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submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by Sn1perBuffin@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

The thing is that, acting in a role within a movie (as in Hollywood tier) differs from making a short on TikTok or being a YouTuber. As in you can have the title of "actor" or "actress" but lack long term experience within the industry (Tom Cruise has been actor for 45 years making his debut in 1981 while Millie Bobby Brown has only started acting since 2013, she became famous in Stranger Things).

Most famous actors today started as extras or in minor roles first before making it huge in cinema, kind of like how Brad Pitt is an extra in No Mans Land (where Charlie Sheen was the lead actor) where he's a waiter or how Bruce Willis was in The First Deadly Sin (Frank Sinatra has the starring role) as an uncredited extra ("man walking in diner") where he's not famous yet until Die Hard.

Meryl Streep would obviously have a longer acting resume than Jenna Ortega (the biggest contrast is that Streep was born in 1949 making her a Boomer while Ortega was born in 2002 deeming her Gen Z) since establishing a long term acting career takes ages (on achieving stardom), like Streep has been an actress for 50 years while Ortega only has 14 years of experience within her acting career.

Now, I've heard that Hollywood at least: is considering the metric on hiring (TikTok) influencers as potential movie stars, the thing is that being an actual movie star requires talent, dedication and grinding from "nobody" (extra) into being famous when the opportunity arises while those from TikTok don't possess "acting" talent.

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[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 2 points 1 day ago

The only "influencer" that I can think of who has done anything involved in Hollywood was John Green, and he isn't the typical influencer. Even then, his path there was to use his fame to sell his product, books, and then that product became something that Hollywood could turn into a movie.

Outside of that, I think the Five Nights at Freddy's movies had influencers in the cast, but I don't see them using this to build an acting career yet.

Usually, it isn't that an influencer becomes a movie star, but a movie star becomes an influencer since the star can use their same to build a following online. That's likely why studios use the follower count as a metric in getting actors for certain roles; it is a way to determine fame and the ability of the actor to pull in crowds to see a movie.

[-] davel@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago

Most famous actors these days come from nepotism, from family wealth or family in the industry or both.

[-] FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 3 points 2 days ago

Has there been a feature film starring somebody who came up through the influencer game that enough people here would have heard of to be able to answer this question? I can't think of any. Can anyone else?

Talent is not necessarily a prerequisite for a long acting career. Exhibit A: Arnold Schwarzenegger. So maybe some TikTokers who act out silly mini one-person plays have a leg up on some established names in Hollywood.

Also, TV and the movie industry are in trouble. Receding commercial revenues and the age of streaming and not going to the movies are hurting them badly. Going after some influencers may be more of a fight for survival, to make money off of younger demographics, than a veritable search for acting talent.

[-] mrnobody@reddthat.com 2 points 2 days ago

To me, "Influencers" are fucking terrible at "acting", they're desperate for attention and validation, and have little viable skills with anything online. They're all obnoxious, loud, and overly energetic like in a state of panic trying to sell their souls for more views for ad revenue and sponsors.

If they're the next to be picked for lead-or even supporting acting roles, I'm out. I won't touch another Hollywood movie again, which says a lot, bc I own about 5k DVDs, Blu rays, UHD BD, and yes, even several dozen in 3D...

this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2026
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