How Are Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell Related? All About the Actors' Family Connection (and the First Time They Starred Together On-Screen!)

Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell are fellow actors and cousins.

The Suits LA star and Upload actor are related through their fathers and have shared a close bond since they were kids growing up in Canada. However, they’ve only shared the screen together a few times throughout their careers, including on their Netflix project Code 8.

Robbie and Stephen have been open about how special it is to work together, but outside of joint projects, they rarely pursue the same roles. Speaking with Refinery29 in December 2019, Robbie said that even when the two audition for the same role, there is no “rivalry” between them.

“We're seven years apart. We've both been in the industry long enough now that, although we are similar in certain ways, mainly from below our eyes to our forehead, we're still very different actors,” he said. “We're innately different people and that reads on camera. If you're going to hire one of us, you probably weren't going to hire the other one.”

Here’s everything to know about Stephen and Robbie Amell’s family relationship.

How are Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell related?

Stephen’s father and Robbie’s father are brothers, which makes the pair first cousins. The two, who have a seven-year age gap, grew up together in Toronto and shared a close bond as kids.

During a joint appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in March 2024, Robbie said that he and Stephen spent a lot of time together during their childhood.

“We were actually really close when we were really young,” he said. “Steve was like the first guy I slept over at his house. We played video games all night. He was a really great older cousin and I always looked up to him and, you know, wanted to be like him.”

How did Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell reconnect as adults?

Due to their age gap, Stephen and Robbie grew apart in their teen years before reconnecting as adults. On The Jess Cagle Show, Robbie shared that the two only saw each other “at family functions” until they moved to Los Angeles around the same time as adults and became “really fast friends again.”

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in September 2013, Robbie said developing a friendship with Stephen later in life came easily.

“Yeah, it’s one of those things where family and good friends, even if you haven’t seen them for a long time, it happens pretty quickly,” he said. “All of my close friends out there brought Stephen in right away. We’ve got a really good group out there, and Stephen would host Football Sundays every Sunday.”

Stephen also told the outlet they had “enough of a genetic overlap” to have a fast friendship. “Robbie and I have certain things that are very different about us, but there’s just an overwhelming number of things that you can just tell that we’re family,” he added.

Have Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell worked together?

Stephen and Robbie first appeared on-screen together in a 2014 crossover episode of The Flash and Arrow. Stephen played Oliver Queen in Arrow and Robbie portrayed Ronnie Raymond in The Flash.

The pair have since starred in and produced two Netflix films together, Code 8 and Code 8: Part 2. Speaking with PEOPLE in February 2024, Robbie and Stephen said how special it was to film the movies in their hometown.

"It's the best job in the world getting to work with friends and family," Robbie said. "Steve and I are both from Toronto, so getting to shoot where we grew up and having family come to set and visit [was great]."

He added, "We shot one day down the block from where Steve grew up. We were standing there and he goes, 'Do you know where we are?' I was like, 'Oh, no way.' He's like, 'Yep, right down that street.' I'm like, 'The house with the pool.' He's like, 'Oh, yeah.' "

Stephen told PEOPLE that “it's really special" that he and Robbie can work together. "I don't mean to speak for [Robbie] and he could be entirely sick of working with me, but this, for me, is proof of concept of something that we could theoretically do for the remainder of our careers,” he said.

Who else is in the Amell family?

Though Stephen and Robbie are the only two actors in their family, they’re both married to fellow actors.

Robbie tied the knot with Italia Ricci in October 2016 and the couple share a son together, Robert Amell V. Ricci has starred in several Hallmark movies including Trading Up Christmas and Rome in Love. She’s also known for her TV roles in Designated Survivor, Chasing Life and The Imperfects.

Stephen married his wife Cassandra Jean in 2012 and the pair share two children together, Mavi and Bowen. She guest starred on an episode of Arrow in 2018 and has appeared in several other projects including Roswell, New Mexico and Mad Men.

Robbie's father also used to do background work and appeared as a bartender in American Psycho, the Picture This actor revealed to Entertainment Weekly in 2013.