Who is pushing/funding this guy?

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I'm pretty sure no one is funding him. He's a great actor so if he's getting roles in major movies then it goes to show that he's talented. Other wise he'd be a B-List actor only starring in crappy movies. And his looks, agree to disagree.











Get busy living or get busy dying - Shawshank Redemption

Well, that is your opinion and you are certainly entitled to it, but stating your opinion as a fact doesn't make it one. Many people -- audiences, critics, fellow individuals in the industry -- disagree with you. There are definitely some people (not necessarily actors, but artists of all kinds) who are average to well below average and continue to get steady work, but I wouldn't count Joseph Gordon-Levitt among them. Each performance of his has had a great deal of emotional depth and insight, honesty, and at times delicacy -- nothing ever feels heavy-handed.

Out of curiosity, which performance(s) of his have you seen and what didn't you like about it/them?

--
'Save me, Barry!'

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quite a bit above the average acting level of a soap opera.



my movie review website: http://www.jestersreviews.com

I think it's cause he becomes buddies with everyone. Connections matter more than talent or looks.

From interviews and candid videos, it's pretty obvious he's charming.

Jeez, you're bitter. You, too can have a life. Just leave the basement, leave the basement, the Lord Jesus commands you to leave the basement.

As for JGL, he's had a lifetime in front of the camera. Anybody who has had anything to do with him must know that he's a consummate, reliable professional - a safe pair of hands not to worry about when the rest of the cast are fruit loops.

The first time I saw him was in Quantum Leap when he was ten years old and he has never disappointed. According to celebritynetworth.com, he's got $35 mil and "Today Joseph Gordon-Levitt has grown into one of the most sought after leading male film stars in the world."

So, let's face it, your post is just the bitter envy of a basement-dwelling loser.

Are you sure you posted this to the right actor's board? 

Where to begin? I'll have to bold for your speed-reading convenience. :)

Mysterious Skin and The Lookout. That's an amazing actor right there.

But JGL's been winning critics and audiences since he was a kid (just look at his awards and nominations page on IMDb; his acting's been noted in everything from lead film roles to guest TV appearances). Give him strong or at least decent material, and he's outstanding (e.g., Mysterious Skin, The Lookout, 50/50). Give him a kernel of something interesting, and he makes it special (Hesher, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For). Give him a stock character with little to no history and not much to do, and he still delivers with such energy and presence that people want him to lead his own franchise even if no one's sure who his character is (The Dark Knight Rises). JGL gives quality performances regardless of the depth and quality of the material, and even elevates his films in almost every instance I've seen. If that's average... No, I really cannot see how that is average.  I'd say he's one of the best and most versatile actors under 40 working in Hollywood right now.

I'd recommend watching Manic, Mysterious Skin, Brick, The Lookout, Hesher, (500) Days of Summer, 50/50 and Don Jon (esp. back-to-back) if you haven't already, for a good starting sample of his wide-ranging and considerable talents. His recent popularity based on thinly-written supporting roles in blockbuster movies had at first predisposed me to being skeptical about him, but after backtracking through his filmography and really watching his work, I've gone the other way and now think he's actually underrated and under-utilized. For an actor of his gifts to be most famous for his least substantial roles is a near crime against cinema, in my opinion!

I find his work intelligent and nuanced, original and effortless, honest, intense and heartfelt; how does it get much better than that? The closest I can come to relating to you is if by generic and average you are referring to what I see as wonderfully realistic, nuanced and natural acting. He's one of the most unaffected, effortless performers I've seen come along recently. There is no fat in his acting. More than that, to me there is clear human decency in his work--he shows compassion for his characters and their stories--which is a truly beautiful thing and not nearly common enough, and that's a big reason that I support him as an actor and creative. Not to mention he has tons of charisma and screen presence. It's because of all these things that I think he owns his roles in seemingly any kind of movie, and there doesn't seem to be any kind of character he can't flesh out and any kind of story he can't make emotionally resonant. Drama, comedy, action, he can do it all. The only thing that hasn't kept up is the depth and quality of some of his roles, esp. recently as he's been in the kind of movies that are (IMO) better at raising actors' profiles than they are at utilizing them to the fullest, character-wise. (But that looks to be changing soon. :-) )

but seems to keep popping up in role after role in big budget movies
It might satisfy your curiosity to know that it was from seeing Manic that Rian Johnson sought Gordon-Levitt for Brick (and later Looper), and it was from seeing The Lookout that Christopher Nolan cast him for Inception (and later The Dark Knight Rises). It was also his performance in Manic that earned him his agent, who, if I recall correctly, called him up after seeing that film and urged him to continue as a serious actor. When he followed up with such performances as Mysterious Skin and Brick, he became an indie and critics' darling.

I don't know what films of his you've seen, but I think it can be tempting to look at some of his more recent roles in high-profile big-budget movies and wonder if he's overrated, because how do you reconcile those relatively light roles with JGL's reputation as one of the best actors of his generation? However if you consider what he's able to do with what he's given, and watch where he takes it in movies where he IS asked to "go there," I think it's clear he's an abundantly gifted and original performer.

(Also, at any rate, he made The Dark Knight Rises and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For better movies by being in them, and has often been considered one of the highlights if not the highlight of these movies. To me those are just a couple examples among many of his ability to elevate his material if not the film itself.)

But you know what really did it for me was his rendition of Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh," in his SNL opening monologue from 2009. That's when I knew to keep an eye on his career. Performers like him, with that kind of verve and heart, don't come along that often.