It Boys

It really is remarkable how tipping points work in Hollywood. Sam Worthington stars in Avatar, and without any particular consideration of his performance, he suddenly has to be in everything. Tom Hardy, despite years of solid British movie and television work, including a critically acclaimed arty turn in Bronson, shows up in Inception, and suddenly he’s in everything from a Prohibition movie to a rumored gig as the supervillian in the next Chris Nolan Batman movie. It’s just remarkable how fast it happens.I generally think Hollywood is tougher for women than for men. There’s a shorter window for when studios assume people want to see you fall in love and have sex, and a huge paucity of roles in which you’re allowed to do anything else. But it must be somewhat odd to suddenly, after much struggle, be the guy a bunch of male directors want to project themselves into, and wonder how long it’s going to last. Do you take the sudden bonanza of roles as a confirmation of your merit? Does it make you think the industry is random? Being a muse is an inherently unstable occupation, be you man or woman, model or actor. What does it mean to be an object of inspiration — and what does it mean when your patron decides there’s nothing more that can be wrung from you.