Be the First You, Not the ‘Next’ Anyone Else

Before Cate Blanchett there were many great female actors, but there was no Cate Blanchett. Some called her “the next Judy Davis,” and soon “the next Meryl Streep.” It hardly matters now. Her brilliant performances speak for themselves, and her career has never looked back.
Before Mel Gibson there were many leading men, but no one like him. Russell Crowe was billed as “the next Mel Gibson,” but who says that now? Sam Worthington was touted as ‘the next Russell Crowe,” but “Avatar” blew that out of the water. Now he’s the first Sam Worthington.
I recall seeing Jim Carrey in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” Living in Australia I had never seen “In Living Color,” and so wasn’t familiar with his work. I was blown away by how original he was. Then I watched some old Jerry Lewis films and realized it wasn’t so much original as it was reinvented. But to me it was original, and to hundreds of millions of others it was, too. Or else didn’t matter, because he blew us away with his own incredible energy. Rebel Wilson, Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lake Bell (the list goes on), could all have been “the next”