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Do You Enjoy a Film More if You Don't Know the Actors?

Sometimes. If it's a Hollywood film then I expect to see well known actors but it doesn't matter because Hollywood films rarely have depth to begin with.

If it's a film with unknown actors and decent writing and direction then i will feel more invested in the film because i dont know those people outside of the role and it helps sell the illusion.
 

Mido

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I definitely think it helps a film sometimes when there is a pool of unknowns in the mix in that it theoretically helps keep the immersion intact like Spirit mentioned. In this respect, I usually enjoy films more if the experiences is fresh, which is something a cast of lesser known actors can supplement well. I also would say that an actor's versatility is also an element in this equation. I recently saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and that has a plethora of recognizable names; but their performances were entertaining enough where the experience was not dampened on the grounds of familiarity.

As far as animation is concerned, I think a lack of familiarity with the actors makes for a more pronounced experience in that sometimes voice actors act within their elements for the most part (more in respect to mainstream animated films, especially in the Dreamworks realm of things where their casts almost always consist of big-name celebrities). I enjoy Bee Movie for instance, but voices such as Jerry Seinfeld and John Goodman are extremely recognizable and can prove somewhat immersion-breaking as a result, even if the performances themselves are good.

Ultimately, I have not found that familiar performers have lessened my film experiences often, but I can see how familiarity can be problematic.
 
i dont pay enough attention to actors to even say i know/recognize most well known actors because i dont care enough to remember them. like i'll recognize the faces between films sometimes but i dont remember the names to go with the faces. i just dont care either way. i dont think it matters too much because who they are on set is so separate from who they are off the set

in instances where i do recognize actors, i think it only applies for me where actors are too embedded into a certain role within a series or something, yeah its a little weird to see them out of character in a different role but im not sure if it changes my attitude toward other characters they play or not. maybe if i dont like the character they're most associated with?
 

Jimmu

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As someone who doesn’t watch a huge number of movies it doesn’t seem to make any real difference to me whether or not I recognize the actors. I generally can’t name even the actors I know and I don’t tend to hold on to associations with other characters played by them to a level that annoys me or influences how I see them significantly in new or different movies. A rare exception being Will Ferrell who for some reason will ruin any movie for me since I find him pretty irritating.
 

Vanessa28

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I don't really mind. I've seen bad movies with actors I knew and bad movies with actors I didn't know. And of course also the opposite happened a lot of times. I'm often more interested in the story/plot rather than who plays who/what
 

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