All About “Longlegs” Director Oz Perkins' Famous Parents, Anthony Perkins and Berry Berenson

The 'Legally Blonde' actor and 'Longlegs' director is the son of 'Psycho' actor Anthony Perkins and photographer Berry Berenson

Osgood “Oz” Perkins is following in his famous parents’ footsteps.

Following notable roles in films such as Legally Blonde and Secretary, Perkins has forged a career as a horror film director, with his latest project being Longlegs starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage.

However, his interest in the genre shouldn’t come as a surprise as he’s the eldest son of a horror legend, Psycho actor Anthony Perkins, as well as photographer Berry Berenson.

The couple tied the knot in 1973 when Berenson was pregnant with Perkins and remained married until Anthony died in September 1992 from AIDS-related causes.

Throughout his career, rumors surrounded Anthony’s personal life and sexuality, something Perkins told PEOPLE his parents tried to shield from him and his brother when they were younger but has greatly influenced his work today.

“Everything that I try to do, I try to make it about myself from the beginning,” he explained. “What's the simple truth that I can use as a kind of a North Star? In my case, I grew up in a household with a very famous, visible father who was living two lives, at least, and was a closeted homosexual or bisexual man.”

“Everybody knew it, even my brother and I theoretically knew it, but we were never given any language for it,” Perkins said. “That wasn't part of our story.”

Perkins added that the narrative of there being “two stories” influenced Longlegs, which he wrote and directed.

Ahead, here’s everything to know about Oz Perkins’ famous parents.

His mom was a famous photographer

Berenson began her career as a model before eventually switching gears and working as a freelance photographer in the early '70s. Her work appeared in a number of notable publications including Life, Glamour, Vogue and Newsweek.

In addition to being a photographer, she also worked as an actress. She studied acting at New York's The American Place Theatre before appearing in a number of films, including the 1978 film Remember My Name alongside Anthony and the 1979 film Winter Kills with Jeff Bridges.

His father was a horror film legend

Anthony got his start as an actor in the 1950s, starring on Broadway’s Tea and Sympathy in 1953. He then filmed Friendly Persuasion in 1956, which earned him the Golden Globe Award for best new Actor of the year and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He became best known for playing Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller Psycho in 1960. The film helped Anthony achieve international fame, and made him a notable pop culture figure in the horror genre. Following the film’s success, he reprised his role as Norman in Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986) and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990).

They met while Berry was interviewing Anthony

During a TV appearance on The Mike Douglas Show in 1976, the couple revealed how their relationship came to be. Berenson noted that she had “always had a crush” on Anthony but their first encounter was when she interviewed him for Andy Warhol’s publication, Interview Magazine.

“I had always wanted to meet him and I did,” she explained with a smile. Anthony added that it was “easy” for them to get to know one another during the interview. When asked if he liked her right away, he responded, “Well, sure. Look at her!”

Anthony added that Berenson "asked all the right questions" and said they still had the tape recording of their interview together.

They got married in August 1973

On Aug. 9, 1973, the couple tied the knot when Berenson was three months pregnant with their eldest son Oz. At the time, Anthony was 41, while  Berenson was 25.

The ceremony took place in Wellfleet, Mass. at a private residence, with a few close friends in attendance, The New York Times reported at the time. According to the Times, "Berenson went barefoot for the nuptials, donning “a pink, blue and green English silk granny dress, her American Indian jewelry and the double strand of pearls Perkins gave her for her birthday."

Anthony, meanwhile, donned “white slacks, a white shirt and 15‐year‐old white bucks," according to the report, and “married his bride with a ring of Indian turquoise set in silver with little arrows along the sides.”

They had two children together

After their wedding, Anthony and Berenson welcomed their first child together, a son named Osgood Robert "Oz" Perkins II, on Feb. 2, 1974. He was named after Anthony’s father Osgood Perkins, an actor who was prominent in the '20s and '30s.

A few years later, they welcomed their second son, Elvis Perkins, on Feb. 9, 1976. Elvis has made a name for himself in the music industry as a folk-rock musician, releasing a number of albums since 2007. Additionally, Elvis worked on the soundtrack for his brother’s film Longlegs under the pseudonym, Zilgi.

Oz appeared as a younger version of his dad’s famous character in Psycho II

Perkins was able to work with his father before he died. In 1983, Perkins had a small role in Psycho II, playing a younger version of his dad’s famous character Norman Bates. This film marked his acting debut.

Oz Perkins says his parents shielded him and his brother about his dad's sexuality

Speaking with PEOPLE about his film Longlegs, Perkins candidly revealed how his dad’s sexuality — and how his mother shielded him and his brother from it — influenced his latest film.

“My father was an actor who had sort of a private life that was not acceptable in the mainstream, whether you want to call him a gay man or a bisexual man, whatever moniker we want to put on that,” he explained. “You couldn't do that, you couldn't be both. You still can't!”

He noted that Berenson was “the author” of keeping Anthony’s sexuality off-limits.

“Everybody knew it, even my brother and I theoretically knew it, but we were never given any language for it,” he said. The idea that his mother could keep up the story throughout his whole childhood partly inspired his film Longlegs, in which Alicia Witt’s character keeps a shocking secret from her daughter.

“Your mother can protect you from a truth that she thinks is unsavory,” reflected Osgood. “And then you just build out a crazy movie around that.”

They died almost nine years apart from each other

Anthony was 60 years old when he died on Sept. 12, 1992, from AIDS-related complications, The Los Angeles Times reported at the time; they also wrote he was surrounded by Berenson and their children at the time of his death.

The actor didn’t disclose his illness beforehand and only addressed it in a statement prepared shortly before his death. “I chose not to go public about (having AIDS) because, to misquote Casablanca, ‘I’m not much at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of one old actor don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world',” Perkins said.

About his experience with AIDS, he said, “There are many who believe that this disease is God’s vengeance, but I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other. I have learned more about love, selflessness and human understanding from the people I have met in this great adventure in the world of AIDS than I ever did in the cutthroat, competitive world in which I spent my life.”

Almost nine years later, Berenson, then 53, tragically died on Sept. 11, 2001 during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She was returning from a trip to Cape Cod on American Airlines Flight 11 when it was hijacked and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Berenson’s name is written at the North Pool, on Panel N-76.

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