Has it been too much, too fast? Is the latest generation of movie audiences skeptical of anyone who seems to achieve fame in a timeframe that, at least in the public eye, seems far too short? Hammer himself has pointed out that he worked for years before making it big. Like six whole years, you guys! Surely that seems like an eternity to a 26-year-old (I would know), but from what I have gleaned from more seasoned professionals, success is most often a long, dragging beast that is rare to even arrive for exceptionally devoted people. So thinking that six years of acting experience warrants a trip to the Oscars comes off as a tad Winklevossian.
It was the rapidity that cynics immediately recognized as showing signs of manufacturing, the Hollywood machine visibly drooling over this hot piece of fresh meat placed before them by David Fincher. The swirling talk around Armie Hammer as a potential lead for a number of projects was met with reactions boiling down to, “…the Facebook movie guy? Huh.” He was like a Billy Beane-ish prospect that could not possibly live up to the perceived promise pushed by publicists. That’s not to deny or diminish the hard work he has undoubtedly put into his craft, but merely to observe why it would be reasonable to consider his rise as quicker than usual for a 20-something actor.
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