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Emma Thompson Slams Actors Being Hired For Their 'Social Media Following'

Emma Thompson has slammed the movie business for hiring actors with large followings on social media, saying that it’s a ‘disaster’.

The outspoken star let loose at the royal reception for British Academy Award winners.

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“We’re casting actors who have big [social media] followings so the studios can use their followings to sell their movie,” she told the Daily Telegraph.

“The actors are becoming attached in the sort of business way to their social media profiles, and I think that’s a disaster.”

Thompson added that the trend 'really worries’ her.

Sir Michael Caine, who was also at the event along with the likes of Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Jeremy Irons, echoed her sentiments.

“These days, they just say, ‘I’m going to be an actor because I want to be rich and famous’,” he said.

“And then they do a little part on television and everyone knows who they are. They can’t really act… I knew I wasn’t going to be rich, I knew I wasn’t going to be famous, I knew I wasn’t going to be a movie star, I just wanted to be a good actor, that’s all.”

He went on: “They’re very young now. I was 30 before I became well known. I’ve watched it ruin people. By the time they’re 30, they’re through.”

Thompson hit headlines last week after joining a Greenpeace protest against fracking near Preston.

After trespassing on private land, a farmer buzzed the protest by spraying manure at the group from a large tanker attached to his tractor.

Image credits: PA/Getty