These days, all people need to do to gain worldwide exposure is to turn on a camera
and post a video to YouTube.
The website has become a juggernaut in the entertainment industry, giving everyone from
casual fans to professionals a voice to be heard.
Many people have even turned making YouTube videos into a living and consistently produce
content for their subscribers to enjoy.
Some users have become recognizable celebrities and have worked their way up in the world,
appearing in movies.
Whether it’s straight to VOD indies or major blockbusters, Hollywood is calling.
Here are 10 famous YouTube stars who have acted in popular movies.
22 Jump Street & Grown Ups 2
YouTube has become a hotbed for comedy sketches, and one of the most popular faces in this
realm is Jimmy Tatro.
Creator of the channel LifeAccordingToJimmy, Tatro writes, produces, and directs various
skits along with a friend.
So far, his videos have accumulated 300 million views, and he has 2.5 million subscribers
since he launched the channel in 2010.
Tatro has parlayed his success into securing roles in some major comedy productions.
He had a cameo in 2012’s Grown Ups 2 and played a more substantial role as Rooster
in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s 22 Jump Street.
He has more movies on the horizon, so his second career could be getting started.
Internet Famous
When it comes to popular YouTubers, few can rival the prowess of Shane Dawson.
The personality is so huge, he has multiple channels on the website, and combined they
have 16.4 million subscribers and over 3 billion total video views.
According to Forbes, he’s one of the most famous web celebrities, so of course he would
get a film deal or two.
In 2016, he appeared in the movie Internet Famous, a meta comedy in which Internet personalities
enter a talent competition.
Dawson has also dived into the world of directing, calling the shots on the teen comedy Not Cool.
He’s carved out a nice living for himself and should continue his success.
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Imagine going from YouTube videos to the set of a Michael Bay film.
That’s what happened to comedian Kassem G, whose channel is host to several popular
web seires including California On and Going Deep.
He has more than 2.6 million subscribers and his videos have been viewed more than 415
million times.
He even received a Streamy Award for Best Host, beating out nominees such as Larry King.
His exploits obviously got the attention of Bay, who cast Kassem as a scientist in the
fourth Transformers film.
His part was brief, but it must have been a thrill for the star, and maybe more work
will come his way.
Nerve
This year’s Nerve is heavily based in YouTube and Perioscope culture, detailing an Internet
game where watchers watch players complete increasingly incredulous tasks.
So it only makes sense that the producers would be keen on getting a YouTube talent
to appear in the film.
Casey Neistat had a role as a player/watcher in the movie, marking the next step in his
rise to fame.
His channel has more than 4 million subscribers as of August 2016 and a number of his videos
have gone viral and received acclaim.
He recently won GQ’s New Media Star Man of the Year award, another indication that
he is here to stay.
Ant-Man
Everyone from Oscar winners to rock stars wants in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
and the filmmakers are searching far and wide for people to appear in their movies.
Being one of the more comedic MCU films to date, Ant-Man wanted to get people with a
sense of humor.
Enter Anna Akana, a YouTuber whose channel has over 1 million subscribers and more than
100 million video views.
One of her specialties is comedy, which came into play in her Ant-Man cameo.
She briefly appeared as one of the people lip syncing to one of Luis’ long stories
he tells in the film, one of the more entertaining sequences in the movie.
Star Wars: Episode 8
Newcomer Kelly Marie Tran’s filmography is brief, and she’s spent most of her time
as an actress appearing in web videos.
These include roles in several College Humor original videos, a channel that has more than
11 million subscribers.
Tran is making the jump to the major leagues in a daunting way: taking on a supporting
role in Rian Johnson’s hotly anticipated Star Wars Episode 8.
Lucasfilm is keeping the details about her character under wraps for now, but very soon
all eyes will be on Tran to see what she can bring to the table.
It’ll be a challenge, but she should be up for it.
Smosh: The Movie
Friends Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla have been making YouTube videos since 2005, and
since then they’ve had one of the biggest channels of all-time.
Currently, Smosh has 22 million subscribers and their videos have accumulated 5.8 billion
views.
People love watching their comedy sketches, so there was definitely an audience for a
film.
In 2015, Smosh: The Movie debuted, a comedy where Ian and Anthony try to delete an embarrassing
clip from the Internet.
The project had a very limited theatrical release, but it was a smash hit on iTunes,
where it ranked as the #1 comedy film when it first came out.
Will there be a sequel?
We’ll have to see.
I Know Who Killed Me
This infamous critical and commercial dud is best known for ruining Lindsay Lohan’s
career, but at the time it was made, the hope was that it would become a breakthrough vehicle
for many of the principal players.
Among those hoping for a boost was YouTube star Jessica Rose, creator of the popular
channel Lonelygirl15.
The channel evolved over time, starting as the blog of a fictional teenager named Bree
and later became a multicharacter series when its status as a hoax was uncovered.
Rose had a role as Marcia in I Know Who Killed Me, but following the reception of the movie,
she might have been better served staying on the computer screen instead of leaping
to the silver one.
Pitch Perfect 2
YouTube can be a great tool for artists looking to gain a wider audience, and many musicians
have taken advantage of the service.
Chances are, you’ve heard of Flula Borg, aka DJ Flula.
He’s regularly active on YouTube, gaining 780,000 subscribers and 86 million total views
since he started.
Flula is known for a vlogs and an AutoTunes series, where he records cover songs in his
car.
He’s also recorded an EP and an LP, displaying his many musical talents.
Hollywood took notice and when it came time to cast Pitch Perfect 2, Flula found himself
as one of the members of “Das Sound Machine,” a rival group of the Bellas.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The dream of any movie fan is to one day appear in a high profile feature film, even if it’s
just a brief cameo.
Alex Anfanger got his start on YouTube doing movie parodies and is now part of the comedy
channel Nacho Punch, which has more than 985,000 subscribers.
Producers obviously took notice of Anfanger’s work and decided to put him in a real Hollywood
production in 2013.
The personality had a small role in Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, appearing
as one of Walter’s co-workers who enjoys making fun of him.
He’s also appeared in multiple television shows.
So what do you think of our list?
Have any of your favorite YouTube stars made it big in a film?
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