The Box Office Superstar Secret


I just watched “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith the other day and it raised an interesting question for me -- what makes Will Smith and other popular leading actors such powerhouses at the box office? After a long lunch hour, I discovered the answer was: If you can imagine an actor walking down the street by themselves and have no problem walking up to them without feeling scared or intimidated -- then they have the X-Factor for being a Box Office Superstar.

Will Smith is now the most powerful actor in Hollywood with a career box office total of $4.4 billion, followed by Johnny Depp and Ben Stiller. Why? Think about it... See! My answer works. You can imagine walking up to any of those actors and not feel intimidated. Instead you imagine receiving a warm greeting, some good laughs, and probably a lot of great photos.

The previous box office kings used to be the two Toms (Tom Hanks & Tom Cruise) and Mel Gibson. Now, think back... yeah, you used to be comfortable around them, but not anymore, right? Tom Cruise... scary. Mel Gibson... jerk. Tom Hanks... well, Tom Hanks actually is still dependable at the box office (ignore LadyKillers and refer to The Da Vinci Code).

So, a tip to casting agents and Hollywood executives -- when deciding on a leading man for your film, forget about good looks and just go with the “Walking down a street...” theory of mine.