The internet is currently abuzz with a fascinating discussion about actors with the so-called “smartphone face,” and it’s making people think about certain celebs in a new way.
According to Olivia L. (@olivialayne6), the whole “smartphone face” thing was first coined by a writer named Kleigh Balugo, who wrote a thought-provoking article about the phenomenon for Dazed Digital in April.
In short, “smartphone face” refers to people who look like they are from the modern era (aka 2023). But when placed in a different time period for a play, TV show or even a movie, there’s something about them that’s incredible, even after the makeup and costume departments have worked their magic.
One of Balugo’s first examples of this was based on Amazon Prime’s American musical drama Daisy Jones and the Six. Principal cast members include Riley Keough, Sam Claflin and Suki Waterhouse, all of whom play members of the same 1970s rock band, believed to be loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac.
When Olivia L. later took to the topic on her now-viral TikTok, she immediately saw what Balugo and others were talking about when she looked at the artists one by one.
“A lot of people have said that the actors’ faces don’t feel like they belong in the ’70s,” Olivia said. “Especially Camilla Marrone. A lot of people said her face didn’t seem right for that decade because she looked too much like an Instagram model.
Other examples of this, according to Olivia, include Blake Lively in Adeline’s Agewhere she plays a woman who is supposed to be living in the 1930s.
“I feel like there are people who don’t agree with me, just because everyone says she has that kind of Old Hollywood charm,” Olivia said, before admitting that for her, she can’t really look at the face of Lively without seeing Serena Van Der Woodsen from Gossip girl.
Also in this camp are a lot of dudes, including Ben Affleck, who played Ned Allen Shakespeare in Love and Regé-Jean Page, the Duke of Hastings at Bridgerton.
On the other hand, there are many actors with period-piece faces, according to Olivia — like Kiera Knightly and Saoirse Ronan, who played women in different centuries. The same goes for Mia Goth, who Olivia thinks has a natural “old face,” and James McAvoy, who played Thomas Langlois Lefroy in Being Jane.
But the modern faces — the ones who’ve actually seen an iPhone before and know what Instagram is — didn’t seem to go over well with the audience.
Many people jumped in to share their own opinions on who has a smartphone face versus who doesn’t.
“Bella ramsey has the MOST period piece face,” one person wrote. “he’s perfect for renaissance roles.”
“Elle Fanning definitely has a victorian period face she’s too good for dated movies/shows,” added another.
“I think rachel mcadams doing notebook and mean girls at the same time is a great example of someone who can pass for both,” shared another.
At the same time, others pointed to actors who simply did not — and will not — pass on to another time period. (At least, not one in the past.)
“Anya TaylorJoy looks like she’s from the future,” one person said.
“Besides pete Davidson,” added another. “He looks like he knows what an ipod is, he couldn’t be with before 2004.”
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