With the release of “He’s All That,” starring social media influencer Addison Rae, and her subsequent multi-film deal with Netflix, I can’t help but wonder if TikTok is unofficially serving as the number one casting agency for producers.
Casting media personalities is not new for the film industry. Initially, when it came to actors running the risk of losing their jobs to those who were inexperienced, it was models snatching up roles. We all remember the iconic performances of Paris Hilton in “Zoolander” and Heidi Klum in “Ella Enchanted,” in which both of them truly proved their talents at playing shallow and unbelievable characters.
Models slowly gave way to internet personalities, most prominently stars from Vine and YouTube. To name some of the most popular, you have Flula Borg, a German YouTuber in “Pitch Perfect 2” and “The Suicide Squad.” Anna Akana, another YouTuber was in “Ant Man,” and Vine star King Bach was in “The Babysitter.” Lastly, Vine and Instagram personality Cameron Dallas starred in “Expelled.”
Now, we have the influencer, coming from Instagram and TikTok and traveling through a pipeline to Hollywood by filling mainstream roles. Rae for instance, is an influencer with 84.2 million followers on TikTok.
In earlier renditions of media personalities being cast in films, their appearance did not minimize the quality of the film, even if the performance was subpar.
Jump forward roughly 13 years and you see films like “Expelled,” where the only thing making...
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