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For a while, it was conventional wisdom: Hollywood had lost the ability to make new movie stars.
The cultural machinery that once turned actors into icons was broken and seemingly unfixable.
Studios had given up on the medium-budget character-driven films that produced the A-listers of previous generations.
Performers like Saoirse Ronan and Lucas Hedges impressed in smaller films but kept the public at arms length.
Meanwhile, the entire concept of stardom was being cheapened by nobodies from TikTok and reality TV.
But lately, it feels as if the curse has lifted.
Suddenly, our screens are overrun with charismatic young people who dare we say it?
seem an awful lot like stars.
Fans on social media took it from there, worshipping these actors into memes.
These celebrities represent a shift in attitude from their predecessors.
They tend to be more progressive in their politics.
This is how to be a star in 2024.
1.Dont Worry About the Box Office
1.
(Dont worry, Taylor Kitsch was just sent to live on a farm.)
Then came streaming and a pandemic and a third of audiences stopped going to multiplexes.
Few have benefited more from these lower expectations, though, than Adam Driver.
In another era, to another actor, numbers like these might have been deadly.
Driver is also protected by the fact that top directors cant stop hiring him.
It may lose many millions of dollars.
Even if it does, Driver will be fine.
Lane Brown
2.Leave Your Marvel Movie
2.
Even an exciting talent like Florence Pugh is in danger of falling into the black hole with next yearsThunderbolts.
But with the MCU in a creative and commercial rut, the calculus has shifted.
(Their departures were reportedly due to scheduling conflicts.)
Or consider the case of Simu Liu.
The current poster boy for this approach is Glen Powell.
His upcomingHit Manis effectively a sales pitch on behalf of his future stardom.
Alison Willmore
4.Star in a Buzzy TV Show First
4.
It used to be hard for TV actors to break into movies.
For every George Clooney who successfully made the leap, there was an entire cast ofFriendsthat didnt.
There are a few likely reasons for this shift.
For one, viewers now spend more than twice as much time watching television as they do movies.
And the line between TV and movies has blurred.
Small-screen shows have adopted the signifiers of cinema big budgets, dark themes, flashy cinematography.
Lane Brown
5.Eat Chicken On-Camera
5.
Also, for some reason, they often involve eating chicken.
Host Sean Evanss questions are thoughtful but never invasive.
(Youre always playing such sad characters, but theyre also quite sexy.)
(Josh OConnor:Accattone, Ratatouille, Looking for Eric, Happy As Lazzaro.)
(I can watch Elaine MaysMikey and Nickyover and over, every day, claims Charles Melton.)
Lane Brown
6.Go onSNLfor the Memes
6.
It also opened these performers up to movie roles by showing off their comedic chops.
Take Timothee Chalamets SoundCloud-rapper sketch with Pete Davidson, which went on to become a popular sound on TikTok.
Or Jacob Elordis monologue, during which he told this joke: So you might know me fromSaltburn…
If you saw the movie with your parents, Im sorry.
And if you saw the movie with your girlfriend [does a finger-gun point], youre welcome.
No one has understood the new dynamic better than Sydney Sweeney.
Jesse David Fox
7.Be Bratty
7.
For decades, the dreaded D-word hung over any actress trying to make a name for herself.
How dare she impugn the feminist bona fides of a Judd Apatow comedy!
This wasnt great for the film, but it was the most relatable thing Johnson had ever done.
Nate Jones
8.Do Crunches (And Maybe Get Some HGH)
8.
But superhero physiques have now become mandatory for even the least heroic of roles.
Does it make sense that Whites stressed-out chef inThe Bearand Keoghans awkward loner inSaltburnwould be this yoked?
They just werent built for these times.
Nate Jones
9.Keep Your Real Teeth
9.
To gaze upon the celebrity face in 2024 is to be confronted with one blinding truth.
Or, rather, 28 little ones look at all those fake teeth!
Its hard not to notice row after row of perfectly white veneers.
Emma Stones mouth is looking fuller.
Miley Cyruss teeth at the Grammys pulled the focus from her pair of trophies.
And half the cast ofSNLappears to have gotten the same massive chompers from 30 Rocks in-house dentist.
In this sea of porcelain, its all the more momentous when a star retains their original enamel.
They do make me look younger, Myhala toldNylon.So I am going to work for a long time.
The godmother of this trend, Kirsten Dunst, resisted industry pressure to change her teeth in theSpider-Mandays.
Leave the veneers to the strivers; real stars know a seemingly imperfect smile can be the perfect trademark.
Nate Jones
10.Join This Clique
10.
Todays young stars mingle within their own circle (which includes the odd pop star and supermodel).
They work together, party together, and sometimes date one another, too.
11.Be a Little Famous to Everybody …
11.
Now, there are limits to how far doing just one thing can take you.
Success in a single area a hit movie or TV show is no guarantee of broad awareness.
If you want to get really big in 2024, you need a diversified approach.
Gomez is extremely well known but not just for one thing and not just to one audience.
Her professional and social networks make Kevin Bacons look small, and even your parents have heard of her.
All of this activity has added up.
Its proof of Gomezs galaxy-bridging reach that either seemed plausible.
Shes famous in everybodys bubble.
Lane Brown
12…. Or Be Hugely Famous in a Small Niche
12.
Not everyone can be Selena Gomez.
Its also possible, and indeed likely, to find stardom by becoming incredibly famous in a single niche.
B-listers like Lucy Hale and Camila Mendes have built mini-empires in the streaming world.
Because shes proven that she can support them.
Unless they were devoted viewers ofThe Idol,most Americans probably dont know who Rachel Sennott is.
How much is that worth?
Around $12 million the amountBodies Bodies BodiesandBottomsboth grossed domestically.
Nate Jones
13.Play a Gay Character and Be Gayish IRL
13.
Plenty of young, ostensibly straight stars are going gay for pay these days.
Harry Styles played a closeted cop inMy Policemanin 2022.
(Even just a hint of queerness, like OConnors MMF love triangle inChallengers,gets fans going.)
To be seen as strictly gay is too restrictive to the marketing fantasy of general availability.
But its super-helpful, possibly even required, to be seen as gayish.
The things in my life that I have tried to emulate … are 100 percent queer as fuck.
In reality, 50 percent queer as fuck will do.
Brock Colyar
14.Dont Play It Safe on the Red Carpet …
14.
Yet in the past several years, male stars have seen the benefit in wearing femme, avant-garde clothing.
Like style in general, it doesnt work if you dont mean it.
The inverse is also true; stars whose style is questionably successful can still draw attention for it.
Even when it doesnt land, it can still feel like an actual persons taste.
Erin Schwartz
15…. Or Dress on Theme for Your Movie
15.
But up-and-coming actresses are adding new dimensions to this lineage.
All in an inky black.
Stewart imbued the look with a queer, boundary-pushing sensuality, further solidifying her as a gay icon.
The whole look had a fierce sensuality that tonally matched the film without being too on the nose.
But no star today owns the red carpet better than Zendaya.
With stylist Law Roach, she has created a series of iconic looks that have bolstered her career.
And it wouldnt work so well if Zendaya didnt know how to wear it.
On-screen, she has yet to portray the grown-ass sexiness and energy she brings to the press circuit.
In doing so, shes become an auteur of image-making on the red carpet.
Angelica Jade Bastien
16.Work With Female Directors …
16.
For the new crop of leading-man contenders, this hasnt been a problem.
In fact, half of the six features the Irish actor has made were directed by women.
Alison Willmore
17…. Or These Five Male Directors
17.
Their films satisfy on artistic and commercial grounds,andtheyre the rare auteurs open to casting people under 35.
(Martin Scorsese is a dream, but he cant really be pitched actors.)
And working with Jordan Peele has done wonders for Daniel Kaluuya.
For the right filmmaker, an actor can never be too needy.
If theyre smart, theyre chasing stuff, says the agent.
Even if theyre in a position where they dont need to be chasing anymore.
Nate Jones
18.Always Be Posting (But Get Off Twitter)
18.
Ayo Edebiri used to tweet.
So did Bowen Yang, Rachel Sennott, and Barry Keoghan.
A decade ago the platform was the key to a number of celebrity personas.
19.Take the Weird Movie …
19.
Say you want an Oscar.
What kind of project will get you there?
New voters are younger, more global, and more comfortable letting their freak flag fly.
Increasingly, the offbeat passion projectsarethe Oscar movies.
Of course, underneath their avant-garde trappings, bothPoor ThingsandEEAAOturn out to hide universal messages about acceptance and empowerment.
21.Be Political (If Your Politics Dont Offend the Studio Execs)
21.
So they cant just say nothing.
Its more complicated for the less pro-Israel.
The goal is to seem caring about everyone.
Engaged-ish but not strident.
Sayingcease-fireis acceptable so long as you mention the hostages.
Its safe to pray for humanity.
Its wonderful to wish for peace.
Protecting people is always so important.
Its when you say which people need protecting that you run into trouble.
In 2020, celebs shared black squares; in 2024, theyre reposting Doctors Without Borders.
Madeline Leung Coleman
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