Where Have All the Leading Men Gone?
by EG
This weekend proved that as a can't-miss box office draw, Johnny Depp has seen better days. At the height of his "Pirates of the Caribbean" popularity, Depp could do no wrong, but these days, his presence in a film is far from a guarantee of financial success. But has any other actor replaced him as a go-to leading man? Is there any other guy whose face on a movie poster can lure ticket buyers without fail?
In the old days—as in the 1980s—there was no shortage of leading men who could easily carry multiple film franchises on their backs. Harrison Ford was a box-office giant who gave us Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and then he threw in "The Fugitive" and Jack Ryan on top of it, as well as a slew of other hits. Sylvester Stallone wasn't nearly as prolific, but he managed to keep himself on top of the heap for quite awhile with "Rocky" and Rambo. Or consider Arnold Schwarzenegger, who dominated the box office with "Terminator," "Conan the Barbarian" and a string of successful comedies.
The 80s were a long time ago, and none of these actors is a reliable draw any longer. Schwarzenegger in particular has had no luck translating his old star power into a successful 21st-century acting career, but Ford hasn't been stellar, either ("Extraordinary Measures" or "Ender's Game" anyone?). Tom Cruise isn't what he used to be, and Bruce Willis isn't even particularly trying any more.
So who's stepping up? There are the superheroes, of course, but these guys haven't shown the ability to step beyond the bounds of a single character. Robert Downey Jr. has had a long, lucrative career, but his greatest success, by far, is in the role of Iron Man. Chris Evans soars as Captain America, but he's yet to establish himself outside of that role. And Chris Hemworth performs admirably as Thor, but he hasn't exactly set the box office on fire with "Rush," "Red Dawn" or "Snow White and the Huntsman."
Ditto for Vin Diesel; he's on top of the world with "Fast and Furious," but much less impressive as "Riddick." What about Dwayne Johnson? He was the top box-office grosser among actors last year, thanks to "Fast & Furious 6" and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," but we'll have to wait until July to see if he can turn "Hercules" into a hit.
It's entirely possible that the era of infallible leading men is over. We like franchises more than we like individual actors, and we don't seem quite as willing as we used to be to loyally follow an actor from one role to another. That's bad news for actors like Depp, who has banked his career on his offbeat personality rather than a single role. He might be better off making a half dozen more "Pirates" movies.