The Many Faces of Shia Lebouf: Why is this guy so damn successful?

Shia Lebouf is 24.

IMDB Starmeter ranks him the SECOND largest actor in the world, bigger than Johnny Depp, Leonardo Decaprio, and Tom Cruise, second only to Jesse Eisenberg off the success of the Social Network.

Shia Lebouf has grossed 1.638 billion dollars, the third youngest to gross over the 1.5 billion mark, next to Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter).

He’s been in mega movies, like Transformers 1&2, Eagle Eye, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Disturbia, as well as his leading roles in his early works, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Holes, and the Battle of Shake Heights. He’s box office gold.

And if one were to average the Rottentomato scores of all the films Shia has been a lead in, they would get an average of 53%! There's little argument his movies are not considered great movies, widely criticized for their convoluted stories and mediocre story-telling. And his performances are not considered great performances, usually having him portray the same snarky, fast-talker in every movie.

And after the latest underwhelming Shia showing in the convoluted, Box office mediocre Wallstreet 2...

One starts to wonder: Why Shia Lebouf?

Why is he our biggest twenties-something action hero? What’s the story here?

Well, when we think of what’s required of an action hero, it's often an ordinary guy role. Ordinary guy, extraordinary adventure. That’s the common denominator in all of Shia’s movies.

And there are very few leading roles for the mid-twenties actor. One might think then that someone with more talent, better looks, or more experience might take these limited roles. But upon further examination, these assets actually seem to be limitations, and it’s the lack of these assets that explains why Shia has become the biggest young action star in Hollywood.

Most leading twenties actors break between the age of 18-22, and by looking at Shia’s competition, other actors between the age of 23-28 who have had 2 or more leading roles in studio movies, some patterns become apparent that indicate why Shia Lebouf succeeds.

The Already Knowns

Sometimes the early success can derail the mid-twenties track record. These already knowns don’t just break, they explode. Take Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Tobey Maguire (Spider-man) or Hayden Chirstensen (Star Wars I-III). All three erupted on the scene with huge franchises and afterwards had hard times taking back their leading role status in box office biggies. And expect Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Robert Pattinson and even Taylor Lautner (Twilight), to be plagued by the same issue. It’s hard to be an ordinary man when you are so recognizable as that giant franchise character. Someone tell Andrew Garfield of the Social Network to think carefully about Spider-man.

Pretty Boys

Whether it’s a breakout role in a fantasy epic, like Christopher Egan (Eragon), or having huge success in a TV phenomenon, like Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley or Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl), there are plenty of pretty boys out there. When it’s time for them to step into leading roles, they steer toward romantic comedies or romances where they can trade on their looks, they tackle smaller dramas and thrillers to demonstrate their acting chops. When a hunky pretty boy does step from anonymity into an leading action role, it’s usually in the niche of buff, athletic, extraordinary action hero, like Channing Tatum (GI Joe) or Chris Hemsworth (Thor).

The Comedians

Actors like Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Jay Baruchel, and all the other nerdy heroes out there suffer from one malady: their lack of rugged good looks. The ordinary guy in the action movies still has to be somewhat attractive. Sorry guys. But these nerdy-cute heroes have a niche they can mine. Comedy. These actors might grow into their look, but they spend most of their twenties going for laughs in comedies or action adventure comedies.

The Talented

Actors like Joseph Gordon Levitt or Emile Hirsch both started as TV kid actors, until they landed leading roles in indie films, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys and Mysterious Skin, respectively, which demonstrated their adult acting prowess and propelled them into the limelight. They were on the Leonardo Decaprio track. You see, talent like this can’t be wasted on action stunts. These actors find their way into other meaty roles, often in thrillers or dramas, occasionally comedies. They might do action movies later in their careers, but in their mid-twenties, they’re busy strutting their stuff. So don’t look for Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) in any upcoming action films. He’s on the talented list.

The Ordinary Guy

When we look at Shia, his path to our ordinary guy action hero is clear. He didn't fall into any of these types: overly attractive, talented, comedic. His career slowly grew and his first adult leading man role was in the thriller Disturbia. All these factors naturally put him into our last category: Ordinary Guy. There are two other actors that followed a similar track. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, both ordinary joes who broke their careers not in a film franchise or TV hit, not on their looks or their comedy, but in the ordinary guy niche in the independent 1996 hit Good Will Hunting. Now they both play action heroes and have cleared the 1.5 billion lifetime box office gross.

Shia may not be the most amazing actor, but he’s fills a niche. When you look at the competition, there just aren’t many actors who have broken out in such a way where they are unattractive enough to avoid the romances and pretty boy roles, attractive enough to avoid the comedies, lucky enough to avoid a mega franchise and break out in a stand alone hit, and talented enough to be ordinary.

That’s Shia’s biggest success...He’s our ordinary guy.