Worshiping a celebrity is a dangerous activity, and if you don't tell Johnny Depp fans, they had to see how his idol was actually an abuser. The same could be said of Lindsay Lohan's fall from grace in the 2000s or the recent accusations against Jeremy Renner, Hawkeye in the Marvel tapes, by his wife. Of course some are more problematic than others and not everyone is Woody Allen or Roman Polanski.
However, from time to time we find a dazzling jewel that is not overshadowed by any dark secret. They are those celebrities loved by everyone, undeniably good, charismatic and attractive; Many of them are also committed to social or political causes and are an example for their fans. It is on them that we are going to focus today. Do these beings of light really exist surrounded by spotlights and cameras?
The headlines that speak of Tom Hanks as "the nicest guy" populate movie and celebrity websites, and it is because the actor has earned a reputation over the years for being a very good person. Not only is he the protagonist of some of the most famous movies of the last decades (Forrest Gump, Save Private Ryan), he is also, apparently, one of those idols who do not disappoint when meeting them in person. His fan encounter stories are almost as legendary as those of Keanu Reeves, another king of Hollywood goodwill.
One of the strengths for being considered an icon of good in
the industry is having a good relationship with your fans. Hanks is said to
have struck up a friendship with a fan taxi driver, who regularly answers
his followers' emails and even sends them gifts, from tickets to his movies
— backstage pass included — to the time he gave a fan artist a typewriter
from his famous collection.
If we can accuse him of anything, it is having a strange fixation with movies about World War II and getting excited every time someone yells "Wilson!" or he gives her a volleyball like the one he accompanied her in Náufrago. Of course, he has also been one of the victims of QAnon, a movement supported by some followers of Donald Trump associated with 4chan and that consists of launching conspiracy theories -unfounded- on basically any topic.
The eternal Hermione Granger is already an adult, but instead
of earning the position of Minister of Magic, she has become an icon of
feminism worldwide. The platform and the economic level that being one of
the protagonists of her youth saga gave her has given her enough freedom to
dedicate her free time to countless social causes and charity events.
In 2014, the UN named her a Goodwill Ambassador, and her emotional speech on women's rights stirred consciences, for better and for worse. The truth is that her positioning as a "Feminist Woman" has earned her more than one contrary opinion, both from the most reactionary sectors of society and from the feminists themselves, who branded her as being too soft. But it is undeniable that her #HeForShe platform and her basic discourse on the current situation of women has been one of the key points of normalization that feminism has experienced in recent years.
She made us fall in love with several blockbusters at the end of the nineties, then she disappeared from the spotlight for a few years and came back renewed and turned into a mass phenomenon. Keanu Reeves has been the boyfriend of the Internet for two decades and there are very good reasons to think that he will continue to be. His reserved and simple personality, the result of a tragic and tormented past, have moved the public.
He has an affable character that makes empathizing with him an easy task. In addition, he is fantastic with all his fans —as we anticipated, the Internet collects hundreds of anecdotes of encounters with him to brighten our day— and leads a lifestyle like any other person. The “sad Keanu” meme that emerged a few years ago, in which we see him eating a sandwich sitting on a park bench looking embarrassed, is very recognizable.
