.
Nathan is 6-3, and I don’t recall anyone else in our family ever being that tall. In a movie industry of tiny guys from Tom Cruise to Daniel Radcliffe, my nephew’s film roles might be limited. When you’re big, it’s tough to play little.
It’s a shame I haven’t had the opportunity to see him act. I certainly hope to get notice of his first role in New York so that Nicole and I can get up there to see him live and on stage.
Our generation of children consists of just four people — Hilary’s two sons and my two kids. It’s a bit strange to consider them as part of the same generation. Pauline is 19 years older than Nathan, who is actually just nine years older than my granddaughter Artemis.
But if you look at Jacobs and Nathan, at Pauline and Virgile, you’ll see a family generation that is 100 percent made up of outstanding people with great futures ahead of them.
Definitely worth more than just an OMG.