the leading man is dead. long live the hot guy.
on Austin Butler, press tours, and why no one wants to be famous anymore
Hollywood has a problem no one wants to admit: there’s a movie star shortage.
No swoon-worthy leading men dominating the box office. No press runs with charm and charisma. No one giving the girls what they want. Frankly, the former contenders are just too old. I can appreciate a good salt-and-pepper gentleman, but we can’t let the Leading Man die out with them. Where’s the sparkle? The sex appeal? The mandatory Vanity Fair profiles? We can’t all have anxiety and “not like being interviewed.”
Streaming has made media accessible 24/7, but for the brand of the Leading Man, it’s been catastrophic. There’s no time to build the kind of parasocial connection our mothers and grandmothers had with heartthrobs. My grandmother can’t watch a movie without shouting “THAT’S MY BOY!” every five minutes. Who are we supposed to say that about?
The modern Leading Man has been quietly laid to rest — funeral held at the Church of Z-List Movies, afterparty at Direct-to-Video Hall.
Take Bruce Willis. Once the definition of a box office star, by the late 2010s he was showing up in forgettable action films with about fifteen minutes of screen time. Why? Because someone named Randall Emmett was paying him $2 million for two days of work. Yes, really.
Randall Emmett and his production company, Emmett/Furla Oasis, turned quick, low-budget action movies into a side hustle for washed-out A-listers. Nicolas Cage even admitted to doing “crummy” roles to pay off $6 million in debt.
But we can’t put all the blame on sketchy producers. The real issue? No one wants to be a star anymore.
A Leading Man isn’t just a good actor. He’s a presence. He has charisma, talent, a love for the craft—and yes, he should be a little hot. But not too perfect. I thought Glen Powell was ugly until a month ago. Then I watched Hit Man interviews and learned he’s a Libra. Suddenly, I was in love.
I thought Austin Butler was okay-looking—until Dune: Part Two turned him into a sadistic space freak with shark teeth. It worked.
Tom Cruise still has Leading Man status because he loves movies. He throws his body out of planes for them. His stardom isn’t accidental; it’s intentional. And that’s what a lot of younger actors are missing.
Still, I think some are catching on. Austin Butler and Timothée Chalamet both understand the value of marketing to women. TikTok edits of them rack up millions of views. And let’s be honest — the only reason I saw Top Gun: Maverick was for the beach volleyball scene.
Denzel Washington is the blueprint. He’s the only actor who plays Denzel in every movie and gets away with it. The man could show up as Julius Caesar speaking in a Bronx accent and we’d all clap. (And in Gladiator 2, apparently, he does.)
There are very few under-35 actors with range. I’ve long thought Timothée Chalamet was just consistently alright. He reminds me of early DiCaprio — good, not great, but almost. His public image might be too wrapped up in potential. I want him in an HBO series that forces him to act. He has an Emmy waiting.
Austin Butler, on the other hand, isn’t afraid to be weird. He’s not scared to go full character actor. Feyd-Rautha in Dune 2? No one else could’ve played him. He disappeared into that role like his life depended on it.
Give it another five years. We might just have a real Leading Man revival.
Until then, we wait — candle in hand — hoping for press tours, charisma, and someone worth yelling “THAT’S MY BOY!” about again.