The Death of the Movie Star Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Do movie stars still exist? Film journalists, cinephiles, and producers person been debating this constituent for complete a decade, declaring nan movie prima extinct.

But passim nan 2010s, Hollywood leaned into intelligence properties and nan Marvel Cinematic Universe, while original films starring A-list talents for illustration Jennifer Lawrence (“Passengers”), Johnny Depp (“The Lone Ranger”), and Will Smith (“Gemini Man”) flopped, and gradually everybody seemed to beryllium lining up to salary their respects astatine nan sedate of nan movie star.

They’ve blamed nan decease connected Hollywood’s hunger for IP, nan erasure of nan mid-budget movie, and nan emergence of television. But galore of these arguments miss nan wood for nan trees: We not only still person movie stars today, but stardom coming is very akin to what it was successful nan Golden Age of Hollywood. The movie manufacture is not post-movie stars, and big-name actors still power audiences’ viewing habits and films’ financial success.

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, whose films “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and “F1” are successful theaters this summer, are wide considered nan past “true” movie stars, nan fewer aged movie veterans still tin of reliably opening a film. But contrary to celebrated belief, stardom is not limited connected watertight container agency imaginable — Katharine Hepburn, for instance, was considered container agency poison for years. From 1935’s “Break of Hearts” until astatine slightest “The Philadelphia Story” successful 1940, her films consistently earned awesome reviews but mediocre attendance.

Cary Grant besides made galore commercialized failures while still a starring man, including George Cukor’s “Holiday” and “Bringing Up Baby” (in which he co-starred pinch Hepburn). Cruise and Pitt mightiness beryllium movie stars, but they still person disconnected days, for illustration “Rock of Ages” aliases “Wolfs,” respectively. These actors surely elevate nan floor plan of their films and summation nan likelihood that they’ll make money, but financial information doesn’t automatically find who’s a movie star.

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn successful ‘Bringing Up Baby’Everett Collection / Everett Collection

What makes an character a movie prima is their persona. When you watch Cruise hug nan doorway of an airplane arsenic it takes disconnected successful “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,” you hide you’re watching nan characteristic of Ethan Hunt. Instead, you’re watching nan cautiously crafted surface persona of Tom Cruise, action hero, who will consequence definite decease if it intends delivering cinema to his adoring fans.

The Modern Movie Star and Their Contract

In 2019, nan Wall Street Journal reported that Jason Statham, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Vin Diesel had unsocial contracts for their collaborations successful nan “Fast and Furious” franchise that fundamentally meant they couldn’t suffer fights. Statham’s statement reportedly protected him from getting beaten up excessively overmuch connected screen, while Johnson and Diesel had group connected group to show really galore licks they got.

Such contracts are thing caller successful Hollywood, and galore scholars of classical Hollywood will apt recollect nan strict contracts studios had for their stars successful that era.

In nan aged days, stars — particularly female stars — were put connected strict diets, their names often changed, and they were usually fixed sound lessons to study that classical Transatlantic diction. Control complete a star’s image went moreover further than that, though. Jean Harlow was forbidden by workplace instruction from marrying, since producers astatine MGM didn’t want to complicate her image arsenic a activity symbol. Actors for illustration Ava Gardner, Judy Garland, Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, and Fay Wray were each contractually prevented from having children — some, according to lore, were forced to person abortions.

Now, Hollywood studios nary longer ain their stars’ images; they haven’t since nan early 1960s. Instead, actors power their ain images, and they person teams of agents, publicists, and, sometimes, individual stylists connected manus to do it. When Emily Blunt and Penélope Cruz became pregnant while making “Into nan Woods” and “Pirates of nan Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” respectively, they weren’t dropped from nan films — instead, nan costume departments, stunt teams, and board accommodated nan actors and their pregnancies, reimagining analyzable sequences and altering costumes arsenic needed.

Chris Evans astatine nan premiere of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘Red One’John Nacion/Variety

Actors coming still trust connected contracts, imaginative power complete their productions, and agreements pinch producers to build and support accordant images. The 21st-century meaning of marque image intends that immoderate movie stars get typecast — unless, for illustration Emma Stone, Kristen Stewart, Anna Kendrick, and Jennifer Lawrence, an character leverages their mainstream occurrence to break nan mold and make independent films.

Some naysayers allege that nan diminution of movie stars is owed to societal media, that having nan accrued vulnerability of celebrities’ individual lives has made them look little alluring. But these stars still person agents and publicists, and arsenic such, awesome actors for illustration Jennifer Lawrence, Zendaya, Tom Hanks, and Ryan Reynolds still person cautiously cultivated images, nan aforesaid measurement that Jimmy Stewart, Charlie Chaplin, Veronica Lake, and Rita Hayworth did. Some actors sphere nan illusion (and their ain privacy) by not being connected societal media astatine all, including Lawrence, Pitt, and Johansson, but they still prosecute pinch viral marketing, which includes everything from GQ and Vanity Fair’s profession breakdowns to eating spicy wings connected “Hot Ones.” The stars mightiness beryllium connected TikTok now, but they’re still stars.

“The Falcon Is a Movie Star”

At Comic-Con 2017, “Captain America: Brave New World” prima Anthony Mackie famously said that location are nary movie stars anymore. “Anthony Mackie isn’t a movie star,” he said. “The Falcon is a movie star.” And Mackie is correct that, increasingly, Hollywood has hitched its wagon to intelligence spot complete original ideas — and nan stars have, too. Quentin Tarantino echoed these words successful 2022, saying, “It’s these franchise characters that go a star,” alternatively than nan actors playing them.

In 2024, retired of nan 50 highest-grossing home films successful nan U.S. according to BoxOfficeMojo, 32 were IP-driven movies (i.e., remakes, reboots, aliases sequels) pinch immense stars successful them, for illustration “Bad Boys: Ride aliases Die” starring Will Smith. Six films, for illustration “Wicked” and “The Fall Guy,” adapted successful IP for nan screen. Only 13 films successful nan apical 50 were star-driven projects that didn’t trust connected IP, and moreover among that group, you tin place some, for illustration “Red One” aliases “Argylle,” that look for illustration they’re trying to astroturf a franchise. Others, for illustration “Anyone But You” and “Bob Marley: One Love,” accommodate worldly galore are acquainted pinch — William Shakespeare and nan life of Bob Marley, respectively — which helps pinch marque nickname but intends they’re not wholly original works.

Anthony Mackie astatine Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Premiere held astatine El Capitan Theatre connected February 11, 2025 successful Los Angeles, CaliforniaMichael Buckner/Variety

Simply headlining a movie these days does not make personification a movie star. But it’s ever been that way. Chris Evans, Brie Larson, and Chadwick Boseman each headlined movies that grossed a cardinal dollars worldwide, but those films were built astir nan brands, characters, and stories alternatively than nan actors. It’s telling that Marvel has recast some Captain America and Black Panther (passing nan mantle onto Letitia Wright’s Shuri) and still recovered container agency success, but alternatively than recast a caller Iron Man and switch its biggest star, Robert Downey Jr., nan workplace invited him backmost successful a wholly different domiciled for “Avengers: Doomsday.” Marvel didn’t termination nan movie star; they cognize nan worth of 1 arsenic overmuch arsenic anyone else.

The quality betwixt a movie prima and an A-list character is simply a good line. Timothée Chalamet, for example, straddles nan statement betwixt movie prima and characteristic actor, choosing analyzable roles that require him to inhabit radically different characters and show disconnected his scope and acting chops. Yet erstwhile you watch “A Complete Unknown,” you’re not seeing Chalamet vanish into Bob Dylan. You’re seeing Chalamet pretending to beryllium Bob Dylan — nan capacity is arsenic overmuch astir nan character arsenic it is astir nan character.

His characteristic character contemporaries for illustration Tilda Swinton, Gary Oldman, Lakeith Stanfield, Paul Giamatti, and Toni Collette go immoderate their roles require them to be. But Chalamet is still Chalamet, sloppy of what costume aliases affectation he’s wearing. He has a marque and an personality that shows done successful each of his roles and that he carries pinch him to each azygous film, conscionable for illustration Meryl Streep aliases Tom Cruise. His films mightiness not ever make their money back, and he mightiness not beryllium hanging connected nan helping of a biplane, but his persona is what makes him a star.