If you ever want to truly stump me on a question you should just simply ask me “who is my favorite actor?”. The simple answer would be I don’t have a favorite actor. The more complex answer would be how do you have a favorite actor?

You have to understand I’m not the type of person who watches a movie because a certain actor or actress that I like is in it. I watch a movie if the plot intrigues me, if I have been recommended the movie, or if it gets good reviews. That’s enough for me to want to watch a movie. Whose in the movie doesn’t come into my decision whether or not I’m going to watch it or not. If the cast is filled with popular actors, okay. If it’s a movie with a bunch of unknowns, that’s okay as well. As long as the movie itself interests me, I’m going to give it a chance. Actors themselves don’t make a movie for me because after a while they just all become interchangeable for me. Now, this may something to do with the way I view actors.

I learned quite early not to idolized celebrities and that includes actors. They’re human and are as flawed as the rest of us. Looking up to any of them or obsessing over them feels ridiculous. You’re just setting yourself up for disappointment if you do. But I do find it fascinating how other people do and who exactly they idolize. Take Leonardo DiCaprio as an example. He is a phenomenal actor anyone who has seen his movies knows that. He is generally liked by the majority of the public. Even if he’s also notoriously known for being a playboy. There’s nothing wrong with being a playboy per se. That’s the lifestyle he wants to live that’s fine, it’s really none of our business. But eyes are bound to raised when outside of your movies, you’re known as the guy who sleeps with models half your age. And yet nobody really cares because Leo’s a great actor and his movies are typically great. But there’s always a bit of an ick factor there especially if you proclaimed him as your favorite actor. And that goes for all actors, when do you take into account their personal lives when judging their work? Or do you not until they’re outed to be a trash person such as Kevin Spacey.

This past year I’ve tried to familiarize myself with different popular actors every month. Some of them include Denzel Washington, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and more. I have enjoyed watching their performances in individual films. And seeing how they can transform themselves for different movie roles. It’s a fascinating thing to see watching their movies back to back. But I can’t say any of them are my new favorite actor. I’m not suddenly going to watch every movie they are in just because I want to see them. I’m not watching a critically panned film or a film audience hated because they give a good performance in it. I care about the films not necessarily the actors in them. This doesn’t mean I don’t care about performances in movies. Whenever I watch a movie I usually come away from it being impressed by at least one actor in it. It’s just I don’t come away with this overwhelming urge to explore their discography any further. What’s the point of getting invested in an actor? You’ll only disappoint yourself when they mess up publicly or worse.

So that’s why I’m curious how people go about having favorite actors. It kinda just seems foreign to me. How does one figuring that out? Is it based on how many movies you’ve seen of the actor? The number of fantastic performances they have given. How many awards they have? Do you take into account who they are as a person? Or do try to separate their work from the person they are? What exactly makes your favorite actor your favorite actor? Am I overthinking this? Probably. But, I think it makes for interesting discussions nevertheless.

Comment down below who’s your favorite actor and why that is of course if you have one.