On the level of Jennifer Lawrence. Mia always blows me away on screen especially in period pieces. She was also incredible in "In Treatment" and has risen since but I feel like she should be as recognizable, if not more, as Jennifer Lawrence.
shareWell other then 'Alice in Wonderland' (which was really 'the Johnny Depp show', and even though Mia was the main character he was really the 'star' of the piece and sort of stole her thunder in that film) Mia hasn't really done a big blockbuster type of film where she is undoubtedly the 'star', to really give her mainstream pop culture levels of fame.
Jennifer Lawrence has the Hunger Game Franchise, and the X-Men franchise which is part of why she is much more well known.
But truth be told I don't really think Mia wants that type of fame, if she did she could pursue more action/adventure type of projects. I think she just prefers smaller films which is fine. But I'd really like to see her land a good dramatic role eventually, that will give her more recognition for her acting talent, she definitely deserves it.
There are two main factors that account for the great difference in fame. The first one has been mentioned by Weber4278. Remember that the movie industry, and pop culture celebrity in general, are very much "What have you done for me lately?" contests. Mia starred in a billion-dollar picture in 2010, but then what? Let's summarize the last five years of the two actresses' careers:
Major Roles in "Franchise" Films, 2011-2015
Mia Wasikowska: 0
Jennifer Lawrence: 6
The second factor is high-profile professional recognition. Mia's mid-budget and arthouse films have earned her some critical praise, but they have not done the job of attracting the most important awards or nominations. Again, let's compare the two actresses, this time looking at their entire careers:
Academy Award Nominations
Mia Wasikowska: 0
Jennifer Lawrence: 3 (1 win)
Golden Globe Nominations
Mia Wasikowska: 0
Jennifer Lawrence: 4 (2 wins)
Screen Actors Guild Nominations (individual only)
Mia Wasikowska: 0
Jennifer Lawrence: 3 (1 win)
In a way this is an unfair comparison, because Jennifer Lawrence, who is actually a year younger than Mia, has had the absolutely perfect career to date in its combination of commercial success and professional honors. It would be asking a lot for there to be two such careers among young actresses of the same generation. However, I think it's reasonable to conclude that while Mia Wasikowska has had a fine career so far, especially in terms of the quality of much of her work, she's far from being a superstar in the public consciousness, or even a household name.
Truth be told...and this is just my opinion so don't shoot me...I think Jennifer Lawrence is a bit overrated these days. She's a good actress, but I don't think she's as amazing as some people make her out to be, she's just been extremely lucky with her career thus far...Hunger Games really made her a household name, but personally I think her better work is in her non-franchise films.
Just my opinion
JL is a good example of someone who appears to have benefited from a high "Q score," which measures a combination of familiarity (does the public know who you are?) and popularity (does the public like you?). She seems to have leveraged herself into a position in which she'll be considered a major awards contender for any late-in-the-year picture in which she appears. That's enviable PR clout. I think she's usually effective, but I can't say I've been awed by anything she's done. She's kind of a classic "movie star" in the sense that a big part of her own personality comes through in all her roles. In contrast, I would say that although Mia Wasikowska has a recognizable style as an actress, her native personality is less obvious as a building block for her characters.
Your opinion about JL's movies is not really atypical, since all her nominations have come for films other than The Hunger Games or X-Men.
Jennifer Lawrence has 4 Academy award nominations now, no longer 3. I love Mia too and I think her path as an actress is just different and shouldn't be compared. I prefer Lawrence though.
shareTheir career paths have been totally different. Not that Mia hasn't done a big blockbuster, but she seems to prefer smaller budget/independent films.
Also, as much as I find Jennifer Lawrence overrated, she has the typical Hollywood starlet good looks. Mia is pretty and has a quirky sense of style, but lacks that extra something that would make her mainstream popular. And she perhaps isn't interested in being that. She appears very introverted and shy.
Having said that though, I love Mia and her acting. I think she's very much a chameleon in her work... innocent and naive one minute, coquettish and provocative the next, and vulnerable yet strong all at the same time.
I really like Mia but she really needs to shake things up a bit. I think the actress I would compare Mia with is Lily James.
Lily seems to be getting the period piece films that typically Mia cornered. Lily also did Cinderella and managed not to get overshadowed by Cate Blanchett in the way Mia did in Alice with Johnny Depp.
Lily seems also to be more outgoing and from the looks of her latest movie looks pretty good doing action sequences.
Lily also did Cinderella and managed not to get overshadowed by Cate Blanchett in the way Mia did in Alice with Johnny Depp.
The Mad Hatter is much more of a scene stealing type of character then The Wicked Stepmother. Johnny Depps wackyness would have overshadowed Lily James too had she been playing opposite him.
It wasn't Mia's fault that she was playing the 'straight' character in a film that had way too much Mad Hatter stuff.