"From the outside, actor’s lives usually seem glamorous, a life of excitement and stardom. Being an actor can be appealing as once someone “makes it”, they become financially independent and have a lot more freedom in their life, but the life of an actor isn’t always this charming." -- Aiyla Baker, 11th grade
From the outside, actor’s lives usually seem glamorous, a life of excitement and stardom. Being an actor can be appealing as once someone “makes it”, they become financially independent and have a lot more freedom in their life. Chris Evans, who rose to fame through his on-screen portrayals of comic book characters, will have more than enough money to cover the rest of his life, estimated to have a net worth of $110 million by Celebrity Net Worth, and he’s only 41. Many other actors who’ve “made it” have similar experiences and lead happy lives, but the life of an actor isn’t always this charming. The acting industry is a breeding ground for toxic behavior and oftentimes leads to abuse and harassment of the actor.
Toxic fans often blur the line between the actor and the character leading to harassment. Notable examples are Justin Prentice who was harassed for his role of Bryce Walker, the main antagonist in 13 Reasons Why, and Wyatt Russell, who was harassed for his role of John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. John Walker is the new Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and many toxic fans of Chris Evans rejected him and retaliated by bullying Russel online. Once the harassment got to the extent of death threats, Wyatt Russell decided to quit social media. Many actors who have been harassed for their roles explain that audiences have trouble differentiating between the actor and their character, but this does not excuse any of the treatment subjected to these actors. These actors have received death threats, their families have been threatened, and people will even come up to them on the street and yell at them.
Harsh behaviors subjected to actors aren’t only caused by the fans, sometimes the actors themselves create harsh conditions, especially those who are method actors. Method acting, also known as ‘The Method’, is an acting technique where actors try to engulf themselves in their character and fully emotionally identify with the character. There are many different techniques used to achieve method acting, including Stanislavski’s, which uses emotion and sense memory to help actors embody the character by recalling their own similar experiences to use when acting. Some notable actors who use method acting are Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, and Adrien Brody. Heath Ledger may be the most well-known method actor due to the extremes he subjected himself to so he could embody the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight. 6 months before the film’s release, Heath Ledger was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills. Rumors circulated that the role ultimately took such a mental toll on him that it led to his death, however, his family disputed these claims and said his death was unrelated. According to Looper, Heath Ledger had sleeping problems and chronic insomnia before filming The Dark Knight, but his sleep troubles became “much more prevalent and aggressive” after filming, leading to him increasing the amount of sleeping pills he was taking. This is one of the many examples of method acting taking a toll on the actor.
The struggles of being an actor aren’t only related to the job itself – there can also be issues rooted in the work environment. Having a director/actor relationship already creates a power imbalance, but when a director decides to exploit the power they have, it can take away an actor’s agency. These problems are enhanced when child actors become involved, however, they also happen to adult actors. 2018’s #MeToo movement brought many allegations of assault to light including many actors, particularly young female actors, coming out with allegations against directors and producers. Many of these actors were afraid to come out against assault for fear that it will get them blacklisted from the acting industry, so some came out anonymously or didn’t come out at all. Many directors, producers, and filmmakers were exposed for exploiting actors including Andrew Kreisberg, Charlie Rose, John Lasseter, and Brett Ratner. Producer Harvey Weinstein and filmmaker James Tobak were two other people exposed for exploiting actors. These actors had just made their start in the acting industry and Weinstein and Tobak held the prospect of success over their heads. According to Rolling Stone, one of James Tobak’s victims alleged that “‘He exploited the dreams and vulnerabilities of hundreds of young women’”. Tobak took advantage of these women’s aspirations to abuse and assault them, and many of these women believed there was nothing they could do about it because they were threatened that their careers would get taken away if they came out against him. There was also a huge power imbalance between these producers and their victims, with the men having all the power in the acting industry. This created an unsafe environment for the victims involved and ultimately led to the assaults.
It’s important to note that not every actor has these experiences, but this does not remove the importance of discussing these topics. Being an actor can very well be glamorous, but it can also be exhausting and unsafe especially if you’ve just made your start in the acting industry. Any actor needs to find a good balance between their personal and professional lives and not take online trolls too seriously. It’s also crucial that people continue to talk about such incidents so the likelihood of them happening again can decrease.
Sources
Madarang, Charisma. “Dozens of Women Sue James Toback Accusing Him of Sexual Abuse, Assault.” Rolling Stone, 5 December 2022, https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/james-toback-harvard-club-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-1234641829/.
Ravenola, Dean. “How Playing The Joker Changed Heath Ledger For Good.” Looper, 6 May 2020, https://www.looper.com/141474/how-playing-the-joker-changed-heath-ledger-for-good/.
Shaw, Isabelle. “Exposing abuse in the acting industry: Why is it so prominent?” Empoword Journalism, 3 July 2023, https://www.empowordjournalism.com/all-articles/features/exposing-abuse-in-the-acting-industry-why-is-it-so-prominent/.
Twohey, Megan. “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades (Published 2017).” The New York Times, 5 October 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html.
Toxic fans often blur the line between the actor and the character leading to harassment. Notable examples are Justin Prentice who was harassed for his role of Bryce Walker, the main antagonist in 13 Reasons Why, and Wyatt Russell, who was harassed for his role of John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. John Walker is the new Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and many toxic fans of Chris Evans rejected him and retaliated by bullying Russel online. Once the harassment got to the extent of death threats, Wyatt Russell decided to quit social media. Many actors who have been harassed for their roles explain that audiences have trouble differentiating between the actor and their character, but this does not excuse any of the treatment subjected to these actors. These actors have received death threats, their families have been threatened, and people will even come up to them on the street and yell at them.
Harsh behaviors subjected to actors aren’t only caused by the fans, sometimes the actors themselves create harsh conditions, especially those who are method actors. Method acting, also known as ‘The Method’, is an acting technique where actors try to engulf themselves in their character and fully emotionally identify with the character. There are many different techniques used to achieve method acting, including Stanislavski’s, which uses emotion and sense memory to help actors embody the character by recalling their own similar experiences to use when acting. Some notable actors who use method acting are Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, and Adrien Brody. Heath Ledger may be the most well-known method actor due to the extremes he subjected himself to so he could embody the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight. 6 months before the film’s release, Heath Ledger was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills. Rumors circulated that the role ultimately took such a mental toll on him that it led to his death, however, his family disputed these claims and said his death was unrelated. According to Looper, Heath Ledger had sleeping problems and chronic insomnia before filming The Dark Knight, but his sleep troubles became “much more prevalent and aggressive” after filming, leading to him increasing the amount of sleeping pills he was taking. This is one of the many examples of method acting taking a toll on the actor.
The struggles of being an actor aren’t only related to the job itself – there can also be issues rooted in the work environment. Having a director/actor relationship already creates a power imbalance, but when a director decides to exploit the power they have, it can take away an actor’s agency. These problems are enhanced when child actors become involved, however, they also happen to adult actors. 2018’s #MeToo movement brought many allegations of assault to light including many actors, particularly young female actors, coming out with allegations against directors and producers. Many of these actors were afraid to come out against assault for fear that it will get them blacklisted from the acting industry, so some came out anonymously or didn’t come out at all. Many directors, producers, and filmmakers were exposed for exploiting actors including Andrew Kreisberg, Charlie Rose, John Lasseter, and Brett Ratner. Producer Harvey Weinstein and filmmaker James Tobak were two other people exposed for exploiting actors. These actors had just made their start in the acting industry and Weinstein and Tobak held the prospect of success over their heads. According to Rolling Stone, one of James Tobak’s victims alleged that “‘He exploited the dreams and vulnerabilities of hundreds of young women’”. Tobak took advantage of these women’s aspirations to abuse and assault them, and many of these women believed there was nothing they could do about it because they were threatened that their careers would get taken away if they came out against him. There was also a huge power imbalance between these producers and their victims, with the men having all the power in the acting industry. This created an unsafe environment for the victims involved and ultimately led to the assaults.
It’s important to note that not every actor has these experiences, but this does not remove the importance of discussing these topics. Being an actor can very well be glamorous, but it can also be exhausting and unsafe especially if you’ve just made your start in the acting industry. Any actor needs to find a good balance between their personal and professional lives and not take online trolls too seriously. It’s also crucial that people continue to talk about such incidents so the likelihood of them happening again can decrease.
Sources
Madarang, Charisma. “Dozens of Women Sue James Toback Accusing Him of Sexual Abuse, Assault.” Rolling Stone, 5 December 2022, https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/james-toback-harvard-club-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-1234641829/.
Ravenola, Dean. “How Playing The Joker Changed Heath Ledger For Good.” Looper, 6 May 2020, https://www.looper.com/141474/how-playing-the-joker-changed-heath-ledger-for-good/.
Shaw, Isabelle. “Exposing abuse in the acting industry: Why is it so prominent?” Empoword Journalism, 3 July 2023, https://www.empowordjournalism.com/all-articles/features/exposing-abuse-in-the-acting-industry-why-is-it-so-prominent/.
Twohey, Megan. “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades (Published 2017).” The New York Times, 5 October 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html.