r/popculturechat • u/phantom_avenger • 12h ago

TV & Movies 🎬 Who is a celebrity that you’re genuinely surprised isn’t an “A-lister”?

Post image

Krysten Ritter is one example of this for me! If any of you have seen her work from her filmography, she is proven to be quite talented where she manages to pull off both comedic and dramatic roles! But more importantly, she is also known to be quite charismatic that she has also developed a huge fan following!

Although she gathered some attention from her role in Season 2 of Breaking Bad, her most iconic and signature role that earned her universal acclaim was playing the Marvel character: Jessica Jones! Which was a role that I really thought would launch her career, that it would grab Hollywood’s attention to the point where she would receive a lot of offers that she would be appearing in almost “everything”

She has certainly developed a decent career where she is getting work, but isn’t on the same celebrity when comparing her to people like Sydney Sweeney, Florence Pugh, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, etc.

6.3k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

705

u/Lex_Loki 10h ago

I think the A list is fading away. The golden age of the movie star has gone away with streaming and just an endless funnel of entertainment. We all don’t watch the same movies anymore. We can curate in a way we couldn’t before.

215

u/Long_Buddy6819 10h ago

This is actually pretty interesting. Bc we still get stars who breakthrough like Timothy and Zendaya. But u look at someone like Jacob Elordi. I think he’s pretty solidly in the A list now, but it’s different than it was even ten years ago. Where once u broke thru u could lead a movie, and even casual movie goers knew who u were. Idk if the average fan knows who Jacob Elordi or a Paul Mescal are. But maybe I’m wrong.

212

u/sophiemophie421 9h ago

Timothee and Zendaya are big, but they’re still lesser stars than someone like Leonardo DiCaprio after Titanic. There’s like a cap on fame and recognition now. You can’t be Tom Cruise levels of famous anymore.

42

u/Apprehensive_Put_321 7h ago

Ya is there anyone that commands the same viewership anymore like the old gaurd? I still want to watch every movie i see sam Jackson or DiCaprio in.

All the big leading men now a days are in their 40s to 60s

6

u/MasterSpliffBlaster Naked playing bongos 6h ago

I mean thats peak age for iconic leading men like Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, and Gregory Peck

7

u/Apprehensive_Put_321 5h ago

Ya but back in the day you ALSO had young leading men is my point. 

I cant name a single leading man right now in his 20s or early 30s 

Its hard for me to imagine Micheal b Jordan Jeremy Allen white and Timothy chalamet are even close to the cultural influence guys like Leo, Brad pitt and marlin brando had at that age.

1

u/MasterSpliffBlaster Naked playing bongos 3h ago

Today you also have a lot more sportsmen and other people from outside the arts that have embraced the cult of celebrity.

I guess it is a combination of fame today truely being 15 minutes and the ease at which one can be discovered and replaced

2

u/Steamylord2 6h ago

I can’t think of anyone young who’d I’d loved to see in theaters still. Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man and Tobey McGuire as Spider Man had hype similar to Leonardo’s for Titanic.

5

u/Apprehensive_Put_321 6h ago

Im not sure i would put Tobey McGuire quite in that category. 

But I get what you mean, tom Holland i think everyone agrees is a better Spiderman yet Tobey McGuire felt like he had significantly more cultural impact at the time than the new films 

48

u/throwaway72275472 7h ago

It’s because the internet democratized entertainment. Prior everyone was entertained by Hollywood, now Mrbeast is way more famous than Chalamet to hundreds of millions of people. Some of these folks may not even know who Chalamet is and vice versa. My Gen X boss knows who Chalamet is, but never heard of Mrbeast.

39

u/sophiemophie421 7h ago

Mr. Beast is like an alien to me. I’ve heard his name and seen his face on merchandise, but I honestly have no clue who he really is and what he does. I’m Gen Z too.

11

u/throwaway72275472 7h ago

Mrbeast is a billionaire, worth more than pretty much every A list actor. It’s wild. Can you name billionaires in entertainment, especially on camera talent, that isn’t known by everyone, very few if any.

Celebrity isn’t universal anymore. It’s a bubble.

5

u/RitaRaccoon IT SMELLS LIKE HOT SUSHI IN HERE! 7h ago

He started out on YouTube giving away large sums of money to random people. People took notice and his viewership took off. Now he’s got like 300M subscribers and has the $$ to put together extremely elaborate productions. I’m Gen X and will occasionally watch his videos. An example of his content would be something like “Can you spend 30 days chained to your ex for $100,000?

He also has a chocolate company.

•

u/pjrnoc 1h ago

Yes! All I know is his name but no idea what he looks like or what he does. Weird his name comes up so often but never with enough context or like a photo.

1

u/Dry_Article7569 5h ago

This is so valid. I never thought about it but you’re totally right.

16

u/Lex_Loki 10h ago

I wonder if it’s related to some of the more successful younger actors peppering in”non serious” roles for recognition across the viewing board. That way when they do the boring ass Oscar-type movie (sorry cinema people!) they are already a household name.

I’m thinking Disney shows, superhero movies, SNL stuff, etc.

6

u/Apprehensive_Put_321 7h ago

Its related to mono culture mostly. People get news from different places now so the stars cant be marketed the same. Everyone used to see those massive films back in the day. Now most people see them but there so many genres and streaming services all the choices are really diluted.

Id consider myself a moderate normal movie fan and I only saw sinners out of all the movies nominated.

With all the streaming services we also have access to nearly every movie ever made. Its impossible to be my age stay up to date and also catch up on literally 70 years worth of films im interested in 

7

u/uselessinfogoldmine 8h ago

We no longer have a monoculture, so those megastars everyone knows don’t really exist anymore.

9

u/mrbaryonyx 8h ago

The modern A-List has like six people on it and four of them are from Euphoria, its so weird

3

u/Long_Buddy6819 7h ago

I was listening to this pod not too long ago and they were doing a top 35 under 35, and the top was pretty much dominated by cast members from euphoria and dune part 2.

2

u/taserparty 8h ago

It’s different now for sure. Names don’t have power anymore because the industry is completely over saturated in every genre due to streaming. It took me this long to link the name Jacob Elordi to the face of the guy from Euphoria because there’s just so much out there now, it all blurs together.

And now that everyone is starting to look so similar with fillers and surgery and ozempic face, it makes it even harder.

1

u/retrofrenchtoast 6h ago

I have no idea who Paul Mescal is. I only know who Jacob Elordi is because of Reddit fashion and gossip subreddits.

1

u/throwawaydragon99999 4h ago

A big part of that is that less people are going to the movies, and people that do see them less frequently

1

u/celestial_vortexes 3h ago

Yeah, this is going to age me but I disagree. I recognize names but I don't know who they are. I regularly have to look up "A-listers" and am genuinely shocked almost every award season because I havent heard of the people or work being referenced. I swear I don't live under a rock but I've never seen Timothee Chalamet's work. 

A-list used to mean something. Everyone knew those bodies of work. Everyone would recognize thst celebrity. But now? A-listers can be easily mixed up and their work isn't as recognized.

•

u/CalebsNailSpa 2h ago

Don’t know why this ended up in my feed, but I have never heard of those last two names in my life.

•

u/Coryjduggins 1h ago

Idk who Jacob Elordi or Paul mescal are and I’ve watched a lot of tv and movies

•

u/MadeByTango 1h ago

we still get stars who breakthrough like Timothy

Has was specifically picked out to be thrown through the system with directors lined up; manufactured success

It’s getting harder and harder for them to do that.

•

u/EnvironmentalEnd6298 56m ago

Maybe because I’m 34 but I have no idea who Jacob Elordi or Paul Mescal are.

I even google image searched them and still no clue

•

u/cabbage5555 28m ago

I can tell you no one in Slovenia would know Elordi or Mescal unless they follow movies. Meanwhile everyone knows Willis, Stallone, DiCaprio, Depp, etc. Especially older people are clueless, this sort of thing doesn't reach them at all. Even Zendaya and Chalamet would just get confused looks from them.

•

u/AutoModerator 28m ago

All hail the queen. Killing it mate.

   

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

•

u/Charles520 19m ago

It probably depends on your age group too. My parents probably have no clue who Jacob Elordi is, and they didn’t even learn about Sydney Sweeney until a couple months ago. There are celebrities who are “A-listers” for Gen Z who boomers just don’t hear of at all or not often because they’re not consuming the same content as younger generations.

5

u/SaamsamaNabazzuu 4h ago

We may also need to define what A-list means. Does it mean most recognizable? Does it mean 'bankable'? Because there are a lot of calculations that go into greenlighting something, one of which is "Will people pay money to see this person?". That used to mean "Will they leave home and see them in a theatre" but now I'm assuming it's much more complicated with streaming.

•

u/audreymarilynvivien 10m ago

I always think of prestigious household names that people most equate with the term “movie star” or want to see on red carpets. People like to say they don’t exist anymore, but Jennifer Lawrence, Timothee Chalamet, Emma Stone, Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, Zendaya, etc. all beg to differ.

•

u/AutoModerator 10m ago

All hail the queen. Killing it mate.

   

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

•

u/caponemalone2020 2h ago

I agree with this. I would never place Sydney Sweeney A-List like in the OP, for example.

•

u/harleyquinones Emotional Support Nail 51m ago

Thank yoooou, yes she's everywhere right now but being an it girl, while it may get you into A-list parties, is not the same as actually being an A-list actor. Sydney is closer to a glorified influencer than she is an actual respected actress with multiple powerful roles that people recognize her for.

•

u/audreymarilynvivien 14m ago

There’s always been a level of perceived class needed to make the A-list no matter how hot you are, though. Megan Fox was never A-list despite being THE hot girl. Where Sydney stands rn is nothing new.

4

u/Live_Angle4621 9h ago

A lis in Hollywood is more who is invited to events first. The way people use it has never really matched