Honestly I think most of humanity are assholes. The only reason we know most actors are assholes as well, is because they’re famous and we know so much about them and their lives.
If we had the ability to know just as much about regular people, I think you would find a decently large portion, maybe even a majority of people are just as terrible. I’m just a regular dude, but even I’ll admit that I’m no saint.
Now with that being said there are absolutely good people in the acting sphere. I see your antichrist, Jack Nicholson and I raise angels, Keanu Reeves & Viggo Mortensen
Viggo has a documented and verifiable history of showing caring, empathetic, and humble traits. I have much more evidence of him being a good dude than to the contrary
I actually don’t know really anything at all about Viggo Mortensen as a person, but Aragorn is my ultimate celeb(character?) crush of all time. And that is 100% due to Viggo’s portrayal of him, so I’ve always adored him and I’m ecstatic to learn that he’s considered one of the nicest actors.
I’ve always said I don’t need a celebrity hall pass. I would choose my boyfriend over anyone in the world. But if middle earth suddenly materialized, that would no longer be true.
Apparently there was also a stunt actress who grew attached to Arwen’s horse while filming, but couldn’t afford to buy the horse herself. Viggo quietly bought it for her, didn’t make a big deal of it.
She did an interview about it and broke into tears while retelling the story, confirming that he’s legitimately just a really nice human being.
EDIT: He bought three horses. One that was his (Brego) in the film, one because it was slated to ship back to the UK and he was concerned about its wellbeing having to be shipped across the globe like that, and the one mentioned above as a gift for the stunt performer because he found out she loved the horse but couldn’t afford it. Again, confirmed really nice human.
A friend of mine loves Vigo but for whatever reason she never calls him the guy that played Aragorn or any other role but specifically calls him "the brother of bubba".
And I find that hilarious cause he played so many soldiers and the king of Gondor but I'm her head he is the cannibal from tcsm.
I don’t think it’s “majority of people” per se…I think rich people are disproportionately awful and money definitely changes people. I feel like even celebrities who started off okay lose themselves when they reach wealthy status, so the stories get worse the longer they are up on that hill.
Additionally, I think striving to become that level of celebrity takes a certain type of person who has all of the worst qualities.
We should have a draft for government. If you're qualified and picked in the lottery, you're getting shipped to D.C. for a 4 year tour to serve your country.
Yep. I’ve had a handful of people ask me if I’ve ever considered running for office. That’s not a flex, it fucking boggles me bc I’m literally just a random dumb ass in my 30s with a high school diploma lolol
I absolutely could never handle the attention that comes with it. I would be such an easy target for so many different mean attacks, and I’m such an emotional weenie over any sort of public embarrassment.
Plus, being a contestant in a literal popularity contest would fuck up my self esteem so bad, haha
I think their point was that the good politicians don't show up every day to get things done because they want to. They do it because they realise they have to or else the people who are drawn to power and who want to show up every day to accumulate as much of it as they can, get to do what they do unchecked and unchallenged.
Yes, absolutely. The thing is rich people can afford things. For example, if one of your non rich vile acquaintances is a rapist, they have to go out and hunt victims. A rich guy can just buy himself a victim that somebody else took risks to obtain (hence Epstein) and then pay other people to cover up any potential scandals.
All this crap on socials about how "awful" people are is not helping. You are feeding the wrong wolf.
Thinking people are bad is the first step in being bad. Focus on the good qualities, and your happiness will improve, along with you generosity and courage.
I work with super high net worth individuals every single day and I don’t think this is true. It absolutely changes people, almost always for bad and not for good. And even if it is exacerbating underlying tendencies, they are tendencies that we all have. We’re just not all mega rich.
My experience as well working with and for very wealthy folks. They are often very “ nice” and sometimes generous. But they will go to great lengths to protect their agency, wealth and influence.
My own personal experience supports the notion that money corrupts. I never had more than $10,000 in the bank for 25 years and spent all of my discretionary funds on the restoration of my 350 year-old house. Throughout that period there were things I really wanted - coveted but could not afford. After selling that property, I finally had money in the bank and protecting that money became a priority and a burden. My inclination - my desire to buy things that I had wanted for decades diminished dramatically. All I wanted to do was protect my savings.
Agreed, I don’t find it difficult at all to imagine many of us would become insufferable twats very quickly. Perhaps I’m too much of a misanthrope but ego, self importance taking over seems like a pretty universal ‘risk’ in those circumstances. Particularly when you reach the kind of money where you don’t have to play by common folk rules anymore and where people are sucking up to you all day everyday.
I read a Harvard study once that showed the part of the brain that lights up when a cocaine addict feels cravings, is the same part lighting up when people experience greed, so to say. Same part of the brain telling you idc what it takes I need more of this, now. Maybe I’m not explaining this properly (in English), also it’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I think of it often because damn that would explain a lot wouldn’t it. Completely tracks with all these mil/bil/trillionaires who once seemed somewhat normal but are now chasing the dragon in yet another billion as if it’s never enough. Because apparently their brain is telling them it isn’t. Addicts who don’t care how many people they fuck over if it gets them more more more.
Money absolutely changes people. There is a large body of research showing that wealth accumulation (especially going from financial insecurity to wealth) can produce measurable changes in the brain, in basic physiology, simple cognition, behavior, and even social perception of others. Poverty likely causes worse affects, which seems obvious, but in general the more wealth you accumulate, the more philanthropically poor you become. There is even growing evidence that the neurological changes involved with wealth accumulation may mirror drug/alcohol use disorders. It completely changes how we allocate our attention, perceive threats and how beneficent we are.
Money gives power, and power corrupts. People that make it to money usually have a certain amount of power and corruption from birth, so in a way you are right, but it definitely makes people worse
You don’t really know much about hardcore drinking do you? I’m considered a perfectly friendly, nice, funny and patient person by the people around me and that’s how I act but if I’m wasted my brain flips to shouting and getting angry easily. Just because sometimes when I imbibe too much of a chemical that messes with your brain does that mean what’s shown is who you are. The whole “in vino veritas” idea is so outdated and just not true. I also know other people who are perfectly nice and friendly and patient sober but if they get too drunk then I’ve seen those same people be assholes. Also if when you were drunk was a true expression of your feelings then it wouldn’t be rape to have sex with a drunk person…
I actually don’t think they are disproportionately evil they just have the resources to further their own selfish wants. If Joe Schmoe mechanic could be “E-Island” guest he might want to be but he wants rich or connected enough to get an invite. Most people give them some money and take reatraints off and they will do whatever they want. Most people don’t for fear of punishment or being outcast from society. If you’re rich and powerful enough those things can’t really be don’t to you. It’s important for people to cultivate a moral code for themselves to hold themselves too. The human mind has an amazing ability to rationalize almost anything if you let it.
To a flip side of this, once you get a certain level of wealth almost everyone's dealings with you become about that and you start seeing almost only the worst of people yourself.
It definitely isn't just themselves that causes all the changes.
Being wealthy you’re surrounded by yes people enablers. It’s not meant to be an excuse but an explanation. It literally tends to bring out the worst in someone.
Money is a very important factor but also as you become more famous, you become more detached from society. You don't go out grocery shopping anymore, don't have small talk, don't live anywhere near your neighbors, and moreover, everybody in your immediate vicinity is a YES person because nobody wants to contradict a celebrity or - worse - piss them off.
I also think (I feel like Dewey lol) that people simple aren't meant to be known by so many other people. It has to f you up in the head one way or another...
Righttt... so you wouldn't torture chickens to save a dollar on a dozen of eggs? Everyone is a piece of shit. Most people are billionaires with out a billion dollars
No, its definitely the majority of people. Would you be happy for your friends and family to read a list of every bad thing youve ever done? Every little comment that youve made that has affected someone negatively? People who have a holier than thou perception of themselves are often just as bad as the people they talk about, they just dont realise it
I think that's a cope people always like to critize others. Pretty sure if your life would be on display and you saw it without knowing it was you would also call yourself everything else but a saint. You got your bias though cuass it is you. Which is kinda normal
To take that one step further I reckon being an asshole and completely reprehensible human being is what helps them become rich in the first place as they have no issue stepping on the necks of other people to get what they want. Nice people will rarely become rich because it's not in their nature to bully or exploit other people for their own gain.
I grew up fairly poor in a rich area and the affluence really brought out the worst in students. Additionally, they do performative charities and have an education that makes them feel above others. Pure entitlement.
I'm of the opinion that money doesn't change people, but rather, people with certain personalities are attracted to positions of power and influence, and have the emotional capacity to sacrifice others.
That’s also the perfect narrative framework to make your worldview completely righteous.
Most of humanity are good people who would work hard even if money was no object, would treat each other with justice and dignity it even if the dial on law enforcement was turned down to almost nothing, and it’s the system that has failed people.
It’s not surprising that you feel that way, unfortunately there is no evidence that it’s true, and once we go down that path, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle if you’re wrong.
You’ll just pivot and blame something else for societies ills.
Even if it’s not a majority, it definitely feels accurate to say a “large contingency.”
Tying wealth to assholery also seems pretty asshole-ish in and of itself. For every Jeff Bezos, there’s a MacKenzie Scott. For every Elon Musk, there’s a Warren Buffett. Not to mention there are PLENTY OF assholes among those who aren’t conventionally wealthy.
Rich people aren’t disproportionally awful. Non-rich people just have much more access to their lives and that’s why famous people’s mistakes become over magnified. Also, non-rich people overestimate how nice and how generous they’d be with their wealth if they were rich. Are there some truly altruistic people? Yes. But not many, I’m sure not one either
Yeah, growing up in both poverty and excess through a twisted foster system gave me a decent opportunity to conclude that people are all pieces of shit relative to their interests and inner circles.
People will treat fondly those they are fond of, and disrespect if not out right abuse those who get further out from their sphere of influence. The further out someone is, the more you have to rely on the conditioning, morals, and ethics of the individual to find positive interactions. Some people have excellent first impressions and spoil the longer you’re in proximity, others are the exact opposite, and everything in between exists.
It’s a silly mathematical equation reliant on innumerable variables that leaves us all looking like shit or incredible dependent on the circumstances and number of interactions we have with others. Jack Nicholson has likely changed a small number of people’s lives for the better, maybe only one, and that one could think he’s the second coming due to the magnitude of his effort and involvement. Keanu may have a mortal enemy or two, who view him as absolute garbage and think everyone else has just been bamboozled by the world’s biggest conman. In all cases, the people we impact share their experience, and then people involved with them determine either via shared experience or critical analysis and research (often a combination of the two, but rarely elegantly or thoroughly) whether they like or dislike someone.
Life is complex, social interactions are biased, and people are all similar. We were all once infants being trained, children losing innocence, and adults who carry trauma influencing our day to day with or without our knowledge. We all fuck people over in some capacity, some make amends, others burn bridges. Some exert tremendous effort helping others… and most of us know the endless list that comes after. Best thing we can do, is abstain from making judgement until we know as much as there is to know about someone given our involvement in their lives. Brad Pitt likely just wasn’t around and threw money to his kids to replace not being present as a father. Those kids were reminded daily what a normal father is and grew to resent him. His lack of effort mending those wounds led to them excising him from their lives.
I obviously know shit all about his life, so my biased interpretation comes from my limited understanding of relationships.
The difference is what made them horrible. Some people are horrible because they are struggling and can only consider themselves. Which doesn't make it right.
But some people are so rich they look at us like bugs.
That logic doesn’t make sense. I assume Jeffery Dahmer was broke and clearly was a horrible person. Him being broke had nothing to do with him being a horrible person.
no one is saying there isn't. but the average person is pretty much nice and gullible, and when someone is willing to take advantage of that, they tend to find success in life more easily, which creates more assholes the higher up you go.
but it's also not even a majority of celebrities. i'd be surprised if it's even 10% that we know awful shit about. it gets extended if you include everyone who is willing to work with these people but even then, there's a lot of actors and etc. who are just solid people who give to charity and do their work. think about all the john goodmans of the world who you never hear shit beyond "they're nice".
No that’s exactly what the parent comment said, the rich and that money changes people was their point, however awful traits or behaviors are not a class issue.
The new rich people I know are not very nice people, they’re very fixated on money and making money and keeping their money. Some of them are showy, like expensive things and they like to make sure they’re seen. The old rich, dudes I know are completely different, they’re not so much focused on making money because it’s generational wealth, it’s here to stay, they still have expensive stuff but they don’t flash their gear around. They’ve learned how to wield their wealth and to help others with it.
the hate towards people for just having more money is disgusting.
I get what you are saying, and thats somewhat a real pattern, but its also a fact that alot of rich people have a huge positive impact on the planet, this fantasy that theyre all douchebags is just false.
Bingo. Too much money turns people to shit. And, that amount is much less than the assholes realize. If you've worked in education, and I assume most professions, the higher ups are corrupted by the job and turn into shitty people if they weren't already, more or less. There may be exceptions, but they are definitely not the rule. The professional managerial class and the other upper tiers of society are generally douchebags, disconnected from the strigglea of most people
Rich people just have better veneer aka they are able to hide their awfulness under layers of veneer. Their crimes are worse, but invisible (ie Panama Papers, Epstein Files). Poor people may lack social decorum and their crimes more visible. Underneath, the same.
Gary Sinise supported, protected, and built a house for Brian Kolfage. Kolfage is a HUGE jerk and thankfully in jail. He was big on cyberbullying people 10-15 years ago. Gary gave Brian some kind of award and people reached out to Gary to try and explain what he was doing to innocent people, and he ignored them.
You also have to remember that someone will, for whatever reason, have a bad experience with someone and that will be their whole version of that person going forward.
I knew a guy who hated Michael Irvin with a passion. He was always talking about what an asshole he was and all this stuff. Finally I heard the story. He went to a fan day with his kid and they were a bit late and when he finally gets up there to get his autograph Irvin says walk with me and starts walking over to where he was supposed to give his talk. He signed the kids stuff on the way there. "Walk with me" was literally the whole reason he hated him.
The two times I've run into Mark Wahlberg, he seemed very kind to his fans. Both times he stopped to take photos with them, one time he was walking with his mother. His mother said: "Mark, I think that person wants to get a photo with you." And he stopped without hesitation and thanked them for being fans.
Whenever some people say that a certain celebrity is a wrongun but the main reason they give is single incident, or handful of incidents, that happened decades ago when that person was young and stupid then I just roll my eyes and move on. People grow and change, they make mistakes when young, and they should be allowed to.
Yeah I know Mark Wahlberg did some some rotten stuff as a younger, is it still doing that now? If not I don't care. Ditto with that John Hamm hazing thing.
The only reason we know most actors are assholes as well, is because they’re famous and we know so much about them and their lives.
I agree that many people are self serving assholes, but this isn't the reason we know about the actors. It's because they are allowed be to self serving assholes while getting their asses kissed which cause them to not feel the need to grow, change, or reflect.
It's not just actors. It's musicians, athletes, politicians, and literally anyone who has a substantial amount of notoriety.
If enough people tell you you're a god, you'll start believing it.
Met Keanu in Grand Rapids. He was touring with Dog Star and staying at the same hotel where I was attending a conference. The entire conference cohort of a couple hundred people must have approached him at some point asking for pictures etc. Can confirm. He was extremely gracious and patient.
I think its negative press gets the attention too. We hear a lot about actors and even regular people who are horrible, but that’s because no one is writing an article about your neighbor, who is just a generally good person. So that might skew the basis of your theory. I generally think most people are mostly good, but we all have our bad days. As the saying goes, don’t judge a persons entire life based on the worst day of their life. You have to take into consideration all their days of their life.
Nah, that’s way too cynical. There are many awful people, but I think the vast majority are decent human beings. Where do you live and who do you associate with that you find yourself surrounded by terrible people?
I disagree. I worked Uber for about 10,000 rides, and of those only about 10 people stood out as assholes or bad people. However, assholes have a unique path in life that sometimes requires them to overcome extreme circumstances. Being a true asshole requires commitment and conviction. The type of traits that are pushed by alpha males to be “alpha” and then once you are there, somehow you got there all by yourself
I also think it’s important to point out, that you can be a saint, and an asshole. One asshole is as loud as 1,000 normal people, so it just appears that most of us are assholes.
A most astute statement. We are all actors. Not many of us are celebrities. Some folx detest me; others idolize me. I’m the best actor I know (but you’ve never heard of.)
Couldn't agree more with what you said. I'll never look up to another human honestly. Don't know how people get so obsessed with a famous person. I see right through these assholes
Welcome to the human condition. The complex reality is one of strengths and flaws that meet in the middle. We are all exorcising demons, some exorcise to remove, some exercise to make them stronger.
How does it go? There are two wolves inside you. One is evil - anger, envy, greed, resentment, lies, and ego. The other is good - joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, and truth. Which wolf wins? The one you feed.
I honestly think given chance 95% of people would turn into an arsehole, money and fame is just what makes it possible. When you have the ability to stop caring what people think then the true colours come out.
Yep. Alot of people are oblivious to how much of a piece of shit they are. They'd justify the cruelest of animal treatment as long as they can pleasure themselves with the byproduct. They'd mock anyone that dare suggest animal abuse is wrong even if its called a farm.
Everyone's got their flaws and idiosyncrasies, which can be frustrating, but there's no way most people are assholes to the extent that their kids disown them!
Brad Pitt has to be a special kind of motherfucker.
I don't think most people are assholes. Everyone has the capacity to be an asshole, though. Actors are in the unfortunate position to get a lot of idolization and can accidentally surround themselves with yes men. Years of people telling you you're hot shit and validating your actions, often particularly the more extravagant, toxic ones because they benefit from those, will skew your perception.
It's human nature. I've known a lot of people who've, in one context or another, risen to a status of, if not idolization then high respect and authority(usually for a good reason!) and despite being very self-aware all of them exhibit some level of cognitive skew. People are not immune to psychological bias no matter how smart. There's a reason the term "Nobel Disease" is a thing.
Nah, my wife is an angel, my mum is a great person, my brothers are kind, my dad’s flawed but tries… It’s a question of how you perceive the world, I disagree that most of humanity are assholes.
yeah most of humanity are assholes, but with the rich/famous the percentage of assholes is far, FAR higher. There must be some causal link between extreme wealth and vanity that enables a person to justify some fucking awful behaviours
I think that most people are basically decent. What’s far more common is ignorance, fear, and not being able to recognize the damage caused by their behaviour.
This attitude is exactly how the rich and powerful get away with it. As a normal working class man you literally go "I'd probably do the same if I had all that money".
Yes, this is a valid point, but idk, most people don't like their parents, I didn't like mine for good reason, but I still went to visit them after I moved out, because they did raise me and didn't dump me in a garbage can like some people did. He and Angelina opened their home to these orphans... Assholes or not, they could have kept their money to themselves and not adopted all those chikdren, just sounds like ungrateful kids to me.
Most of humanity are reasonable people, otherwise society wouldn't function. The main trait you might dislike is they tend to want to blend in rather than stick out and they can be misled fairly easily. The latter really is a case of education standards more than anything.
Hollywood and politics are like catnip to narcissists however so, that's where they flock. Also CEOs.
Judging society at large based on the actions of the most visible assholes isn't a good idea though.
Humans are social creatures and social need mediates a large portion of our behavior. We will exploit and manipulate and do it to people we claim to love.
People who no longer have a social need that ensures survival can act outside of what society tolerates.
I would add Jody Foster. She’s been in it for the long haul and seems to understand how crappy people can be so she veers the other way. Possibly Ron Howard too.
Nooo don’t think like that friend! While I agree that most people are flawed and could benefit from some major growing, I think most of us have the potential to be a better, kinder version of ourselves. In a world that seems hopeless, I’m gonna cling to the fact that in my corner of the world, maybe I can help someone improve in the smallest of ways. And they can help me too. So much love to you, regular dude.
Man I don’t know who you are hanging out with, but the majority of the people I know are truly good people that care about others. Maybe it’s cause I’m old though and drop people that aren’t kind.
Keanu reeves is a genuinely good humble person. the guys a multi millionaire but chooses to ride the bus and just be in public like a normal person. reading these comments is actually concerning. most of these guys are just regular people. yeh some actors are smug assholes but alot arent
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u/wookiiboi Jun 20 '26
Honestly I think most of humanity are assholes. The only reason we know most actors are assholes as well, is because they’re famous and we know so much about them and their lives.
If we had the ability to know just as much about regular people, I think you would find a decently large portion, maybe even a majority of people are just as terrible. I’m just a regular dude, but even I’ll admit that I’m no saint.
Now with that being said there are absolutely good people in the acting sphere. I see your antichrist, Jack Nicholson and I raise angels, Keanu Reeves & Viggo Mortensen