The superstar

It's the usual to push who stars in your movie if they have starred in other successful movies, have a long resume, are attractive, won awards, or are crazy. Sometimes it doesn't really matter.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i2...vie-review.jpg

Sometimes it does matter, I guess.

I usually follow directors rather than actors. When Tarantino is making a new movie, I become interested because of that, not because Brad Pitt is in it. Maybe a certain name implies quality or something, but in these days of collected review sites and lightning fast word-of-mouth thanks to Twitter and the like, I personally don't think it matters as much. A name or proven acting capability doesn't equate to a good movie.

Not that I'm above it. I totally follow what Joseph Gordon-Levitt is up to. I just... do. He makes my jeans tighter. Do you pay special attention to any particular actor?

For me I think it's more a case of... avoiding movies with actors I know I don't like. I'm just as happy watching a movie where I know none of the actors as one with some of my favourite actors, even if I might have higher expectations of the latter.

I treat actors like directors. The ones I dislike, I avoid. The ones I like, I watch. This only works when an actor is featured prominently (main character or important secondary) and not if they make a cameo, as those are usually good (see: Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder).

I'll echo what everyone else has said. I follow both actors and directors that I like, I think that some actors are just better at picking their roles, and some directors are able to make actors better.

I guess the only actor I really follow is Jim Carrey. Not that I watch everything he's in. He's an awesome actor, but he doesn't always act awesomely. Like that penguin movie. Obviously he's just doing it to have fun being silly with penguins and the movie itself is going to be pretty lame.

Other actors and directors I don't really go "hey that person is pretty awesome and I am interested in this movie" but it'll be like "hey he was in that thing I saw" and the movie will linger in my mind.

Well, I recognize a lot of actors so it's hard for me to see a film and not recognize anyone in it. Not recognizing people tends to only happen when I watch foreign, horror, documentaries, or super indie movies. I think that's part of the reason why I watch them... well that and some of them are amazing.

Even though I dislike Tom Cruise I still watch and enjoy a few of the films he's been in. Top Gun is amazing. Kiss my grits. If the movie looks not worth seeing I won't see it despite someone like Tom Hanks being in it who I think is a fantastic actor and usually makes good choices, but The Da Vinci Code is just no.

There are lots of actors (as well as directors and writers) that I really admire and respect for their talent. Therefore I also follow them/check what they're up to. I wouldn't say that I'd go see a movie just 'cause a specific actor plays the lead or something in it. But, the involvement of an actor can easily peak my interest and make me check out trailers and whatnot else about movies. For sure.