Jennifer Lawrence's charisma shows charisma makes star quality

The argument

Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games series may have catapulted her to international fame, but her easy-going personality and natural charisma are what turned the actress into a beloved pop culture icon. In interviews and speeches, Lawrence comes off as confident, quirky, and witty; much of her appeal can be owed to the fact that she does not act like a ‘typical’ Hollywood celebrity. She is outspoken about her love for junk food; “at the end of the day,” she admitted once in an interview, “there’s probably nothing that makes me feel better than junk food and reality TV”. Lawrence is not afraid to tell personal and potentially embarrassing stories - for example, when she admitted to Seth Meyers on his show that she used to have a crush on him - or use self-deprecating humor. Lawrence is quite emotive when telling these stories, thus building a connection between herself and the listener. Her ‘clumsy’ moments, such as the time she tripped while walking up the stairs at the Oscars in 2013, serve only to make her appear even more relatable and perfectly imperfect. Jennifer Lawrence's relatable and charismatic personality has attributed to her reputation as a beloved actress.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Although her charisma certainly aided her in her rise to popularity, it is Jennifer Lawrence's versatility and talent as a young actress that has garnered the most praise. Lawrence's acting abilities contribute more to her star quality than her charisma. Throughout her career, Lawrence has played many different characters in different genres. Her first official film role, that of the stubborn and introspective Ree Dolly in 'Winter's Bone' (2010), resulted in her winning her first Academy Award for best actress at the age of 20. Lawrence was lauded for playing roles such as Katniss Everdeen in the 'Hunger Games' series, Tiffany in 'Silver Linings Playbook' (2012), Raven in the 'X-Men' films, and Rosalyn Rosenfeld in 'American Hustle' (2013). She has either won or been nominated for a total of 302 awards. Lawrence's on-screen acting skills should absolutely have more weight in determining her star quality than her off-screen persona.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Relatability is not evidence of charisma's causal role. The interviews and awards-show moments circulated because she was already a subject of attention, and it was the film work that supplied that attention; personality is what the coverage was about rather than what generated it. [Rejecting P2] The comparison the premise needs is never made. Her standing rests on work across genres — Ree Dolly in Winter's Bone, Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook, Raven in the X-Men films, Rosalyn Rosenfeld in American Hustle — with an Academy Award for Best Actress and repeated nominations. Many performers with engaging public personas never become icons, and the argument offers no way to separate the two contributions. A single case could not settle a general claim about what makes star quality in any event.