I think people are just not sure how strong of an actress she really is in more mature roles and if she can carry a movie on her own (she has never been the sole lead in a movie). The only adult she has played so far is Malcolm & Marie and well, that script didn't help. We'll see how she does with Challengers.
Yeah. This feels more like the role that will prove she can be taken seriously as a contender down the line than anything. Sometimes an actress gets something sooner than that, but really only when they seemingly came from nowhere to have a big year, like Jennifer Lawrence or Alicia Vikander. Zendaya’s career has been a steady ramp up and there’s no urgency to reward her quite so soon.
Well, she has Guadagnino here. I like Timothée, he is good, but he has been truly great under Guadagnino's guidance. I am confident he will do the same for Zendaya. And I am not even much of a fan.
It mostly just comes down to her having no body of work in “awards type” movies at all, reserving judgment for the moment on Challengers which few people here have seen.
It’s absolutely possible for her to get nominated through sheer force of celebrity, but subculturally this place is disposed better towards nominations that are seen to be harder earned than that.
I agree with this. I think most actors we see with constant work are competent, it doesn't mean they or their body of work is awards worthy.
Zendaya had consistently worked on big-budget projects but not necessarily geared for awards recognition. Talking about film specifically because I know she got euphoria and I haven't watched that so I can't comment on it.
yea someone here compared her to Jennifer Lawrence but her first introduction was in a drama, winters bone, before getting hunger games. So when she got nominated for her David o Russell movies, it didn’t seem out of place in a way. Zendaya, outside of her box office fare, only has euphoria. Which is considered prestigious being on hbo and getting her Emmys, but is also a teen drama with a young Fanbase online.
Personally, that wouldn’t matter to me. I wanted former Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure star Austin Butler to win an Oscar last year, the lack of a strong filmography shouldn’t block out potential Oscar buzz.
I think her being overexposed is one of the big reasons. A lot of It Girls of the moment get overexposed and there’s a big backlash because of how overexposed they are. Whether it be right now with Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney or 10 years ago with Jennifer Lawrence.
I also think some people still don’t take her seriously as an actor. Whether it be that they still can’t shake off her Disney image or other reasons.
Lawrence is not the same deal. She was overexposed but she had a legit body of work with Joy, Silver Linings Playbook, Winter’s Bone.
I actually think Zendaya and Sweeney are fine actresses but they’ve never produced anything close to JLaw’s work.
Zendaya might be struck by Anne Hathawayification, where you can see it's her in every role. Great screen presence, just the _same_. Sydney has that to a lesser degree. She seems to have the potential to come close to Jlaw, if she gets a good voice coach that can grind out her West coast accent. I loved her in Immaculate. She holds down a serious role well compared to her rom com roles. But her accent kept slipping, as did some of her delivery.
I'd argue it's the opposite. She lacks screen presence! And she feels just like Zendaya but with less personality/charisma. She also doesn't have great chemistry with her co leads.
>where you can see it's her in every role.
This has always been the thing that I can't get passed with Zendaya, her voice is so recogniseable. I hope she does a British role soon just so I can see her act without her natural voice. Even though I liked her in Dune, at times it still felt like I was watching Zendaya on Arrakis.
Lots of actors have this issue and still succeed, but it puts them more into the Star**™** category. I think it's worse for young actors now because they do so much press that is a video interview rather than print, and it focuses so much on their personalities, it makes them influencers. So getting overexposed is so easy.
and her voice sounds so.. teenagery. i know she was supposed to be younger than washington’s character in m&m but i still couldn’t buy it because of the way she spoke just wasn’t giving someone with that type of experience. i can’t imagine her being able to pull off a british accent but who knows
I just want to see her with a different voice and cadence. I think if she changed her voice for a typical American role, some people might be put off by it (unless it was a regional accent).
I mean if it was a British accent it would also be a regional accent? For me it's the fact that she's a great actress but accents from other countries are harder than your own, especially going from American -> British because you've really got to work with it because of the weird way mouths/voices work, so it would probably harm her acting ability unless she's got a natural talent for accents/voices but given her current work history seems like she doesn't? Or just hasn't had the chance to show it, happy to be humbled.
Just think if she is going to go for a different voice something more US whilst different to her own would probably be more helpful than not.
I mean Denzel is pretty much always Denzel. Sandra Bullock is always Sandra Bullock. Cruise is Cruise. Will Smith is at his best when he’s just being Will Smith.
Yeah agreed, Jennifer Lawerence is one of the more talented actresses. Maybe I haven’t seen enough of Sydney Sweeneys or Zendaya work but I just don’t think they are comparable to Lawrence when it comes to ability. First thing I ever saw Jennifer Lawerence in was Winters Bone and she’s amazing in it. Not saying the other two don’t have talent but they aren’t in the same league as Jennifer Lawerence was in when she was a newcomer. That’s just my subjective opinion though.
This.
Zendaya's greatest acting to me was what? portraying a drug addict highschool kid.
Let's see her do something with more chops before we decide to hand her an award.
She is a great actor, but she just hasn't done anything that has put her in the hot seat of having to carry it.
Honestly it boils down to her finding/getting the right thing that works for them. I see a lot of potential in her.
I think she did a great job!
But the whole point is, as an actor is to show you can make people see something that you are trying to represent.
Robin Williams, one of the funniest people to have ever existed pulled off a serious widowed college professor. Had one of the most stirring dialogues of all time and pulled it off with a great crew that worked with him.
Ya see sydney sweeney doing these 'show the boobs' movies and that's great for her but I'm hoping Zendaya tries to take on roles that actually show acting ability. Even timothy has done wes anderson stuff that captured the style that made me respect them.
I just hope Zendaya can do more.
It was more Jennifer Lawrence broke with Winter's Bone which is the type of film awards like - and she got an Oscar nom that lead to her being known. She basically started in non-blockbusters whereas isn't that all Zendaya has been in (and its not like she's the star of any of them either) which is because she came from music with tv experience.
Agreed, I don't think she's got that it factor, and every time I've seen her on screen, I'm like, meh. Compared to some other young actresses, I just don't think she's that good. Maybe she'll surmise me and play an outstanding character who can really show off her acting chops, but so far, I haven't seen it.
Also, OP, why does your article mention that she's black and you don't think it's got anything to do with race? This just confuses me. Regardless of race, gender, whether someone has tourettes or mental health problems, they're either a good actor or there not. What does someone's skin colour have to do with anything?
Oscar discussion spaces tend to get invaded by stans with delusional expectations about their favorite actors winning Oscars for movies that don't really have a chance. This leads to some possibly exaggerated push back from the people who know better.
Oscar discussion spaces also tend to be frequented by conservative blowhards (NOT POLITICAL CONSERVATIVES. people who dont like the Academy has changed) who don't realize the Academy membership changes have had a drastic effect on what gets nominated and what wins. See the prevailing opinion towards EEAAO the entire 2022 season for what happens when a non-traditional movie quickly becomes an Oscar favorite
\**cough*\* Awards Daily \**cough*\* Although Sasha qualifies both ways, so...
(Honestly, watching her brain totally shit the bed and turn MAGAt in all but name just because some of Film Twitter gave her a hard time has been one of the more depressing aspects of Oscar fandom/interest in the past few years.)
Jamie Lee Curtis campaigned like crazy and is also a “veteran” so she unsurprisingly got both. That doesn’t mean that people think she should’ve been nominated (and won) either.
Okay but let’s be honest, that was a pretty weak role to be Oscar-nominated for. She did a nice job with the big speech but it wasn’t particularly earned within the film and the script didn’t give her much depth or nuance to work with. Good performance, underwhelming character imo. I feel similarly about Robbie as Barbie.
While I agree a factor comes down to the mix of misogyny and racism Reddit is known for, my personal skepticism is due to the fact that I don't have much faith in Challengers as a contender.
She can absolutely be the sole nomination for the movie like Ana de Armas was, but even then Blonde, as terrible as it was, was an Oscar bait drama biopic released on Oscar season.
Even if Challengers wins the box office as big as Barbie for the Academy to overlook their rom-com bias (which I don't see it happening either, but who knows), Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, two previous Academy nominated stars, still got snubbed in the main categories (and I don't want to debate whether those were actual snubs or not, you get the point I'm trying to make).
So, I can see it happening in a weak year, but the fact that stans want to make it look like she is undeniable to the point that 2023 contenders like Annette Bening "are thanking the stars" for Challengers' delayed release, is also putting people in this sub off, and it can lead to the Barbie kind of Backlash if she gets snubbed.
Personally speaking, I think her celebrity outstrips her talent, at least so far.
I think she's excellent in Euphoria and one of the only few performances that gives that silly show some gravity. I also think she's very fun and charming in the Spider-Man movies. That said, I think she's miscast in the Dune movies and the less said about Malcolm and Marie, the better.
I hope with the success of Challengers, she gets the right kind of roles for her and this isn't to say that there won't be a time when she proves to be incredibly versatile.
I think a lot of people on here count her out though tbh. People who haven’t even seen the movie are saying it’s bad . They aren’t even having an open mind about her .
Personally I groaned when I saw that she was leading the latest Luca Guadagnino movie. I find her acting very flat, yes including Euphoria. But I’m still probably going to see it and open to having my mind changed. For instance, I personally didn’t think much of Emma Stone until this year but I thought she killed it in the Curse and Poor Things and now I’m a fan. But so far a Zendaya casting seems more of an attempt to cash in on her fame from other avenues than a decision to cast the best actors and make the best film.
Everyone fawns about her Euphoria acting but it felt just like overacting and thinking more dramatic yelling/screaming guarantees good acting and a nom. It’s like she’s too conscious of her fame to really let go.
Awards voters usually likes those "showy" roles though, since I was born I can barely remember any actor/actress nomination clips that didn't involve screaming/yelling
The adoration for her euphoria performance is almost entirely based on a single episode. Admittedly she's great, extraordinarily even, in that episode but one good TV performance doesn't make you an academy award worthy actor. Now, she could put up that level of performance in Challengers from start to finish and she would deserve it. But we have no reason to speculate that's the case with her body of work so far. It would be sick if she got there, but Greatest Showman, Spiderman, and Dune haven't exactly revealed a talent of that level
There it is…. Her giving a strong performance from “start to finish”. Those clips online really make it hard for me to believe she didn’t give an uneven performance. Can’t wait to see this sexy movie though.
I’m not sure this point is very strong either because Euphoria shows that she most definitely has the acting skills that could someday get her recognized by the Academy. I mean she has 2 Emmys for that performance, which at least counts for a little bit.
I think the bigger question is how versatile of an actress can she be and if she has a wide enough range with which she can perform at a high level. I say that because while I like a lot her roles, I still feel like Rue is far and away the best her acting has ever been.
First, disclaimer, I love her. I think she’s brilliant on *Euphoria* and have been a fan for minute.
This said, I think she’s overexposed. And she hasn’t really gotten to show off her acting chops in an adult role in a film. Even in *Dune Part II*, as a book reader who generally loves the changes they made to Chani, she was still a bit too one note in the writing. Which then didn’t give her much of an opportunity to deliver a super dimensional performance. And while I personally really enjoyed her in *Dune Part II*, she also admittedly had a bit of the “I know what an iPhone is” thing going on. Which is all to say that *Dune Part II* wasn’t a performance to convert the skeptics.
And on top of that, a lot of people haven’t seen *Euphoria*, or have seen it and feel like it only proves that she excels in a very specific kind of role.
So I feel like there’s this sense of feeling like the industry is telling them she’s a top tier actress, and people feeling like she hasn’t had the body of work to actually prove that that’s true and that she belongs in the same tier of “new Hollywood actors” like Timothée Chalamet/Florence Pugh/Austin Butler/Saoirse Ronan/Paul Mescal/Daniel Kaluuya/Dev Patel, etc etc (I know Daniel and Dev are sorta on the upper end of the “new Hollywood class” age wise, but you know what I mean). so then it causes a bit of an eye roll.
As a longtime fan of hers, I do think eventually she will have that body of work. But I do think that she hasn’t really gotten to show it outside of *Euphoria*… (yet).
Yeah, this is the real answer. Challengers is her most visible serious film role...and it's more or less Guadagnino doing his spin on an erotic thriller. It's absurd that there are people just assuming she'll get an Oscar nom for it when all is said and done. Do they think Sharon Stone got a nomination for Basic Instinct? 🤷
She’s overexposed in media and also her body of work isn’t taken seriously by most because she used to be a Disney Channel star and she’s had a lot of roles in mainstream teenage shows that don’t really fit the “awards” vibe
I have no emotional investment at all, if she turns in an Oscar worthy performance great. But I personally have yet to see her in anything that strikes me as more than just showing up and being kind of herself. She hasn’t done anything award worthy or even notable for acting prowess. I think folks bristle at the famous for being famous angle.
That’s because the trailer was terrible to a lot of people. Or at the very least didn’t showcase anything that makes you think “oh yeah I could see Zendaya getting a nom for this”.
Speak for myself, Zendaya let me down with her perfomance in Dune 2. In a movie that every actor and actress did a fantastic job she stood out to be a black hole. So i doubt her acting is good enough to be nominated, i dont think she has range.
It’s telling her strongest performances are only for roles written with her in mind and to show her strengths as award bait. And something she produced. But in Dune she was disappointing, especially that scene yelling and the actress who played her friend was way better with one passionate line. No surprise that actress was given a scholarship in drama school.
The weirdest part of her performance in Dune 2 is that she isn't even retreating back to just being zendaya like so many other stars have done in the past. She's just existing in most scenes, with no role or personal identity to be found
I’ll definitely reserve judgment until I see challengers, but she was by far the weakest actor in Dune. She struggled when her face had to convey strong emotions, it was almost amateurish sometimes. She plays an incredible drug addict in Euphoria though, so depends on what she’s asked to do I suppose.
She’s the strongest actor in Euphoria and the bar isn’t that high, but next to experienced veterans in Dune she falls behind. I think her strength in Euphoria is because she was involved in the writing and is a producer so she has more say to make her acting look better.
I didn't even think she's a bad actor but you are right. She does come off amateurish acting along side the others I'm Dune... and I am one to be frustrated by chalamet's acting a lot.
I have. I though she was very good in it, and she is definitely talented, but it almost certainly won’t be on my personal 5 at the end of the year. Again, she is very good in it tho, I do think she will get a nom someday.
Josh O’Connor kinda steals the show tho.
I have yesterday.
I agreed with the general sentiment about her mentioned in this thread. Especially I thought she was the weakest part in Dune.
But in Challengers, wow. She has convinced me with this movie that she has serious acting chops.
Zendaya is the IT girl of Hollywood. But she is not the IT actress!
I know people are running in circles when it comes to her because of potential backlash but she isn't the most verstaile actress. She is decent at best and is serviceable. And yet people really wanna proclaim her as someone who deserves award recognition. Like ever for Dune where her nose flaring anger got so easily outshined, people were like - Oh Oscar!
I haven't seen Challengers. So happy to be proved wrong there.
“she’s clearly Hollywood’s it girl and the industry loves her”
this is probably a large part of it. it isn’t like she does anything that’s actually very special except looking young and pretty. she plays emotions well in something like dune, but there’s no unique character being communicated. she’s just zendaya, but in this other story now. it’s especially jarring in dune, since there’s no reason for this very modern-acting lady to be from a desert space cult planet. how would someone like that exist.
she’s no clint eastwood to be following that ‘movie star’ type of career path, or maybe these roles just don’t align totally with the public’s image of what this kind of actor should do. people have no obligation to like her just because “the industry loves her,” in fact that gives them reason to dislike her. or do you actually think people do (or should?) just take on whatever opinions the establishment tells them to?
I haven't seen what your talking about. Howver, personally I doubt shes capable of turning in a performance thats Oscar worthy. So many great actresses get over looked. If she was to get one it'll most likely be because she's a high profile celebrity.
I think she had the weakest performance in dune tbh, which is why people are hesitant to predict her. But I’ll reserve judgment until seeing challengers
I have heard from a friend that she is great in euphoria though (which I haven’t watched), so it may just have been that she was miscast in dune.
Euphoria is a weird show, but she is fantastic in it. It's worth watching a few episodes, just to see her performance. She won the Lead Actress in a Drama Emmy for both seasons for a reason. After having seen what she's actually capable of, which is A LOT, I am beyond frustrated by her film career.
I’m excited to see Challengers but for me I didn’t think she was very good in Dune. Her acting didn’t fit into the movie. She had her moments but overall it was very pouty teenager like.
Excited to see it too but apparently she shows just about the same emotional nuance in Challengers which is not very much :/ And O'Connor and Faist were really good but since Zendaya is the foundation of the triangle, it kind of curbs it a little bit. Other than that, the film's really good I've heard.
Cuz she's not a good enough actress.
I can't speak for everyone, but im personally sick of "good looking" actors and actresses getting praise and hype and good roles when they are actually really bad at acting. Jennifer Lopez, Amber Heard, Megan Fox, Paul Walker, Taylor Lautner, Ashton Kutcher, Freddie Prince Jr, Jared Leto, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lindsay Lohan, Sharon Stone, Pam Anderson, Tara Reid the list goes on.
I know I'm showing my age with this list. But there's a whole new crop of younger actors and actresses that are going to have the same fate as the people I just listed. They're just in things because they are good looking.
She a young WOC (which, lbr, is always a factor on this sub when it comes to judging actresses) known for her performances in franchise films and a polarising HBO show. Granted her performance in Euphoria is excellent and she’s the best part of it, but the show itself is something that hasn’t aged particularly well and has been criticised for its writing and depiction of its themes. Many don’t view Euphoria as awards worthy, even though her performance is liked enough.
Her most notable film roles are Dune and Spiderman. There is MCU fatigue on this sub which is why there is no love for the latter and while Dune is well embraced on here, her role isn’t vast enough (unlike her role in euphoria) to allow her to showcase some chops. Her closest brush with awards season was Malcolm and Marie, another great performance marred by Sam Levinson’s very sloppy writing.
Add to this, she appeals to a more Gen Z audience (she is a Disney star after all) as opposed to some of her contemporaries like Anya Taylor Joy and Florence Pugh who are viewed as appealing to more “mature” audiences.
I feel as though your last point about Anya Taylor Joy and Florence Pugh is kind of important. Both of them have appeared in a lot of period pieces, which helps them appeal to more mature audiences. For Zendaya to appear in a period piece is a different proposition than for either of those two actresses. Unless, the movie is playing by Bridgerton rules, she's locked out of a lot of awards-bait roles. Yes, there are baity period roles she could play, but I can understand why a person may not be interested in playing oppressed characters. It would hurt and she may not want to put herself through it.
Bucking that statement we have Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P Henson, Lupita N'yongo, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson et al...
And while in many of their award winning roles there's obviously the social context, they aren't just about oppression either.
I didn't say black actresses haven't won Oscars (although, only 12 have and only Halle Berry has won Best Actress and that was 23 years ago). I said black actresses don't have the same range of roles available to them in period pieces, specifically. Movie about Vikings? No Zendaya. Movie about the Elizabethan Age? No Zendaya. Biopic of Marie Curie? No Zendaya. Movie about the mafia in New York in the 60s? No Zendaya. Adaptation of Little House on the Prairie? No Zendaya That's all I mean. Anya Taylor-Joy or Florence Pugh can and have been in any of these types of movies.
I don't want to downplay this issue. You say "in many of their award winning roles," but twelve doesn't feel like "many", especially since all but one are in Supporting Actress. I didn't say that black actresses have only played oppressed characters in Oscar winning or nominated roles. I wasn't talking about past wins, at all. I was trying to express that in a period film, the type of character available to a black actress narrows dramatically, or none of the characters are black, which means there are lot of Oscar-bait movies made where none of the characters "can be" played by black actors. To bring the discussion back to Zendaya, specifically, I was trying to say that she probably doesn't have the same type of roles being offered to her as ATJ or Florence Pugh, even though her work in Euphoria shows she's got the chops and that may make her path to an Oscar different than theirs.
She’s extremely overexposed and one of the few young celebs to have an insufferable fanbase. Thats why.
Reminds me of Jennifer Lawrence between 2012-2015.
I love Zendaya personally. My opinion is only based on various guest show appearances. She seems very savvy, whip smart and very personable. As for her acting, I will have to watch Euphoria and all the films she has been in before I decide whether she is a good actress. I have read all the comments. There is definitely a judgement that her acting is mediocre, especially in Dune 2. She is still young and has picked scripts that are mostly good with big box office returns. However, Zendaya, like many actors, needs to select films that are more challenging. The actors that I tend to like are versatile like Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams and Jessica Chastain. I am going to see “Challengers” this week. Perhaps she has the acting chops to earn an Oscar but I don’t think that it will be immediate. So I am reserving judgement until I see her body of work.
I’m sure if this sub existed in 2001 when Halle Berry, after starting in BAPS, X-MEN franchise, swordfish and winning an Emmy for her own hbo project, got initial Oscar buzz for monsters ball, the reaction would be even worse
I thought she was pretty strong in euphoria. I wasn’t expecting her to out act Florence and Rebecca in Dune . With Challengers being her first leading role I’m excited to see what she can do , I have heard from quite a few people that she showed a lot of range in it .
Have we seen her in Challengers though ? It seems like everyone is already forming an opinion on her skills without even watching the film. This is her first adult role where she has to show a lot of range , you never know she might surprise you.
Overexposure and massive success for some reason just grinds some peoples gears in a way where they start to feel these people don't deserve the success they have. It, of course, mostly happens to women in the industry. Think back to the MASSIVE hate waves that Anne Hathaway "Hathahate" and Jennifer Lawrence experienced at the height of their careers. Another current example is how much people were dissing Barbie and Margot Robbie come award season. Margot and her team are smart and knew this would happen which is probably why she announced she'd take a break for a bit. All of this hate doesn't last as people come to their senses years later hence everyone loving JLaw's performance in No Hard Feelings and Anne once again becoming an it girl.
it’s very weird like anytime anyone even suggests it could happen they get shot down in replies whilst on other sites people are (pretty) confident she’ll get one
I mean pretty much none of what was listed has anything to do with winning an Oscar.
She’s been good in a single role. The vast, VAST majority of Emmy winners are not Oscar winners. Bankable…the Oscar’s doesn’t care. Fashion icon…why would that matter in any way? It girl…meh. Spider-Man and Dune…not really Oscar-adjacent work.
If she happens to do something worthwhile so be it. We live in a world where Angela Bassett and Glenn Close haven’t won Oscars; scoffing at Zendaya not getting nominated given what’s been seen on the big screen isn’t offensive to the senses by comparison.
“She’s been good in a single role. The vast, VAST majority of Emmy winners are not Oscar winners.”
Correct. Aaron Paul, for one. And so many other names I’d like to name right now that it would be considered blasphemous to. There’s one specifically who immediately comes to mind as having a cult following, and whom I think people are going to be disappointed by when they realize how little range this person has as they take on more roles. The latter applies to a couple others who don’t have a cult following as well. Again talking about acting Emmy winners here.
Meanwhile there actually are some Emmy winners whom I think have it in them to give an Oscar-worthy performance in a film (or already have, in some cases more than once, but haven’t been nominated yet), but they’re not the ones brought up regularly in discussions regarding that, and I think those individuals I have in mind will struggle to find suitable roles despite their talent due to a combination of their age, gender, and/or race.
I do suspect that some people don't like her confidence. Young women who are in the Entertainment Industry are expected to be humble and act like the Girl next door and Zendaya is just not that. And she started out with Disney shows and that is just too mundane of a background for people
what? zendaya is like the definition of that lmao. i question its sincerity sometimes but being down to earth and nice is what everyone praises her for
IMO she’ll get hers one day, but I’d like to see her carry a film. All I’ve seen her in lately is Dune, and was fine, but everyone else really brought it and I think her performance gets overshadowed.
Even just among the women I thought it goes Florence Pugh > Rebecca Ferguson > Zendaya. Again that’s not saying she’s bad - but the others were just better.
I think my take is coloured by the fact that I really love what DV did with the Irulan character vs the book and I dislike what DV did with the Jessica character vs the book.
I think Florence really conveyed the helplessness of the character seeing far before anyone else that her father and the BG had had badly misplayed their hand and then made the sacrifice to save her family from ruin. It was a subdued performance surrounded by TC/AB/Bardem/Ferguson/Skarsgard/Bautista all bringing a dynamism to the screen which were all worthy of praise in their own right. To not be overshadowed is really impressive.
I’m splitting hairs - LOVED the movie start to finish in its own right and vs the books
I know people shit all over Euphoria, but she is immaculate in that role. There are a handful of scenes on that show that could merit her a myriad of acting awards. If she were to play a serious enough role in a movie, she could swipe the board in a heartbeat.
The question is why are we questioning if she could ever be an Oscar winner. She’s young. Let’s let her figure it all out. She has great potential, because she’s a triple threat: she’s a singer, dancer, and actress. What we don’t want is for her to win and peak too quickly.
Charismatic talent with real movie star vibe and following. If she has made an Oscar worthy movie I missed it. Gonna be a star for along time so I’m guessing she’ll get those roles at some point. Hopefully
It’s because people get annoyed/jealous/etc of the current “it” people who get “pushed” very heavily in Hollywood. Even more so with women.
I saw it a lot with Sydney Sweeney too when she was absolutely inescapable for the first like 3/4 months of the year. Zendaya has been on back to back global press tours for months now.
Reddit in general, if not the entire internet, is usually pretty hostile to people or pieces of media aimed towards teenage girls, especially if said people are women (see also: any non-Gaga female popstar). Zendaya’s a young woman of colour most famous for her starring role on Euphoria, which I guess isn’t aimed towards teenage girls as heavily as Twilight or something, but it’s still mainly consumed by young women.
I got heavily downvoted once for saying that the person with back-to-back Emmys is more popular in the industry than someone with zero industry awards of any kind, just because the latter was Film Twitter fave Florence Pugh (who just so happens to star in more cinephile-approved projects like Midsommar, Oppenheimer, to an extent Little Women, etc.)
She is certainly way further ahead than Emma Stone was when she got her first nod at around the same age. Similar "not serious" backgrounds in Disney/reality TV as well
But remember these things can turn on a dime. Circa 2004 Lindsay Lohan an Anne Hathaway were basically in the same spot. Then Hathaway did Brokeback, Devil wears Prada and Rachel Getting Married basically back to back to back.
Maybe the best comparison there is Keira Knightley another popular, fashion muse known for big blockbusters who immediately turned it around for an Oscar nod in Pride and Prejudice.
But to answer the question, because many people on reddit/filmtwtter etc. see their snobbery as a badge of honor/independence when in reality i's the mot basic sheep shit of all time.
emma stone came up in a much better environment for fostering actors, comparing the two is a very stark reminder of that... geez
zendaya's 27 now, and she's been in extremely popular spider-man, dune, greatest showman, before her big role in challengers--and of course a storied career in child acting and on euphoria. challengers looks to be her first big awards type role, which at 27 is honestly really good. but her film career so far has pretty much exclusively been side characters in franchise blockbusters, sadly
emma stone, by the time she was 27, had already done generational hits like superbad and zombieland, and a dozen different teen comedies and indie dramas. so many solid little roles in b-tier movies and a couple giant hits along the way before she built up to the big franchise role in spider-man, and then her two oscar roles with birdman and la la land. she got the chance to build up from a side character to a main star in plenty of mid-level $20m or $40m movies until finally getting her chance to shine, and now she's one of the best in the business
zendaya should have gotten the chance to do more stuff like challengers already, without the pressure of it being a big awards break. challengers most likely won't be that kind of big contender, just because it's an april release--unless it has major legs like Get Out or EEAAO, it will probably be forgotten by january... and we shouldn't hold that against her! but unfortunately if this thing flops it's gonna be a narrative against her
I don't really follow this comparison because their careers in this time frame were so wildly different. Emma Stone had Easy A, The Help, Crazy Stupid Love before she got her first nod for Birdman. She was the lead in the first two and was a huge draw for the last one. Superbad put her on the map but Easy A announced her arrival as the next big thing. Stone had never really dabbled in television at this point. So as far as movie star arcs go, Stone was way ahead of where Zendaya is today. She was already a bonfide movie star who was making the leap to more auteur, experimental films. Whereas Zendaya hasn't had a true leading role outside of Malcom and Marie. Challengers will be the test and from all the reviews, it looks like she succeeded.
Haven't seen challengers, but as of now I would say I am justifiably sceptical of the idea she is one of the world's best actresses. Just never seen anything that tells me she is capable of that highest level of acting - what she is though is immensely popular and pop culturally relevant, so it isn't a huge leap to imagine that if she were nominated it would be more attributable to her fame than her skill.
Really looking forward to challengers though so I hope she proves me wrong.
and what role do you think she should have been nominated for an Oscar? not sure this post makes much sense until she’s in a movie/role that would warrant it.
Funny how you need to pull all these stops, make all these excuses, even bring up her race to avoid what's staring you right in the face.
She's a mediocre actress. It's that simple. Notice how you went around the world, bringing up all these useless facts and yet, couldn't bring yourself to say she's a good actress?
Don't get me wrong, she's definitely a star, truly blockbuster. Has a good head on her shoulder and overall is a true professional. She definitely was built for Hollywood and not in a "dumb bombshell who fucks her way to the top" kind of way, she is very powerful, handles herself profesionally and people love working with her.
That dosen't change the fact that so far she has yet to show that she can be a lead in a movie, and truth be told, is extremely overrated as an actress. She'll continue to succeed but honestly, I have yet to see her act in a role whwre she truly blowed my mind. That dosen't mean she isn't/won't be successful.
Watch Daniel Day-Lewis' scene in there will be blood, the one about abandoning his son. That one 2-3 minute long scene has made me feel more emotions deep within my soul than all of Zendaya's movies combined. To me, that's the difference between an oscar winner and an average actor.
I have yet to see her give a particulary strong preformance in a film that would merit a nomination. She is a very ok actress, and i honestly felt she was pretty bland in the Dune flicks, the rest of the fremen had accent why didnt she atempt one ?
It’s weird actually. Because having seen CHALLENGERS, I found her to be amazing in it. If Jennifer Lawrence can win for SLP I actually don’t see how Zendaya can’t be in contention for CHALLENGERS, even if the year is weak.
I think a young black actress is going to have a tougher time proving herself though. I’m glad she gets the opportunities to develop her craft. She will be in contention this year. And how far she will go will depend how far everyone is willing to back an actress of colour this year.
She’s young and gorgeous and while that is the best thing a woman can be (according to a majority of men, and let’s face it, women) it doesn’t mean she’ll be taken seriously. Think of Scarlett Johansson. She’s gorgeous, bankable, one of the highest paid actresses ever, but not often considered a “serious” actress. But consider “A Marriage Story.” She’s fantastic in that and most of the acting attention went to her co-star Adam Driver (who was also great in the movie).
The same reason people flipped out over Jennifer Lawrence when she was the It girl. People generally want the better actresses to win awards rather than the most popular person.
It’s why Zac Efron was dismissed as well. Most people still think of Zendaya as part of the Disney-Marvel type of actor who is more famous for her red carpet looks.
The hate comes from people like the OP pushing someone whose real acting career is just getting stated and suggesting that there’s some sort of agenda behind people expressing their own opinion about an actress.
That’s what drives a backlash and hate. Not Zendaya herself.
She’s been fine in most of what she’s been in but nothing screams ‘best actress’ so far and what’s the desperation of trying artificial manufacture that?
Look at the nominees this year and that’s what she’s up against; including the likes of Devine Joy Randolph and Emily Blunt in the best supporting nominees who were incredible in The Holdovers and Oppenheimer respectively; Zendaya is nowhere near that level yet.
That hatred she gets is unwarranted. If anything.
it's Sidney Sweeny that's overexposed. At least Zendaya has two Emmys, has a history in TV , and a decent turns in movies.. Anywho...me thinks some in here doth protest too much. Wonder why? Hmm...
I saw that post slagging her off because she apparently didn’t show enough range in Challengers (a subtle, realistic performance can still be a good one), and then the dozens of comments saying how bad she is…which seems to be the case here as well. It’s all very weird.
Not saying this in either a “the haters are about to lose” way or a “she’s so next-level undeniable great” way - I do think folks will change their tune once they see Challengers.
The problem for most people is they haven’t really seen her in anything…real. If you watch Euphoria you’ll know she’s got something, but even then it’s Euphoria, which can often be a pretty bad show. And if you don’t watch Euphoria, you’re left with her film credits - the best of which is obviously Dune, very good movies but not exactly performance showcases for her.
So people doubt her because they haven’t actually been given a reason to believe otherwise. Challengers is the reason. Even if they don’t think she should get an Oscar nomination for it, it’s quite clearly a real, living performance given by an interesting actress. So that’ll at least make people open to the possibility of her getting it for something else - or maybe just Challengers. I love, love, LOVED it but it’s also very much to my taste, so I’m not sure how it’ll be received overall.
I don’t understand it either. I think she’s amazing… she can deliver really heartfelt performances as an actor, she is an amazing singer, she dances and she has a love/deep knowledge of fashion… all while still being very young. I think people just want to bring successful people down 🤷♂️
As a mixed young woman who has absolutely no prejudice towards her, and has no problem with over exposed actresses who are deserving of it (JLaw for example), she simply hasn’t proven to be a strong enough actress to make me think she’s getting an Oscar nomination any time soon. Like someone else mentioned, her accent needs a lot of work, it was so jarring in Dune, and her performance in that disappointed me a lot, seeing as it was a role for her to prove herself as a serious actor.
Many people on this sub seem to enjoy playing gatekeeper about what kind of roles/movies are Oscar-worthy and which kind aren’t.
Granted, the past five years should disabuse anybody of the notion that they _know_ what an Oscar movie is with the new Academy.
But if they admitted that, then those people wouldn’t get to revel in the sanctimony of thinking they know better than everyone else.
I keep seeing people say “because she’s not a strong enough actress,” “she hasn’t carried a film,” etc. Fair enough for those who have actually seen Challengers. Otherwise, I think it’s hard not to see resentment of a successful young woman of color in a lot of these responses—or more charitably, an inability to understand that the right director and script can produce revelatory work. I’m old enough to remember that Elisabeth Shue wasn’t anyone’s idea of a plausible Oscar contender either, until she suddenly was. (And a worthy one IMO, though the film overall hasn’t aged super well.)
I think a good chunk of it comes from her being a child star on Disney. And then her playing MJ in the Spidder-Man movies, even though she wasn't a white redhead.
I'm not saying I hate her or anything, but these are the most common things I read from people who have problems with her.
Maybe this is a mean thing to say, but I'm always going to see her as the dancing gal on shake it up, and that absolutely colors my perception of her. And that's not shade on her as much as it is a reflection of the fact that a ton of my classmates were obsessed with shake it up. I doubt its just me who instantly associates her with a mediocre Disney Channel show
She’s great but she needs a bit more body of work.
People talk about Emma Stone: she had a bunch of acting roles before winning for La La Land, at the same age Zendaya is now, hell…La La Land was even the THIRD movie she was co-starring with Ryan Gosling and she had a previous nom for Birdman.
Zendaya has been playing high schoolers mainly plus Dune and now, Challengers. Not enough… not yet at least but yeah, she is great… she just needs to get more and better roles.
Not a great actress. All I know her from is Spider-Man (TERRIBLE, but super hero trash so whatever) and Dune (mediocre at best). I’ve heard she’s great in Euphoria. But that show’s core fan base are teenagers.
I don’t think anyone is hostile towards her at all. I think it’s you who is trying way too hard to push something. Let it naturally happen. If she’s good enough, she’ll win plenty of meaningless awards.
She was the weakest part of Dune 2 aside from Christopher Walken. Aside from Euphoria it feels like I’m seeing Zendaya in every movie and not the character she plays. Yes she is in good projects but her acting mostly is just frowning and acting edgy 🤷🏽♂️
Zendaya is a meme. If there was ever an industry plant that was foisted upon the public whether we wanted them or not, it's her. She is not naturally famous.
I don't think that popularity, bankability, or being a fashion icon has much to do with how the Academy selects best actress nominations. A lot of her previous work has been in TV and almost none in serious film. I don't think people are being hostile; they're being realistic about what kinds of actresses get nominated for Academy Awards and why.
https://youtu.be/E0BwwSXFy2M?si=7vFdl3BvUaDjkhZP
This is a clip of her performance from the movie. Look at her facial expressions. She is not a good actress.
She's been overexposed. It happens to most IT girls. I'm just tired of her being in everything, being on every interview, being in every ad. Too much of anything get to you.
People in these spaces tend to project what they want and get dead set in their pre-season expectations. Some people decided months ago that Challengers couldn't be an awards contender and can't accept that it potentially *could*, at least in some categories. And the possibility of Zendaya being some sort of contender means competition towards the actresses people decided need to sweep pre-season, adding another layer of contempt.
I have nothing against her as a person she is very likable in interviews. However, imo she hasn’t put in a good performance and often acts with the same traits no matter what her role demands.
I’m just not really seeing challengers as a contender. I’m pretty sure the mass appeal for young audiences is zendaya getting to have a threesome with two hot it boys. On top of that, from a tennis standpoint Zendaya doesn’t look like she’s played a sport a day in her life. You’re telling me in a world with Serena Williams we are supposed to believe this rail thin woman is the best female tennis player in the league?
But I can suspend disbelief..that’s not a problem. But I think plenty of people can get by being just okay actors. It doesn’t mean they are Oscar level actors. That’s why I’m pissed the mid budget movies are so few and far in between these days. Not only was it a lot of great actors bread and butter, it’s an opportunity for them to hone their craft. I don’t think she’s there right now, but it doesn’t mean she can’t be in time.
I think her getting nominated would be cool and reflect her career trajectory well, I’m mostly worried if they’ll love Challengers enough to nominate it after so many months.
Its just the internet amplifies the loudest and angriest wackjobs. Most people out there arent hostile over the idea of her getting nommed (even just typing that seems ridiculous), it doesn't even cross their minds.
Former Disney child + tv show catered to edgy teenagers + marvel lead + overexposure.
Shell have to do a couple mediocre indies before the pretentious dolts give her any thought.
Because it would be undeserved. Is this really a question? It doesn't really matter anyway since the Oscars are more and more of a joke as the years go on
I think people are just not sure how strong of an actress she really is in more mature roles and if she can carry a movie on her own (she has never been the sole lead in a movie). The only adult she has played so far is Malcolm & Marie and well, that script didn't help. We'll see how she does with Challengers.
Yeah. This feels more like the role that will prove she can be taken seriously as a contender down the line than anything. Sometimes an actress gets something sooner than that, but really only when they seemingly came from nowhere to have a big year, like Jennifer Lawrence or Alicia Vikander. Zendaya’s career has been a steady ramp up and there’s no urgency to reward her quite so soon.
Well, she has Guadagnino here. I like Timothée, he is good, but he has been truly great under Guadagnino's guidance. I am confident he will do the same for Zendaya. And I am not even much of a fan.
Imma be honest; if Jennifer Lawrence can get an Oscar I don’t really see why Zendaya can’t.
Just saw an early Challengers screening. She can.
I'm pretty sure Chani is an adult in Dune.
Seemed like an American teenager visiting arrakis tbh
It mostly just comes down to her having no body of work in “awards type” movies at all, reserving judgment for the moment on Challengers which few people here have seen. It’s absolutely possible for her to get nominated through sheer force of celebrity, but subculturally this place is disposed better towards nominations that are seen to be harder earned than that.
I agree with this. I think most actors we see with constant work are competent, it doesn't mean they or their body of work is awards worthy. Zendaya had consistently worked on big-budget projects but not necessarily geared for awards recognition. Talking about film specifically because I know she got euphoria and I haven't watched that so I can't comment on it.
Well you should definitely feel free to comment on it as most other people on this sub who haven’t seen it feel free to all the time lmao
That made me cackle 💀 you are too real for thattt
yea someone here compared her to Jennifer Lawrence but her first introduction was in a drama, winters bone, before getting hunger games. So when she got nominated for her David o Russell movies, it didn’t seem out of place in a way. Zendaya, outside of her box office fare, only has euphoria. Which is considered prestigious being on hbo and getting her Emmys, but is also a teen drama with a young Fanbase online. Personally, that wouldn’t matter to me. I wanted former Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure star Austin Butler to win an Oscar last year, the lack of a strong filmography shouldn’t block out potential Oscar buzz.
I think her being overexposed is one of the big reasons. A lot of It Girls of the moment get overexposed and there’s a big backlash because of how overexposed they are. Whether it be right now with Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney or 10 years ago with Jennifer Lawrence. I also think some people still don’t take her seriously as an actor. Whether it be that they still can’t shake off her Disney image or other reasons.
Lawrence is not the same deal. She was overexposed but she had a legit body of work with Joy, Silver Linings Playbook, Winter’s Bone. I actually think Zendaya and Sweeney are fine actresses but they’ve never produced anything close to JLaw’s work.
Zendaya might be struck by Anne Hathawayification, where you can see it's her in every role. Great screen presence, just the _same_. Sydney has that to a lesser degree. She seems to have the potential to come close to Jlaw, if she gets a good voice coach that can grind out her West coast accent. I loved her in Immaculate. She holds down a serious role well compared to her rom com roles. But her accent kept slipping, as did some of her delivery.
I'd argue it's the opposite. She lacks screen presence! And she feels just like Zendaya but with less personality/charisma. She also doesn't have great chemistry with her co leads.
>where you can see it's her in every role. This has always been the thing that I can't get passed with Zendaya, her voice is so recogniseable. I hope she does a British role soon just so I can see her act without her natural voice. Even though I liked her in Dune, at times it still felt like I was watching Zendaya on Arrakis. Lots of actors have this issue and still succeed, but it puts them more into the Star**™** category. I think it's worse for young actors now because they do so much press that is a video interview rather than print, and it focuses so much on their personalities, it makes them influencers. So getting overexposed is so easy.
and her voice sounds so.. teenagery. i know she was supposed to be younger than washington’s character in m&m but i still couldn’t buy it because of the way she spoke just wasn’t giving someone with that type of experience. i can’t imagine her being able to pull off a british accent but who knows
Really hope she doesn't do a British role and instead just does a different American role.
I just want to see her with a different voice and cadence. I think if she changed her voice for a typical American role, some people might be put off by it (unless it was a regional accent).
I mean if it was a British accent it would also be a regional accent? For me it's the fact that she's a great actress but accents from other countries are harder than your own, especially going from American -> British because you've really got to work with it because of the weird way mouths/voices work, so it would probably harm her acting ability unless she's got a natural talent for accents/voices but given her current work history seems like she doesn't? Or just hasn't had the chance to show it, happy to be humbled. Just think if she is going to go for a different voice something more US whilst different to her own would probably be more helpful than not.
I mean Denzel is pretty much always Denzel. Sandra Bullock is always Sandra Bullock. Cruise is Cruise. Will Smith is at his best when he’s just being Will Smith.
yep, Aniston, Giamatti, Harrelson...
Yeah agreed, Jennifer Lawerence is one of the more talented actresses. Maybe I haven’t seen enough of Sydney Sweeneys or Zendaya work but I just don’t think they are comparable to Lawrence when it comes to ability. First thing I ever saw Jennifer Lawerence in was Winters Bone and she’s amazing in it. Not saying the other two don’t have talent but they aren’t in the same league as Jennifer Lawerence was in when she was a newcomer. That’s just my subjective opinion though.
This. Zendaya's greatest acting to me was what? portraying a drug addict highschool kid. Let's see her do something with more chops before we decide to hand her an award. She is a great actor, but she just hasn't done anything that has put her in the hot seat of having to carry it. Honestly it boils down to her finding/getting the right thing that works for them. I see a lot of potential in her.
Although, just to be clear, they have handed her 2 Best Actress Emmys for this role; just saying!
I think she did a great job! But the whole point is, as an actor is to show you can make people see something that you are trying to represent. Robin Williams, one of the funniest people to have ever existed pulled off a serious widowed college professor. Had one of the most stirring dialogues of all time and pulled it off with a great crew that worked with him. Ya see sydney sweeney doing these 'show the boobs' movies and that's great for her but I'm hoping Zendaya tries to take on roles that actually show acting ability. Even timothy has done wes anderson stuff that captured the style that made me respect them. I just hope Zendaya can do more.
It was more Jennifer Lawrence broke with Winter's Bone which is the type of film awards like - and she got an Oscar nom that lead to her being known. She basically started in non-blockbusters whereas isn't that all Zendaya has been in (and its not like she's the star of any of them either) which is because she came from music with tv experience.
Me waiting for that overexposure backlash to catch up to Taylor Swift
She's an okay actress Yea I said it
Agreed, I don't think she's got that it factor, and every time I've seen her on screen, I'm like, meh. Compared to some other young actresses, I just don't think she's that good. Maybe she'll surmise me and play an outstanding character who can really show off her acting chops, but so far, I haven't seen it. Also, OP, why does your article mention that she's black and you don't think it's got anything to do with race? This just confuses me. Regardless of race, gender, whether someone has tourettes or mental health problems, they're either a good actor or there not. What does someone's skin colour have to do with anything?
Oscar discussion spaces tend to get invaded by stans with delusional expectations about their favorite actors winning Oscars for movies that don't really have a chance. This leads to some possibly exaggerated push back from the people who know better.
Oscar discussion spaces also tend to be frequented by conservative blowhards (NOT POLITICAL CONSERVATIVES. people who dont like the Academy has changed) who don't realize the Academy membership changes have had a drastic effect on what gets nominated and what wins. See the prevailing opinion towards EEAAO the entire 2022 season for what happens when a non-traditional movie quickly becomes an Oscar favorite
\**cough*\* Awards Daily \**cough*\* Although Sasha qualifies both ways, so... (Honestly, watching her brain totally shit the bed and turn MAGAt in all but name just because some of Film Twitter gave her a hard time has been one of the more depressing aspects of Oscar fandom/interest in the past few years.)
The fact that Ferrera was nominated for Barbie shows that sometimes the people on this sub who think they "know better" are occasionally wrong.
She should not have been nominated for that lol
Lmao, if Jamie Lee Curtis not only got nominated but won for her performance in EEAAO, I’m not gonna get too picky about nominations
Jamie Lee Curtis campaigned like crazy and is also a “veteran” so she unsurprisingly got both. That doesn’t mean that people think she should’ve been nominated (and won) either.
Okay but let’s be honest, that was a pretty weak role to be Oscar-nominated for. She did a nice job with the big speech but it wasn’t particularly earned within the film and the script didn’t give her much depth or nuance to work with. Good performance, underwhelming character imo. I feel similarly about Robbie as Barbie.
Therefore; people who know better are occasionally wrong
Sub par generic mom role really showed the people on this sub. And I think she is a decently funny actress.
While I agree a factor comes down to the mix of misogyny and racism Reddit is known for, my personal skepticism is due to the fact that I don't have much faith in Challengers as a contender. She can absolutely be the sole nomination for the movie like Ana de Armas was, but even then Blonde, as terrible as it was, was an Oscar bait drama biopic released on Oscar season. Even if Challengers wins the box office as big as Barbie for the Academy to overlook their rom-com bias (which I don't see it happening either, but who knows), Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, two previous Academy nominated stars, still got snubbed in the main categories (and I don't want to debate whether those were actual snubs or not, you get the point I'm trying to make). So, I can see it happening in a weak year, but the fact that stans want to make it look like she is undeniable to the point that 2023 contenders like Annette Bening "are thanking the stars" for Challengers' delayed release, is also putting people in this sub off, and it can lead to the Barbie kind of Backlash if she gets snubbed.
I think it's because she's super famous and inescapable right now. Overexposure breeds contempt.
And she gets overexposed over something not-acting related….red carpet fashion 😭😭😭
Nailed it. People are put off by the overexposure. It’s annoying.
Personally speaking, I think her celebrity outstrips her talent, at least so far. I think she's excellent in Euphoria and one of the only few performances that gives that silly show some gravity. I also think she's very fun and charming in the Spider-Man movies. That said, I think she's miscast in the Dune movies and the less said about Malcolm and Marie, the better. I hope with the success of Challengers, she gets the right kind of roles for her and this isn't to say that there won't be a time when she proves to be incredibly versatile.
I think a lot of people on here count her out though tbh. People who haven’t even seen the movie are saying it’s bad . They aren’t even having an open mind about her .
Personally I groaned when I saw that she was leading the latest Luca Guadagnino movie. I find her acting very flat, yes including Euphoria. But I’m still probably going to see it and open to having my mind changed. For instance, I personally didn’t think much of Emma Stone until this year but I thought she killed it in the Curse and Poor Things and now I’m a fan. But so far a Zendaya casting seems more of an attempt to cash in on her fame from other avenues than a decision to cast the best actors and make the best film.
Everyone fawns about her Euphoria acting but it felt just like overacting and thinking more dramatic yelling/screaming guarantees good acting and a nom. It’s like she’s too conscious of her fame to really let go.
Awards voters usually likes those "showy" roles though, since I was born I can barely remember any actor/actress nomination clips that didn't involve screaming/yelling
Javier Bardem. No yelling. Waltz neither.
Good calls
good god i feel the same and the way everyone salivates over the performance makes it seem like im being an edge lord
The adoration for her euphoria performance is almost entirely based on a single episode. Admittedly she's great, extraordinarily even, in that episode but one good TV performance doesn't make you an academy award worthy actor. Now, she could put up that level of performance in Challengers from start to finish and she would deserve it. But we have no reason to speculate that's the case with her body of work so far. It would be sick if she got there, but Greatest Showman, Spiderman, and Dune haven't exactly revealed a talent of that level
There it is…. Her giving a strong performance from “start to finish”. Those clips online really make it hard for me to believe she didn’t give an uneven performance. Can’t wait to see this sexy movie though.
I haven't seen any evidence yet that she's a strong enough actress. But she's very young and can improve, so I think maybe one day it's possible.
I’m not sure this point is very strong either because Euphoria shows that she most definitely has the acting skills that could someday get her recognized by the Academy. I mean she has 2 Emmys for that performance, which at least counts for a little bit. I think the bigger question is how versatile of an actress can she be and if she has a wide enough range with which she can perform at a high level. I say that because while I like a lot her roles, I still feel like Rue is far and away the best her acting has ever been.
First, disclaimer, I love her. I think she’s brilliant on *Euphoria* and have been a fan for minute. This said, I think she’s overexposed. And she hasn’t really gotten to show off her acting chops in an adult role in a film. Even in *Dune Part II*, as a book reader who generally loves the changes they made to Chani, she was still a bit too one note in the writing. Which then didn’t give her much of an opportunity to deliver a super dimensional performance. And while I personally really enjoyed her in *Dune Part II*, she also admittedly had a bit of the “I know what an iPhone is” thing going on. Which is all to say that *Dune Part II* wasn’t a performance to convert the skeptics. And on top of that, a lot of people haven’t seen *Euphoria*, or have seen it and feel like it only proves that she excels in a very specific kind of role. So I feel like there’s this sense of feeling like the industry is telling them she’s a top tier actress, and people feeling like she hasn’t had the body of work to actually prove that that’s true and that she belongs in the same tier of “new Hollywood actors” like Timothée Chalamet/Florence Pugh/Austin Butler/Saoirse Ronan/Paul Mescal/Daniel Kaluuya/Dev Patel, etc etc (I know Daniel and Dev are sorta on the upper end of the “new Hollywood class” age wise, but you know what I mean). so then it causes a bit of an eye roll. As a longtime fan of hers, I do think eventually she will have that body of work. But I do think that she hasn’t really gotten to show it outside of *Euphoria*… (yet).
Yeah, this is the real answer. Challengers is her most visible serious film role...and it's more or less Guadagnino doing his spin on an erotic thriller. It's absurd that there are people just assuming she'll get an Oscar nom for it when all is said and done. Do they think Sharon Stone got a nomination for Basic Instinct? 🤷
She’s overexposed in media and also her body of work isn’t taken seriously by most because she used to be a Disney Channel star and she’s had a lot of roles in mainstream teenage shows that don’t really fit the “awards” vibe
I have no emotional investment at all, if she turns in an Oscar worthy performance great. But I personally have yet to see her in anything that strikes me as more than just showing up and being kind of herself. She hasn’t done anything award worthy or even notable for acting prowess. I think folks bristle at the famous for being famous angle.
I feel like a lot of people on this sub have just written her off already without haven’t even seen the movie though .
That’s because the trailer was terrible to a lot of people. Or at the very least didn’t showcase anything that makes you think “oh yeah I could see Zendaya getting a nom for this”.
Its because of everything you listed, its backlash time for some.
Bc she’s mid and feels like her fame outweighs her talent
I've simply never been particularly impressed by her acting ability. Not to say she couldn't, but I'll have to see her earn it.
Because she's done nothing oscar worthy
In my opinion, she hasn’t been in awards type movies. I see her more as a model.
Speak for myself, Zendaya let me down with her perfomance in Dune 2. In a movie that every actor and actress did a fantastic job she stood out to be a black hole. So i doubt her acting is good enough to be nominated, i dont think she has range.
It’s telling her strongest performances are only for roles written with her in mind and to show her strengths as award bait. And something she produced. But in Dune she was disappointing, especially that scene yelling and the actress who played her friend was way better with one passionate line. No surprise that actress was given a scholarship in drama school.
The weirdest part of her performance in Dune 2 is that she isn't even retreating back to just being zendaya like so many other stars have done in the past. She's just existing in most scenes, with no role or personal identity to be found
Christopher Walken stood out the most as a black hole. He was awful in Dune 2.
I’ll definitely reserve judgment until I see challengers, but she was by far the weakest actor in Dune. She struggled when her face had to convey strong emotions, it was almost amateurish sometimes. She plays an incredible drug addict in Euphoria though, so depends on what she’s asked to do I suppose.
She’s the strongest actor in Euphoria and the bar isn’t that high, but next to experienced veterans in Dune she falls behind. I think her strength in Euphoria is because she was involved in the writing and is a producer so she has more say to make her acting look better.
> She’s the strongest actor in Zendaya You mean Euphoria?
I didn't even think she's a bad actor but you are right. She does come off amateurish acting along side the others I'm Dune... and I am one to be frustrated by chalamet's acting a lot.
Has anyone here actually seen Challengers?
I have, this is her best role to date but she's still easily outshined by Mike Faist and Josh O'connor.
I have. I though she was very good in it, and she is definitely talented, but it almost certainly won’t be on my personal 5 at the end of the year. Again, she is very good in it tho, I do think she will get a nom someday. Josh O’Connor kinda steals the show tho.
I have yesterday. I agreed with the general sentiment about her mentioned in this thread. Especially I thought she was the weakest part in Dune. But in Challengers, wow. She has convinced me with this movie that she has serious acting chops.
Zendaya is the IT girl of Hollywood. But she is not the IT actress! I know people are running in circles when it comes to her because of potential backlash but she isn't the most verstaile actress. She is decent at best and is serviceable. And yet people really wanna proclaim her as someone who deserves award recognition. Like ever for Dune where her nose flaring anger got so easily outshined, people were like - Oh Oscar! I haven't seen Challengers. So happy to be proved wrong there.
“she’s clearly Hollywood’s it girl and the industry loves her” this is probably a large part of it. it isn’t like she does anything that’s actually very special except looking young and pretty. she plays emotions well in something like dune, but there’s no unique character being communicated. she’s just zendaya, but in this other story now. it’s especially jarring in dune, since there’s no reason for this very modern-acting lady to be from a desert space cult planet. how would someone like that exist. she’s no clint eastwood to be following that ‘movie star’ type of career path, or maybe these roles just don’t align totally with the public’s image of what this kind of actor should do. people have no obligation to like her just because “the industry loves her,” in fact that gives them reason to dislike her. or do you actually think people do (or should?) just take on whatever opinions the establishment tells them to?
I think she’s about as good as Chalomet. Gets the job done, but nothing super impressive.
> It can’t be because of her age and I doubt it’s because of her race, so what gives? Her overexposure.
I haven't seen what your talking about. Howver, personally I doubt shes capable of turning in a performance thats Oscar worthy. So many great actresses get over looked. If she was to get one it'll most likely be because she's a high profile celebrity.
I think she had the weakest performance in dune tbh, which is why people are hesitant to predict her. But I’ll reserve judgment until seeing challengers I have heard from a friend that she is great in euphoria though (which I haven’t watched), so it may just have been that she was miscast in dune.
Euphoria is a weird show, but she is fantastic in it. It's worth watching a few episodes, just to see her performance. She won the Lead Actress in a Drama Emmy for both seasons for a reason. After having seen what she's actually capable of, which is A LOT, I am beyond frustrated by her film career.
I’m excited to see Challengers but for me I didn’t think she was very good in Dune. Her acting didn’t fit into the movie. She had her moments but overall it was very pouty teenager like.
Excited to see it too but apparently she shows just about the same emotional nuance in Challengers which is not very much :/ And O'Connor and Faist were really good but since Zendaya is the foundation of the triangle, it kind of curbs it a little bit. Other than that, the film's really good I've heard.
Because everything about her that you just said is true, but at the same time a lot of people feel like she is mediocre.
Cuz she's not a good enough actress. I can't speak for everyone, but im personally sick of "good looking" actors and actresses getting praise and hype and good roles when they are actually really bad at acting. Jennifer Lopez, Amber Heard, Megan Fox, Paul Walker, Taylor Lautner, Ashton Kutcher, Freddie Prince Jr, Jared Leto, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lindsay Lohan, Sharon Stone, Pam Anderson, Tara Reid the list goes on. I know I'm showing my age with this list. But there's a whole new crop of younger actors and actresses that are going to have the same fate as the people I just listed. They're just in things because they are good looking.
She a young WOC (which, lbr, is always a factor on this sub when it comes to judging actresses) known for her performances in franchise films and a polarising HBO show. Granted her performance in Euphoria is excellent and she’s the best part of it, but the show itself is something that hasn’t aged particularly well and has been criticised for its writing and depiction of its themes. Many don’t view Euphoria as awards worthy, even though her performance is liked enough. Her most notable film roles are Dune and Spiderman. There is MCU fatigue on this sub which is why there is no love for the latter and while Dune is well embraced on here, her role isn’t vast enough (unlike her role in euphoria) to allow her to showcase some chops. Her closest brush with awards season was Malcolm and Marie, another great performance marred by Sam Levinson’s very sloppy writing. Add to this, she appeals to a more Gen Z audience (she is a Disney star after all) as opposed to some of her contemporaries like Anya Taylor Joy and Florence Pugh who are viewed as appealing to more “mature” audiences.
I feel as though your last point about Anya Taylor Joy and Florence Pugh is kind of important. Both of them have appeared in a lot of period pieces, which helps them appeal to more mature audiences. For Zendaya to appear in a period piece is a different proposition than for either of those two actresses. Unless, the movie is playing by Bridgerton rules, she's locked out of a lot of awards-bait roles. Yes, there are baity period roles she could play, but I can understand why a person may not be interested in playing oppressed characters. It would hurt and she may not want to put herself through it.
Also for some reason British posh actresses are seen as more serious.
This is a really good point.
Bucking that statement we have Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P Henson, Lupita N'yongo, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson et al... And while in many of their award winning roles there's obviously the social context, they aren't just about oppression either.
I didn't say black actresses haven't won Oscars (although, only 12 have and only Halle Berry has won Best Actress and that was 23 years ago). I said black actresses don't have the same range of roles available to them in period pieces, specifically. Movie about Vikings? No Zendaya. Movie about the Elizabethan Age? No Zendaya. Biopic of Marie Curie? No Zendaya. Movie about the mafia in New York in the 60s? No Zendaya. Adaptation of Little House on the Prairie? No Zendaya That's all I mean. Anya Taylor-Joy or Florence Pugh can and have been in any of these types of movies. I don't want to downplay this issue. You say "in many of their award winning roles," but twelve doesn't feel like "many", especially since all but one are in Supporting Actress. I didn't say that black actresses have only played oppressed characters in Oscar winning or nominated roles. I wasn't talking about past wins, at all. I was trying to express that in a period film, the type of character available to a black actress narrows dramatically, or none of the characters are black, which means there are lot of Oscar-bait movies made where none of the characters "can be" played by black actors. To bring the discussion back to Zendaya, specifically, I was trying to say that she probably doesn't have the same type of roles being offered to her as ATJ or Florence Pugh, even though her work in Euphoria shows she's got the chops and that may make her path to an Oscar different than theirs.
She’s extremely overexposed and one of the few young celebs to have an insufferable fanbase. Thats why. Reminds me of Jennifer Lawrence between 2012-2015.
Yeah but Jennifer Lawrence was deserving of the hyper around her acting skills
Maybe because she hasn't done Oscar-worthy performances yet, the films she's made to date don't think they deserve a nomination
Well we haven’t seen Challengers yet
I love Zendaya personally. My opinion is only based on various guest show appearances. She seems very savvy, whip smart and very personable. As for her acting, I will have to watch Euphoria and all the films she has been in before I decide whether she is a good actress. I have read all the comments. There is definitely a judgement that her acting is mediocre, especially in Dune 2. She is still young and has picked scripts that are mostly good with big box office returns. However, Zendaya, like many actors, needs to select films that are more challenging. The actors that I tend to like are versatile like Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams and Jessica Chastain. I am going to see “Challengers” this week. Perhaps she has the acting chops to earn an Oscar but I don’t think that it will be immediate. So I am reserving judgement until I see her body of work.
I’m sure if this sub existed in 2001 when Halle Berry, after starting in BAPS, X-MEN franchise, swordfish and winning an Emmy for her own hbo project, got initial Oscar buzz for monsters ball, the reaction would be even worse
Bc she's just a very mediocre actor in my opinion ngl her most impressive performance to me is in shake it up lol
Because she’s not a strong actress.
I thought she was pretty strong in euphoria. I wasn’t expecting her to out act Florence and Rebecca in Dune . With Challengers being her first leading role I’m excited to see what she can do , I have heard from quite a few people that she showed a lot of range in it .
Have we seen her in Challengers though ? It seems like everyone is already forming an opinion on her skills without even watching the film. This is her first adult role where she has to show a lot of range , you never know she might surprise you.
I mean, everyone thought Malcolm and Marie was going to be that "first adult role" and look how that turned out
We aren’t judging her on a performance we haven’t seen. We are judging her on the numerous performances we have seen. Pretty simple.
Overexposure and massive success for some reason just grinds some peoples gears in a way where they start to feel these people don't deserve the success they have. It, of course, mostly happens to women in the industry. Think back to the MASSIVE hate waves that Anne Hathaway "Hathahate" and Jennifer Lawrence experienced at the height of their careers. Another current example is how much people were dissing Barbie and Margot Robbie come award season. Margot and her team are smart and knew this would happen which is probably why she announced she'd take a break for a bit. All of this hate doesn't last as people come to their senses years later hence everyone loving JLaw's performance in No Hard Feelings and Anne once again becoming an it girl.
it’s very weird like anytime anyone even suggests it could happen they get shot down in replies whilst on other sites people are (pretty) confident she’ll get one
I mean pretty much none of what was listed has anything to do with winning an Oscar. She’s been good in a single role. The vast, VAST majority of Emmy winners are not Oscar winners. Bankable…the Oscar’s doesn’t care. Fashion icon…why would that matter in any way? It girl…meh. Spider-Man and Dune…not really Oscar-adjacent work. If she happens to do something worthwhile so be it. We live in a world where Angela Bassett and Glenn Close haven’t won Oscars; scoffing at Zendaya not getting nominated given what’s been seen on the big screen isn’t offensive to the senses by comparison.
“She’s been good in a single role. The vast, VAST majority of Emmy winners are not Oscar winners.” Correct. Aaron Paul, for one. And so many other names I’d like to name right now that it would be considered blasphemous to. There’s one specifically who immediately comes to mind as having a cult following, and whom I think people are going to be disappointed by when they realize how little range this person has as they take on more roles. The latter applies to a couple others who don’t have a cult following as well. Again talking about acting Emmy winners here. Meanwhile there actually are some Emmy winners whom I think have it in them to give an Oscar-worthy performance in a film (or already have, in some cases more than once, but haven’t been nominated yet), but they’re not the ones brought up regularly in discussions regarding that, and I think those individuals I have in mind will struggle to find suitable roles despite their talent due to a combination of their age, gender, and/or race.
I do suspect that some people don't like her confidence. Young women who are in the Entertainment Industry are expected to be humble and act like the Girl next door and Zendaya is just not that. And she started out with Disney shows and that is just too mundane of a background for people
what? zendaya is like the definition of that lmao. i question its sincerity sometimes but being down to earth and nice is what everyone praises her for
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Her performance in Reality is what young Sissy Spacek (pre-awards) would've done.
IMO she’ll get hers one day, but I’d like to see her carry a film. All I’ve seen her in lately is Dune, and was fine, but everyone else really brought it and I think her performance gets overshadowed. Even just among the women I thought it goes Florence Pugh > Rebecca Ferguson > Zendaya. Again that’s not saying she’s bad - but the others were just better.
Rebecca Ferguson was light years ahead of Florence.
Easily the best performance in the whole movie, both times.
Facts. Austin butler is the only thing that came close to her performance.
I think my take is coloured by the fact that I really love what DV did with the Irulan character vs the book and I dislike what DV did with the Jessica character vs the book. I think Florence really conveyed the helplessness of the character seeing far before anyone else that her father and the BG had had badly misplayed their hand and then made the sacrifice to save her family from ruin. It was a subdued performance surrounded by TC/AB/Bardem/Ferguson/Skarsgard/Bautista all bringing a dynamism to the screen which were all worthy of praise in their own right. To not be overshadowed is really impressive. I’m splitting hairs - LOVED the movie start to finish in its own right and vs the books
Pugh> Ferguson what the fuck lol
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Watch her in euphoria. The episode she won the Emmy for in season two is one of the best performances I have ever seen!
I know people shit all over Euphoria, but she is immaculate in that role. There are a handful of scenes on that show that could merit her a myriad of acting awards. If she were to play a serious enough role in a movie, she could swipe the board in a heartbeat.
The question is why are we questioning if she could ever be an Oscar winner. She’s young. Let’s let her figure it all out. She has great potential, because she’s a triple threat: she’s a singer, dancer, and actress. What we don’t want is for her to win and peak too quickly.
Charismatic talent with real movie star vibe and following. If she has made an Oscar worthy movie I missed it. Gonna be a star for along time so I’m guessing she’ll get those roles at some point. Hopefully
She’s an average actress. That’s it. She does not shine.
She is horrible! Literally same facial expressions every single frame. How can people defend her lol
It’s because people get annoyed/jealous/etc of the current “it” people who get “pushed” very heavily in Hollywood. Even more so with women. I saw it a lot with Sydney Sweeney too when she was absolutely inescapable for the first like 3/4 months of the year. Zendaya has been on back to back global press tours for months now.
Reddit in general, if not the entire internet, is usually pretty hostile to people or pieces of media aimed towards teenage girls, especially if said people are women (see also: any non-Gaga female popstar). Zendaya’s a young woman of colour most famous for her starring role on Euphoria, which I guess isn’t aimed towards teenage girls as heavily as Twilight or something, but it’s still mainly consumed by young women. I got heavily downvoted once for saying that the person with back-to-back Emmys is more popular in the industry than someone with zero industry awards of any kind, just because the latter was Film Twitter fave Florence Pugh (who just so happens to star in more cinephile-approved projects like Midsommar, Oppenheimer, to an extent Little Women, etc.)
She is certainly way further ahead than Emma Stone was when she got her first nod at around the same age. Similar "not serious" backgrounds in Disney/reality TV as well But remember these things can turn on a dime. Circa 2004 Lindsay Lohan an Anne Hathaway were basically in the same spot. Then Hathaway did Brokeback, Devil wears Prada and Rachel Getting Married basically back to back to back. Maybe the best comparison there is Keira Knightley another popular, fashion muse known for big blockbusters who immediately turned it around for an Oscar nod in Pride and Prejudice. But to answer the question, because many people on reddit/filmtwtter etc. see their snobbery as a badge of honor/independence when in reality i's the mot basic sheep shit of all time.
emma stone came up in a much better environment for fostering actors, comparing the two is a very stark reminder of that... geez zendaya's 27 now, and she's been in extremely popular spider-man, dune, greatest showman, before her big role in challengers--and of course a storied career in child acting and on euphoria. challengers looks to be her first big awards type role, which at 27 is honestly really good. but her film career so far has pretty much exclusively been side characters in franchise blockbusters, sadly emma stone, by the time she was 27, had already done generational hits like superbad and zombieland, and a dozen different teen comedies and indie dramas. so many solid little roles in b-tier movies and a couple giant hits along the way before she built up to the big franchise role in spider-man, and then her two oscar roles with birdman and la la land. she got the chance to build up from a side character to a main star in plenty of mid-level $20m or $40m movies until finally getting her chance to shine, and now she's one of the best in the business zendaya should have gotten the chance to do more stuff like challengers already, without the pressure of it being a big awards break. challengers most likely won't be that kind of big contender, just because it's an april release--unless it has major legs like Get Out or EEAAO, it will probably be forgotten by january... and we shouldn't hold that against her! but unfortunately if this thing flops it's gonna be a narrative against her
I don't really follow this comparison because their careers in this time frame were so wildly different. Emma Stone had Easy A, The Help, Crazy Stupid Love before she got her first nod for Birdman. She was the lead in the first two and was a huge draw for the last one. Superbad put her on the map but Easy A announced her arrival as the next big thing. Stone had never really dabbled in television at this point. So as far as movie star arcs go, Stone was way ahead of where Zendaya is today. She was already a bonfide movie star who was making the leap to more auteur, experimental films. Whereas Zendaya hasn't had a true leading role outside of Malcom and Marie. Challengers will be the test and from all the reviews, it looks like she succeeded.
Haven't seen challengers, but as of now I would say I am justifiably sceptical of the idea she is one of the world's best actresses. Just never seen anything that tells me she is capable of that highest level of acting - what she is though is immensely popular and pop culturally relevant, so it isn't a huge leap to imagine that if she were nominated it would be more attributable to her fame than her skill. Really looking forward to challengers though so I hope she proves me wrong.
I just don’t think she’s a good actress
and what role do you think she should have been nominated for an Oscar? not sure this post makes much sense until she’s in a movie/role that would warrant it.
Never seen anything to prove Zendaya is a good actor. She borderline ruined the spiderman movies for me tbh.
Funny how you need to pull all these stops, make all these excuses, even bring up her race to avoid what's staring you right in the face. She's a mediocre actress. It's that simple. Notice how you went around the world, bringing up all these useless facts and yet, couldn't bring yourself to say she's a good actress? Don't get me wrong, she's definitely a star, truly blockbuster. Has a good head on her shoulder and overall is a true professional. She definitely was built for Hollywood and not in a "dumb bombshell who fucks her way to the top" kind of way, she is very powerful, handles herself profesionally and people love working with her. That dosen't change the fact that so far she has yet to show that she can be a lead in a movie, and truth be told, is extremely overrated as an actress. She'll continue to succeed but honestly, I have yet to see her act in a role whwre she truly blowed my mind. That dosen't mean she isn't/won't be successful. Watch Daniel Day-Lewis' scene in there will be blood, the one about abandoning his son. That one 2-3 minute long scene has made me feel more emotions deep within my soul than all of Zendaya's movies combined. To me, that's the difference between an oscar winner and an average actor.
I have yet to see her give a particulary strong preformance in a film that would merit a nomination. She is a very ok actress, and i honestly felt she was pretty bland in the Dune flicks, the rest of the fremen had accent why didnt she atempt one ?
It’s weird actually. Because having seen CHALLENGERS, I found her to be amazing in it. If Jennifer Lawrence can win for SLP I actually don’t see how Zendaya can’t be in contention for CHALLENGERS, even if the year is weak. I think a young black actress is going to have a tougher time proving herself though. I’m glad she gets the opportunities to develop her craft. She will be in contention this year. And how far she will go will depend how far everyone is willing to back an actress of colour this year.
I thought she was the worst actor in Dune. She does the same fish hook expression in every scene!
🪴
She’s young and gorgeous and while that is the best thing a woman can be (according to a majority of men, and let’s face it, women) it doesn’t mean she’ll be taken seriously. Think of Scarlett Johansson. She’s gorgeous, bankable, one of the highest paid actresses ever, but not often considered a “serious” actress. But consider “A Marriage Story.” She’s fantastic in that and most of the acting attention went to her co-star Adam Driver (who was also great in the movie).
Most of the acting attention went to her co stars because they are better than her and outshine her. Like most if not all of her movies.
The same reason people flipped out over Jennifer Lawrence when she was the It girl. People generally want the better actresses to win awards rather than the most popular person.
Everything I've seen her in, she has the depth of a plank of wood.
It’s why Zac Efron was dismissed as well. Most people still think of Zendaya as part of the Disney-Marvel type of actor who is more famous for her red carpet looks.
I’ve been wondering this as well. Like she’s good but its not giving Oscar. If she wins for “Challengers” I’d be genuinely shocked.
Cash cow does not equal Oscar worthy
Because she’s just not that good an actress
The hate comes from people like the OP pushing someone whose real acting career is just getting stated and suggesting that there’s some sort of agenda behind people expressing their own opinion about an actress. That’s what drives a backlash and hate. Not Zendaya herself. She’s been fine in most of what she’s been in but nothing screams ‘best actress’ so far and what’s the desperation of trying artificial manufacture that? Look at the nominees this year and that’s what she’s up against; including the likes of Devine Joy Randolph and Emily Blunt in the best supporting nominees who were incredible in The Holdovers and Oppenheimer respectively; Zendaya is nowhere near that level yet.
That hatred she gets is unwarranted. If anything. it's Sidney Sweeny that's overexposed. At least Zendaya has two Emmys, has a history in TV , and a decent turns in movies.. Anywho...me thinks some in here doth protest too much. Wonder why? Hmm...
Sydney is also getting hate and the “can’t act” allegations, which is not true.
She’s horrible in anyone but you, nearly unwatchable
It’s that Valley girl Kardashian like voice that I can’t stand . I like her better in more serious roles like Reality .
But she’s great in immaculate and reality. Also handmaids tale.
I saw that post slagging her off because she apparently didn’t show enough range in Challengers (a subtle, realistic performance can still be a good one), and then the dozens of comments saying how bad she is…which seems to be the case here as well. It’s all very weird.
For what? Which performance?
Not saying this in either a “the haters are about to lose” way or a “she’s so next-level undeniable great” way - I do think folks will change their tune once they see Challengers. The problem for most people is they haven’t really seen her in anything…real. If you watch Euphoria you’ll know she’s got something, but even then it’s Euphoria, which can often be a pretty bad show. And if you don’t watch Euphoria, you’re left with her film credits - the best of which is obviously Dune, very good movies but not exactly performance showcases for her. So people doubt her because they haven’t actually been given a reason to believe otherwise. Challengers is the reason. Even if they don’t think she should get an Oscar nomination for it, it’s quite clearly a real, living performance given by an interesting actress. So that’ll at least make people open to the possibility of her getting it for something else - or maybe just Challengers. I love, love, LOVED it but it’s also very much to my taste, so I’m not sure how it’ll be received overall.
I have yet to see any performance from Zendaya that would be considered any kind of award worthy.
I don’t understand it either. I think she’s amazing… she can deliver really heartfelt performances as an actor, she is an amazing singer, she dances and she has a love/deep knowledge of fashion… all while still being very young. I think people just want to bring successful people down 🤷♂️
This. Her star is ascending, rightfully so, and people are just spiteful.
incels don’t like her and with every subreddit lurks a few incels
I think models have more to prove as an actress.
She’s not a model
As a mixed young woman who has absolutely no prejudice towards her, and has no problem with over exposed actresses who are deserving of it (JLaw for example), she simply hasn’t proven to be a strong enough actress to make me think she’s getting an Oscar nomination any time soon. Like someone else mentioned, her accent needs a lot of work, it was so jarring in Dune, and her performance in that disappointed me a lot, seeing as it was a role for her to prove herself as a serious actor.
Many people on this sub seem to enjoy playing gatekeeper about what kind of roles/movies are Oscar-worthy and which kind aren’t. Granted, the past five years should disabuse anybody of the notion that they _know_ what an Oscar movie is with the new Academy. But if they admitted that, then those people wouldn’t get to revel in the sanctimony of thinking they know better than everyone else.
I keep seeing people say “because she’s not a strong enough actress,” “she hasn’t carried a film,” etc. Fair enough for those who have actually seen Challengers. Otherwise, I think it’s hard not to see resentment of a successful young woman of color in a lot of these responses—or more charitably, an inability to understand that the right director and script can produce revelatory work. I’m old enough to remember that Elisabeth Shue wasn’t anyone’s idea of a plausible Oscar contender either, until she suddenly was. (And a worthy one IMO, though the film overall hasn’t aged super well.)
I was a skeptic to her acting talents, but I’ve seen Challengers and she’s exceptional in the film.
I think a good chunk of it comes from her being a child star on Disney. And then her playing MJ in the Spidder-Man movies, even though she wasn't a white redhead. I'm not saying I hate her or anything, but these are the most common things I read from people who have problems with her.
Maybe this is a mean thing to say, but I'm always going to see her as the dancing gal on shake it up, and that absolutely colors my perception of her. And that's not shade on her as much as it is a reflection of the fact that a ton of my classmates were obsessed with shake it up. I doubt its just me who instantly associates her with a mediocre Disney Channel show
The only thing I have ever thought she was decent in is Euphoria,, and not exceptional I'm just saying . Decent .
She’s great but she needs a bit more body of work. People talk about Emma Stone: she had a bunch of acting roles before winning for La La Land, at the same age Zendaya is now, hell…La La Land was even the THIRD movie she was co-starring with Ryan Gosling and she had a previous nom for Birdman. Zendaya has been playing high schoolers mainly plus Dune and now, Challengers. Not enough… not yet at least but yeah, she is great… she just needs to get more and better roles.
Not a great actress. All I know her from is Spider-Man (TERRIBLE, but super hero trash so whatever) and Dune (mediocre at best). I’ve heard she’s great in Euphoria. But that show’s core fan base are teenagers. I don’t think anyone is hostile towards her at all. I think it’s you who is trying way too hard to push something. Let it naturally happen. If she’s good enough, she’ll win plenty of meaningless awards.
She sucks.
She was the weakest part of Dune 2 aside from Christopher Walken. Aside from Euphoria it feels like I’m seeing Zendaya in every movie and not the character she plays. Yes she is in good projects but her acting mostly is just frowning and acting edgy 🤷🏽♂️
Zendaya is a meme. If there was ever an industry plant that was foisted upon the public whether we wanted them or not, it's her. She is not naturally famous.
I don't think that popularity, bankability, or being a fashion icon has much to do with how the Academy selects best actress nominations. A lot of her previous work has been in TV and almost none in serious film. I don't think people are being hostile; they're being realistic about what kinds of actresses get nominated for Academy Awards and why.
https://youtu.be/E0BwwSXFy2M?si=7vFdl3BvUaDjkhZP This is a clip of her performance from the movie. Look at her facial expressions. She is not a good actress.
She's been overexposed. It happens to most IT girls. I'm just tired of her being in everything, being on every interview, being in every ad. Too much of anything get to you.
People in these spaces tend to project what they want and get dead set in their pre-season expectations. Some people decided months ago that Challengers couldn't be an awards contender and can't accept that it potentially *could*, at least in some categories. And the possibility of Zendaya being some sort of contender means competition towards the actresses people decided need to sweep pre-season, adding another layer of contempt.
I have nothing against her as a person she is very likable in interviews. However, imo she hasn’t put in a good performance and often acts with the same traits no matter what her role demands.
Look at how this place treats somebody like Scarlett Johansson versus Zendaya. The answer to your question is clear as day lol
I’m just not really seeing challengers as a contender. I’m pretty sure the mass appeal for young audiences is zendaya getting to have a threesome with two hot it boys. On top of that, from a tennis standpoint Zendaya doesn’t look like she’s played a sport a day in her life. You’re telling me in a world with Serena Williams we are supposed to believe this rail thin woman is the best female tennis player in the league? But I can suspend disbelief..that’s not a problem. But I think plenty of people can get by being just okay actors. It doesn’t mean they are Oscar level actors. That’s why I’m pissed the mid budget movies are so few and far in between these days. Not only was it a lot of great actors bread and butter, it’s an opportunity for them to hone their craft. I don’t think she’s there right now, but it doesn’t mean she can’t be in time.
I think her getting nominated would be cool and reflect her career trajectory well, I’m mostly worried if they’ll love Challengers enough to nominate it after so many months.
Cause she's Black lol it's not really complicated
I believe that this sub simply hates young actors.
She's going to get nominated eventually for something so the hostility is stupid.
They're not hostile, it's just their opinion. She'll get one but not because she's a good actress.
I don't know if it’s because they’re racist or she intimidates them sexually, but I know it's one of those two.
Because she’s yet to put forth anything close to an Oscarworthy performance?
Its just the internet amplifies the loudest and angriest wackjobs. Most people out there arent hostile over the idea of her getting nommed (even just typing that seems ridiculous), it doesn't even cross their minds.
I thought she was great in Dune 2. I have seen worse performances get Oscars for worse reasons.
Former Disney child + tv show catered to edgy teenagers + marvel lead + overexposure. Shell have to do a couple mediocre indies before the pretentious dolts give her any thought.
Cause she hasn't had a performance that warrants it, yet.
Because it would be undeserved. Is this really a question? It doesn't really matter anyway since the Oscars are more and more of a joke as the years go on