For years, there’s been a larger conversation about “where did all of the movie stars go” and thinkpieces about “the death of the movie star.” It’s true that there really aren’t full-fledged movie stars like Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise being made anymore by the Hollywood system – meaning, projects completely built around the actor, an actor who can carry any movie on sheer charisma, an actor with glamour and that movie-star X factor. Well, Sean Penn (who is not a movie star) thinks there aren’t many movie stars left, but he does think Jennifer Lawrence is one of them.
Sean Penn appeared on “The Louis Theroux Podcast” and declared Jennifer Lawrence to be “probably the last movie star.” Penn and the eponymous podcast host were discussing an array of different celebrities, with the Oscar winner giving his opinion on each.
“I think the movie star manufacturer ran out around Jennifer Lawrence time or something,” Penn said about movie stardom. “She’s probably the last movie star.”
One undisputed movie star in Penn’s mind is Tom Cruise, who is back in theaters this month with “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Penn praised the A-lister as “a guy who pursues excellence on a very high level.”
“Certain kind of movies people appreciate more than others… but this is a very good actor who is also an incredibly extraordinary craftsman,” Penn said about Cruise. “Those movies don’t get made on those level without somebody extraordinary behind them. He’s the common link behind many of them. It’s no accident. He does his own stunts. He’s probably the best stuntman in movie world. He’s the most experienced guy.”
When Penn noted later that “I see some performances from some young actors where I feel like I should quit and become an accountant because they are so good,” Theroux wondered who the actor might be talking about. Perhaps Timothée Chalamet?
“I haven’t seen that movie yet,” Penn said, referring to Chalamet’s Oscar-nominated turn as Bob Dylan in last year’s “A Complete Unknown.” The actor added: “I haven’t seen his movies yet.”
He’s right about J-Law. She’s absolutely a movie star and she has been from her early 20s. There’s a very Julia Roberts-type quality to her too – the sassy, relatable, tall bombshell with a big mouth. Is Timothee Chalamet a movie star? He’s getting there, I think. Who are some of the other under-40 actors who might be the last movie stars? I’m drawing a blank, which is probably the point. Dakota Johnson, maybe? Florence Pugh, possibly, although I don’t think people go to her movies specifically because of her. Oh, Margot Robbie definitely – Margot and Jennifer Lawrence are the same age, btw, both 34. Emma Stone should probably be on the “possibly a movie star” list (she’s 36!). Keira Knightley maybe?? And see, I can’t even come up with a similar “possible movie star under 40” list for the guys.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- US actor and director Sean Penn during a meeting with the audience after the screening of his new documentary about Ukraine “Superpower” as part of the 31st edition of the EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival in Torun, Poland 17 November 2023,Image: 822751097, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: POLAND OUT, Model Release: no, Credit line: Mikołaj Kuras / – / Avalon
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- Jennifer Lawrence arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855702277, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Nick Agro ©A.M.P.A.S. / Avalon
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- Krakow, POLAND – Actor Sean Penn visits the Krakow Glowny (Cracow Main) railway station, where one of the reception centers for Ukrainian refugees operates in Krakow, Poland. Penn arrived in Krakow to sign on behalf of the CORE humanitarian organization an agreement with the city’s authorities regarding cooperation with the aid efforts dedicated to people displaced due to the Russian attack on Ukraine. CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) is a non-profit organization founded by actor Sean Penn, initially established in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Pictured: Sean Penn BACKGRID USA 23 MARCH 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: EastNews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Madrid, – Actress Jennifer Lawrence attends the photocall of ‘No Hard Feelings’ at the Four Seasons Hotel. Pictured: Jennifer Lawrence BACKGRID USA 14 JUNE 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York City, NY – Sean Penn takes a moment to unwind, lighting up a cigarette in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan as he waits for a friend. The actor seemed to be in a relaxed state, soaking in the ambiance of the trendy area. Pictured: Sean Penn BACKGRID USA 13 SEPTEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: JosiahW / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Jennifer Lawrence, Jenna Ortega and other celebrities attended the photocall of the Christian Dior ready-to-wear during Paris Fashion Week. Pictured: Jennifer Lawrence BACKGRID USA 26 SEPTEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Yeah, no.
I wouldn’t consider Jennifer Lawrence a movie star. She could open a movie and stack the box office a decade ago, but I’m her target audience and haven’t seen anything she’s been in for years. Awards and accolades, yes. Box office draw? Not so much.
I actually don’t think there are any currently. Even the highest grossing names out there are only on that list because of ensemble work.
Well, I think Jennifer Lawrence was Hollywood’s last official “It Girl” before Covid hit and then everything just got weird. People stopped going to the movies for a long time, streaming and influencers and podcasters took over entertainment….so I agree with Sean. She was the last of how we viewed movie stars in the before times.
Emma Stone has not had her truly breakout, standalone role a la Pretty Woman and Julia. I think that there are a really, really limited number of performances that move an actor from “star” to “true movie star” that can carry movies on their own. Emma’s had a number of great movies and roles, but they haven’t broken through in the all-encompassing way Pretty Woman did. I also think there’s something to having that one special role followed by several major hits. Tom Cruise had a period of just absolute hit after hit for a period. So did Julia. George Clooney isn’t quite there. He’s more an Emma of my generation. Lots of good roles, lots of hits, but not that one massive hit with a summer of “George”.
I think Michael B. Jordan is on the cusp of being a true “movie star”. He’s had sooo many amazing roles and has lead lots of movies. But, he still needs that one that he truly solely carries (like Philadelphia or Castaway with Tom Hanks).
Zendaya to me is also a star
I was thinking of her too. But it’s a different vibe. Most of the actors I enjoy are usually drawn to more ensemble work than massive “starring role” films. Challengers was just as much about the other characters as Tashi. And it was a smaller film. Jennifer Lawrence was in the Hunger Games movies which were huge and she was the main protagonist. She was always going to be a breakout star with Silver Linings playbooks but the HG franchise was a big deal. I can’t wait to watch Zendaya’s career and I think others feel that way too.
Also Winter’s Bone! She was amazing in that movie and it is what put her on the radar as a “serious” actor at a young age.
That’s v true. To me though, it’s just that leading a massive franchise like HG is a big deal. It’s not the same as being the female supporting role or the sidekick. Bc the movies were all about her as Katniss with other characters supporting her story.
ABSOLUTELY! Zendaya is a star on multiple platforms to a wide range of demos. When she shows up.to something you know it is AN EVENT and she dazzles at the center of it. When she goes underground people write articles pining for her return. Zendaya is pure talent & charisma.
I like Zendaya and think she is a ‘star’ in her charisma, red carpet presence etc but unfortunately I don’t think she is a very good actor at all. Very wooden on screen for me.
To me, Zendaya is a style icon but not an audience-generating movie star. Like Nicole Kidman. Talented for sure!
Definitely NOT Dakota Johnson, Jesus.
I can see Anya Taylor-Joy getting there. I wouldn’t call her relatable, but she’s got a star quality about her that’s unique even among other celebrities.
Nope. That would be Zendaya and I’ll add Timothee Chalamet to this. He’s had 3 top grossing films since 2021 as the lead.
Zendaya and Timee are the movie stars of today.
I know Gen Z people who go to see Florence Pugh movies, no matter what the movie is about.
His interview is so out of touch (Jennifer Lawrence was big 10 years ago), swlf-righteous, and he just seems like a huge a-hole in general. He’s a worn leather bag that hasn’t been taken care of and probably should be shredded.
It did seem out of touch. As someone said above, Michael B Jordan is approaching that.
I would say Timmy, zendaya and florance Pugh are the only current stars I can think of who are under 30 who gen z shows up for. They are not your stereotypical Hollywood stars, but have star power that young people show up for no matter what. I would say rob pattinson and Kristen stewart had that same power 10-15 years ago during the twilight era, and are still doing well post-twilight.
Jen Lawrence never did it for me, I always found her exhausting. It’s no coincidence her career dipped quite a bit since Harvey Weinstein got exposed.
I don’t know if there are a lot of younger actors who can totally carry a movie on their own AND have like, Tom Cruise level fame. The people I can think of who get close — like Ryan Gosling — are all in their 40s.
Doesn’t old-style movie stardom spill over into popular culture in general, though? I don’t just mean gossip and personal lives. Cary Grant will always be watchable, as will Tom Hanks and even Tom Cruise (sadly), but I don’t have that feeling with any of the actors you named, that they elevate whatever they’re in. It may just be too hard in the current culture where everyone’s feet of clay are exposed (and that’s a K. Hepburn reference for anyone playing along).
Has Jennifer Lawrence been in a movie recently?
The studios used to make movie stars during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and when that system collapsed it was audiences who anointed star quality upon actors. That era is also over due to the rise of celebrities and famous-for-being-famous fandom. Timothée Chalamet is a star, but after the Bob Dylan biopic and upcoming ping pong film, it’s not because of his movies.
Who cares? The medium of theatre movies is dead. Move on
Agree. There are so many types of content currently that people are into that movies (especially in theatre) have to compete more.
Jennifer Lawrence is a movie star because in most movies she could be doing a bad job and it doesn’t matter. She is actually a very good actor – see Winter’s Bone – but she has ‘it’-presence, charisma, whatever you call it. Onscreen her talent is kind of secondary. It’s most noticeable in American Hustle, which she wasn’t well-cast in. The role was too old for her and just not a great fit. She did it fine, but there’s a scene before her big scene with Amy Adams, who is a top-notch, criminally underrated actor, and you forget she’s even there, because Lawrence is so incredibly charismatic. But side by side, Adams’ performance was way way way better, mostly because she was a good fit for that particular role, and she had a bigger part, but Lawrence was the breakout in that movie, because when she’s onscreen it’s all eyes on her. Not sure who of the current generation has that.
Interesting analysis, and I think you’re spot on.
Mystic Pizza worked the same way for Julia Roberts.
Annabeth Gish was supposed to be the breakout star in MP, and possibly did the better acting job (though really the script, which made her pretty whiny, didn’t help) but Julia was just far more fun to watch.
When actors have to continually give interviews to support their work it makes them look ordinary, there’s less mystique.
I think Denzel, Cate Blanchett, Penelope Cruz, Jamie Foxx and Charlize easily fit the bill and there’s more to come. Sean Penn fancies blondes and it’s showing.
Ben Whishaw
He owns everything he’s in. His career is diverse & exemplary.
Judi Dench herself named him one of the greatest of his generation.
Who cares what Sean Penn says?
Uh … Sean Penn is a movie star. 2 Academy Awards for … movies. You may not like him, but he’s one of our most talented actors and has a huge body of work to back that up.
I think to be a “movie star” you need a track record of box office success. Jennifer Lawrence did have that and I think she will again.
I think Zendaya is more of a fashion star than a movie star. I think Emma Stone is kind of dull which I think hurts her status as a movie star.
Jessica Chastain is closer to a movie star IMO than Emma Stone.
When I think of a movie star, I think of someone who can regularly have big box office openings (even if not record breaking) and who has charisma and pizazz on the red carpet AND someone who picks a variety of roles. There’s a reason Julia Roberts was so big and its not because she was this amazing actress (although I think she’s good.) She had the “it factor” and she picked interesting roles, especially after her Oscar. But there’s a certain intangible element to it.
I think part of the issue is that the Marvel movies kind of sucked up so many potential movie stars for so long that it may have hurt them in the long run, or kind of stalled their career. Time will tell if Tom Holland is a legit movie star or just this generation’s Spiderman (which is still nothing to sneeze at.) I’m thinking of what someone like Scarlett Johannson would have done if she hadn’t been making marvel movies endlessly.
Scarlett Johannson spent a decade on the Marvel assembly line but during that same period she worked with the Cohen Brothers, Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson and also scored two Oscar nominations. Compare that with Emily Blunt’s career, who was originally cast as Black Widow but had to drop out for scheduling reasons.
Sean Penn makes a pronouncement, news at 10….