“It was the first season, so having people who are looking for love but also have a social media presence would possibly help the show gain traction from viewers,” Diallo says. Diallo, 28, says the the series’ casting director found her on Instagram and contacted her via direct message. "I'm trying to take every day as it comes, audition for everything I can and advocate for myself."Īlthough it was never Aïssata Diallo’s “plan to be a creator,” she’s managed to amass millions of likes on TikTok and landed a spot on the inaugural season of CBS' reality show “Love Island” in 2019. In the meantime, building a community with femme Black creators and sharing creative ideas through TikTok is a worthwhile endeavor (and a way to pay the bills). In the scene, Williams is wearing the same yellow beanie frequently worn in his TikTok videos, a lucky bit of "free marketing" that came about after Williams wore the hat to a meeting with the costume team who decided it was a perfect look for the film.Īs graduation approaches, Williams hopes to leverage TikTok fame and their appearance in "Don't Look Up" into becoming a full-fledged professional entertainer. "The most affirming moment of my career to date is making Jennifer Lawrence laugh," Williams says. In the film, Williams can be spotted sitting next to Chalamet – a mind-blowing job for the newbie in his first movie experience. McKay told the small group of actors to improvise conversations as they sat with drinks in the parking lot set. Williams landed a background role in 2021's "Don't Look Up" through a Boston casting agency. Williams, whose pronouns are he/they, joined TikTok in the summer of 2020 making videos in response to the Black Lives Matter protests. From there, Williams branched out into a variety of video topics: drag makeup tutorials, original poetry, singing videos and boisterous rants about the topics du jour while walking home. When 21-year-old Anania Williams graduates from Emerson College this May, the musical theater major with peace and social justice minors will already have Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up" on their resume. There are worse silver screen debuts to make than appearing in the shot of an Oscar-nominated movie where Jennifer Lawrence and Timothée Chalamet are making out. You’d be crazy not to take advantage of that.” “It’s the first time in history you can post what you want and millions will see it. “I’m a massive evangelist for social media,” he says. Though his agents say they don't use social media numbers when pitching him for projects, Martin notes his following is what got him representation in the first place, "which led to everything." He began posting humorous skits and "ranting" videos sharing stories about his life. After hitting 8,000 followers, he was contacted by his current manager, which changed the game: Martin went from bartending and going to open casting calls to having "meetings at all the big agencies" a few months later. He took a summer class at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, interned for a management company and joined a New York University acting program. Jack Martin went from posting quirky videos on TikTok to landing a starring role in the NBC sci-fi drama "La Brea."Ī graduate of Georgetown University, Martin, 23, majored in politics, but realized he was more interested in the entertainment industry and considered becoming an agent. More: Can TikTok stars make it big in Hollywood? Well, it’s starting to happen. These influencers are the closest to household-name status, but they're far from the only ones nearing success in show business, all the while raking in millions through their shrewd business ventures.Īs content creators increasingly transform viral popularity into genuine star power, meet some of the TikTok stars lighting up Hollywood – and those chasing the afterglow. Just in the past year, dancer Addison Rae (87.2 million followers) turned her online fame into a starring role in a major remake and a multifilm deal with Netflix sister influencers Charli (138.2million followers) and Dixie D'Amelio (57.1 million followers) scored a reality-television series on Hulu and a creator collective known as the Hype House (19.8 million followers) landed their own Netflix reality series. The reach of TikTok is no longer confined to the popular app's "For You" pages. More and more, the platform is becoming a launching pad for the next wave of breakout stars. From left: TikTokers Jack Martin, Anania Williams, Aïssata Diallo, Johnny Berchtold, Bailey Spinnenweber, Emily Uribe, Louella Gaskell, Ash Bjørn and Ava Tetteh-Ocloo.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |