10 overhyped actors who’ve got to be industry plants
When it comes to actors, talent and stardom aren’t always equivalent.
There’s always been a distinct difference between what the difference is between a ‘great actor’ and a ‘movie star’. An actor can create believable performances that are emotionally and physically dynamic, whereas a movie star needs to be charismatic and enjoyable to watch.
Of course, there are some instances in which the two paths can cross over; Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Emily Blunt are current movie stars who also happen to be phenomenal performers. However, there’s not necessarily an issue with those who simply fall into one category, such as Steve Buscemi, an amazing actor who is not necessarily putting butts in seats, whereas Jason Momoa is a charming star who doesn’t have much range.
It’s always admirable when certain actors are able to own up to their weaknesses, as the industry can be very tough, even for those who have a lot of talent. Unfortunately, audiences have changed in modern times, and neither movie stars nor actors have the same sway that they once did. The current generation of young people tends to be more interested in influencers and streamers than they are in artists, and as a result, there are some individuals who have risen in popularity for seemingly inexplicable reasons.
Despite the fact that there are a number of wonderful actors out there who have not yet been given the opportunity to prove themselves, there are others who seem to keep getting a shot, regardless of how many times they screw up.
10 actors who have to be industry plants:
James Corden
James Corden was an annoying presence in films long before he became the host of one of the weakest late-night shows of the past decade. While there have been late-night celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers who have managed to make timely material that is also funny, Corden seems to just flaunt his own ego while playing games and doing gimmicks.
Corden finally revealed himself to be a terrible actor when he was widely mocked for his performance in Cats; even in a film where no one was doing their best work, his incompetence was a standout, and yet, he still manages to keep getting work. It’s particularly disappointing that he earned the central role in the Peter Rabbit family comedy films, as they could have provided a great opportunity to a seasoned voice actor with some actual experience.
Josh Gad
Broadway has a way of sometimes boosting its stars in the film industry, and it can result in crossover successes like Lin-Manuel Miranda or Jonathan Groff, but on the flipside you get actors like Josh Gad, who was very well cast for a very specific role in The Book of Mormon, well-utilised by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but when not given that level of material, is absolutely insufferable and takes out the realism within any film that he is in.
Gad has stuck out like a sore thumb in any live-action film he has appeared in, such as the legal drama Marshall, the mystery Murder on the Orient Express, and the science fiction comedy Pixels. Although he has likely made enough money off of Frozen to never work again, he is, for some reason, involved in the long-anticipated sequel to Spaceballs.
Jaden Smith
Jaden Smith might be the most definitive case of Hollywood nepotism, because there’s no way that an actor that incompetent would ever be given so many major opportunities if they weren’t the child of one of the biggest stars in the world. In fact, Smith failed so miserably with his performance in the terrible M Night Shyamalan film After Earth that it both destroyed his own career and briefly caused the industry to court some hesitancy about his father.
Just look at the two versions of The Karate Kid; when compared to how charismatic Ralph Macchio is in the original 1984 film, Smith is an empty void of nothingness in the 2010 remake, as he even manages to make a film with Jackie Chan in it boring. If nothing else, Smith’s pivot into music has resulted in some hilariously terrible songs.
Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown has coasted on the popularity of Stranger Things, despite showing on frequent occasions that she has no interest in films or taste for them. While some of her Stranger Things co-stars, such as Finn Wolfhard and Sadie Sink, have taken risks by working on less conventional projects, Brown has simply been willing to star in whatever generic Netflix film she is offered, some of which rank among the biggest disasters in recent Hollywood history. Her only notable theatrical film role was in the ‘Monsterverse’, which she no longer seems to be part of.
While the fact that Stranger Things is now over would theoretically give audiences less reason to care about Brown, she has somehow managed to extend her deal with Netflix, where she has essentially become the spokesperson for a generation of young people who don’t care about film history and watch everything second-screen.
Gal Gadot
Gal Gadot scored one of the luckiest breaks of all time when she was cast as Diana Prince in Wonder Woman, as it was a role that really only required someone to act like a blank slate and look impressive during fight scenes. Her weakness as an actor was proven in everything else she starred in; her singing in the recent live-action remake of Snow White was so bad that it made Russell Crowe’s performance in Les Misérables sound like Liza Minnelli.
Gadot has somehow managed to find her way back into the Fast & Furious franchise, and has also benefited from being in Netflix films that people seem to only watch because they’re free. Despite the fact that Red Notice and Heart of Stone are supposedly among the most-watched films on Netflix ever, they have left no cultural impact whatsoever.
Vin Diesel
There might not ever be a less talented actor who has been as consistently successful as Vin Diesel, even if he’s managed to slowly destroy every franchise he’s been involved with. Diesel still seems to think that he’s making sequels to Bloodshot, xXx, The Last Witch Hunter, and Riddick, even if the last instalments in these respective franchises were all critical and box office disappointments.
Even the Fast & Furious franchise has begun to collapse, as Fast X managed to lose money because it cost so much, partially because Diesel had narcissistically been feuding with every director that was attached to the saga. It says a lot about him that his most critically acclaimed role to date has been Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films, in which he has only ever been asked to say three words.
Ariana Grande
There’s not that much evidence to suggest that the Wicked phenomenon was a massive psyop, as a worse film hasn’t been nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards since Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Ariana Grande fits the profile of many pop artists who choose to get into acting because she has no range beyond a generic, exaggerated friendly persona; this isn’t a bad thing for artists like Bad Bunny or Cedric the Entertainer, who only want to do cameos, but Grande desperately seems to think that she is going to win an Oscar.
Her next performance will be in the comedy legacy sequel Focker-In-Law, and if the cringe-inducing trailer is any indication, it could be the single worst entry yet in a franchise that hasn’t produced a good film since the original Meet the Parents back in 2000.
Maude Apatow
Judd Apatow seems to be earning a comeback that has managed to make everyone forget about disasters like The Bubble, Trainwreck, and This Is 40, but he might not be able to convince anyone to invest in the career of his daughter, Maude. While there are many things to be said about the actors who have come out of the cast of Euphoria, such as Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi, they at least have very specific screen presences that are memorable, which makes Apatow’s boring performance all the more glaring.
Her performances thus far have all been deviations of the generic ‘obnoxious white girl’ persona, which tends to get old fast. Amusingly, her directorial debut, Poetic License‘s release, seems to be in question, as the distributor Row K Entertainment is under significant financial duress and could be facing bankruptcy.
Alex Pettyfer
Steven Soderbergh has made some weird bets on actors that he’s predicted will be stars, and none have been quite as disastrous as Alex Pettyfer. Although he was positioned to be the lead in Magic Mike, it was Channing Tatum’s performance that ended up making the film a hit. Pettyfer had already managed to fumble his chance at a potential franchise with I Am Number Four, but when he came out of Magic Mike in a feud with Tatum, no one sided with him because of how petty he looked.
Although there were a series of domestic violence accusations that have left him out of work for a few years, he recently popped up for a forgettable role in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a Guy Ritchie action film in which Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson acted circles around him.
Gina Carano
The track record of MMA fighters becoming actors hasn’t exactly been filled with success, but Gina Carano seemed uniquely flat when cast as the lead in the Soderbergh action thriller Haywire. Nonetheless, she got the gig of a lifetime when she was cast to be part of the Star Wars franchise with a role in The Mandalorian before being fired for offensive tweets.
Carano’s attempts to incite outrage over her firing have thus far failed because she was never a talent to begin with, as physicality alone didn’t make her an actor, for there are plenty of stunt actors who have given better performances. Now that she has attempted to burn all bridges by making propaganda films for The Daily Wire, the industry can look back at what an anomaly it was that she was ever given any opportunities in the first place.
