The Hollywood stars we can’t get enough of
You’ll keep seeing Dwayne Johnson and other familiar faces on the big screen. Our ranking of in-demand actors.
If you feel as if you’ve been seeing a lot of Dwayne Johnson lately, you’re not wrong: The pro wrestlerturned-actor just released his second popcorn movie in three months – while the first one is still in theaters.
❚ “If you look up ‘international superstar’ in the dictionary, Johnson’s name is there,” says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
❚ Johnson is one of 10 movie stars who made USA TODAY’s ranking of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. So is Tiffany Haddish, who has prominent roles in a whopping eight movies in 2018 and 2019, and Margot Robbie, who stars in six.
Their ubiquity made us wonder: Who else leads that list? Using casting and search data from Movie Insider and IMDb, we analyzed actors’ recent starring film roles, upcoming projects and page views, with consideration given to name recognition.
Our ranking includes Oscar winners, action stars, independent film stars/producers and character actors, though unsurprisingly, there are some big gaps in our findings. The movie business still skews white and male, and so does this list. There are also two men who have been accused of abusive behavior toward women, which doesn’t seem to have diminished their ability to find work.
But there’s reason to expect progress in the years to come: Haddish, one of three women and three actors of color to make our top 10, was relatively unknown just last summer.
“What stands out is that this
group of actors is truly cross-generational, a mix of old-school and new-school, with some representing multiple decades in the business, alongside dynamic young stars that are relatively early in their careers,” Dergarabedian says. “Given the impressive and growing influence of women both behind and in front of the camera, future lists of this type will likely see a greater number of female creatives among the ranks.”
1James Franco
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: Franco starred opposite his brother, Dave, in “The Disaster Artist” last December and won a Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy. In May, he played a warlord in “Future World,” which was savaged by critics (zero percent positive reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Spider-Man 3” (2007), $151.1 million
❚ Next roles: He has a handful of indie projects geared up for the next year, including action drama “Blood Heist.” And he’ll lend his voice as James the Bottlenose Dolphin in the all-star cast of “Naya Legend of the Golden Dolphin.”
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: It’s tough to reach a consensus here: Franco has mastered playing an array of arthouse-cinema weirdos. It’s also worth noting that he does a ton of TV work, too (most recently starring in HBO’s “The Deuce”), but made this list on the basis of his film accomplishments alone. But he has also been accused by multiple women of inappropriate sexual behavior in work settings. (Franco says those allegations aren’t accurate.)
2Dwayne Johnson
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: Quintessential summer action flicks “Skyscraper” and “Rampage,” both in theaters now.
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Furious 7” (2015), $147.2 million
❚ Next roles: How much time do you have? Johnson stars in the wrestling drama “Fighting With My Family” (slated for March 1) and “Jungle Cruise” (Oct.
11, 2019) based on the Disneyland ride. Farther down the road, he’s in preproduction for his “Fast & Furious” spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw” (next July), “Jumanji” sequel (Dec. 13, 2019) and four other projects. He’ll also take on the starring role in DC supervillain flick “Black Adam,” which is still in development. And hopefully, he’ll take a nap soon.
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: Johnson is the perfect action star, with a combination of ridiculous athleticism and solid comedic timing. His energy is contagious: We all simultaneously want to be him, be best friends with him, and see him in the Oval Office with Tom Hanks (who also made this list) as a running mate. “Given his unwavering work ethic and tireless marketing efforts on behalf of his films, he is a franchise booster when he joins any cast, and possesses the physical presence to solidify his status as a bigger-than-life action star,” Dergarabedian says.
3Octavia Spencer
❚ What you’ve seen her in lately: Spencer earned her third Oscar nomination last year for her supporting role in “The Shape of Water.” She also was in the 2017 sleeper hits “Gifted” (with Chris Evans) and faith-based “The Shack.”
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Zootopia” (2016), $75.1 million
❚ Next roles: She’ll play a teacher in an adaptation of the play “Luce,” which explores race and privilege in America. She’ll also be featured in the comedy “Instant Family” as a social worker in Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne’s journey adopting three children.
❚ Why we can’t get enough of her: Spencer is Hollywood’s go-to supporting actress, with a win and two nominations in the category at the Academy Awards. She’s nailed the role of everything from nurse to neighbor, and we’re ready to see her cast in a lead role.
4Margot Robbie
❚ What you’ve seen her in lately: Last year, Robbie took on the titular role in the Tonya Harding biopic “I, Tonya” and played A.A. Milne’s wife, Daphne, in “Goodbye Christopher Robin.”
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Sui- cide Squad” (2016), $133.7 million
❚ Next roles: You can see Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I, opposite Saoirse Ronan in “Mary Queen of Scots” (Dec. 7). She’s also poised to bring back Harley Quinn in a slew of DC Comics movies.
❚ Why we can’t get enough of her: From over-the-top characters like Naomi in “The Wolf of Wall Street” to quieter roles like Flopsy in “Peter Rabbit,” Robbie proves her acting tool kit is wellstocked. “Robbie has a depth, grit and edge that few of her peers can match (and) has a great eye for interesting material,” Dergarabedian says. “Definitely one to watch.”
5Nicolas Cage
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: Cage’s success may be more closely associated with his roles in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, but he still has a full movie agenda. He starred in the thriller “Looking Glass” in February and action flick
“211” earlier this summer.
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Ghost Rider” (2007), $45.4 million
❚ Next roles: He stars in “Mandy,” a psychedelic horror film in which his character must rescue a woman from a sadistic cult (Sept. 14). He’ll also lend his voice to the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (Dec. 14) that features multiple parallel dimensions worth of Spider-Men. This month, he voices Superman in “Teen Titans GO! to the Movies” (July 27).
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: He may be better known lately as the punchline to many an internet joke, but he’s also a solid character actor who pushes boundaries and experiments with his roles in a way most actors don’t.
6Tiffany Haddish
❚ What you’ve seen her in lately: Still an up-and-comer in Hollywood, Haddish is most recognizable for her role as Dina in last summer’s “Girls Trip,” and is in theaters now in “Uncle Drew.” She also recently hosted “Saturday Night Live,” where she notably worked her monologue around wearing the same Alexander McQueen dress she wore to the “Girls Trip” premiere.
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Girls Trip” (2017), $31.2 million
❚ Next roles: Get ready to see a lot more of Haddish: She has prominent roles in seven more projects expected to hit theaters this year or the next. Most notably, she’ll co-star with Kevin Hart in the comedy “Night School” (Sept. 28) and lend her voice to “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” (Feb. 8).
❚ Why we can’t get enough of her: Her energy and charisma are out of this world. Haddish is unapologetically herself and commands a scene with natural delivery and perfect comedic timing. Dergarabedian calls her “a rare talent, and someone to look out for in the years to come.”
7Woody Harrelson
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: Harrelson played the morally ambiguous criminal Beckett in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and police chief Willoughby in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” which earned him his third Oscar nomination.
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013),
$158.1 million
❚ Next roles: After a good deal of secrecy, Harrelson confirmed he has a part in the upcoming “Spider-Man” spinoff “Venom.” No official word yet on his role, though there’s speculation he may be playing the villain Carnage. And a “Zombieland” sequel was just announced, with the four major stars (Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) set to return in time for an October 2019 release, the
10th anniversary of the original.
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: Harrelson is often typecast in the drunken, snarky mentor role – an oddly specific character, but nevertheless one that he can tap into better than anyone.
8Johnny Depp
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: Depp reprised his famous Capt. Jack Sparrow character in 2017’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and was featured in the star-studded “Murder on the Orient Express” remake.
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006), $135.6 million
❚ Next roles: He plays LAPD detective Russell Poole in “City of Lies” (Sept.
7), a biopic about the Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. murder investigations. Amid much controversy, he’s also slated to play Gellert Grindelwald in the second “Fantastic Beasts” film (Nov. 16).
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: Depp is the king of thoroughly transforming into an impressive variety of out-of-this-world characters. But allegations against him off-camera (ex-wife Amber Heard has accused him of abuse, which Depp denied) make it difficult to say we “can’t get enough of him.”
9Chris Pratt
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: Pratt reprised his role as Owen Grady in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” earlier this summer, as well as Peter Quill/ Star-Lord in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), $257.7 million
❚ Next roles: He’ll again lend his voice as Emmet Brickowski in “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.” And he’ll be back in a third “Jurassic World” flick in
2021.
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: We first got to know Pratt as the lovably dumb, chubby Andy Dwyer on “Parks and Recreation.” He may look like a bona fide action star now, but the humor remains. His transformation from small-screen comedy star to Marvel superhero “was as unexpected as it was welcomed,” Dergarabedian adds.
10Tom Hanks
❚ What you’ve seen him in lately: As Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee in Oscar best-picture nominee “The Post” and as tech company head Bailey opposite Emma Watson in “The Circle.”
❚ Biggest box-office opening: “Toy Story 3” (2010), $110.3 million
❚ Next roles: Hanks reprises his role as Woody in “Toy Story 4” (we’re not crying, you’re crying), and will play Fred Rogers in “You Are My Friend.” (OK, fine, we’re crying.) Both are slated for 2019.
❚ Why we can’t get enough of him: From rom-coms and biopics to action and animation, Hanks does it all. He’s even secured an interesting role outside of the movie world: He’s America’s dad. As Dergarabedian notes, “He’ll go down as one of the greatest and most beloved actors of all-time. Full stop.”
Methodology: We began with Movie Insider’s lists of most prolific actors for 2017 to 2019 and data provided by IMDb of the 50 actors with the most page views since 2012. From there, we determined how many of each actor’s roles were starring (or close to starring) and the number of confirmed future projects. For tiebreakers, we considered their IMDb current STARmeter ranking – an algorithm that calculates which actors people are most interested in – and whether they’re a household name.