Justin Timberlake’s Acting Career Was Only Taken Seriously After ‘The Social Network’
For Justin Timberlake‘s acting career, it took some time before the former N’Sync member could be taken seriously as a potential movie star. He credited the David Fincher feature The Social Network for affecting others’ perception of him.
Justin Timberlake credited David Fincher for boosting his acting career
In the mid-2000s, Timberlake took a slight break from his successful music career to focus on his filmography. He made a few notable projects like Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan that garnered some praise from his contemporaries in the film industry. But it wasn’t until his performance in The Social Network that he found his acting getting serious recognition.
He won the role of young tech millionaire Sean Parker in the 2010 Oscar-nominated feature. He even beat out Jonah Hill for the role. Hill might have gotten the part if Fincher hadn’t insisted on Timberlake.
“Low-key, David Fincher, or high-key, David Fincher didn’t want me in Social Network,” Hill said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “It was between me and Justin Timberlake for that part….Obviously, [Fincher’s] the man, but he was not having me. The studio wanted me, I think, and then Justin Timberlake was amazing in it.”
Fincher’s casting decision did wonders for Timberlake, who began receiving more offers after his Social Network performance.
“I’m going to have to write some crazy thing in my will to him – or have a business card that says: ‘David Fincher put me in a movie,’” Timberlake once said, according to the Irish Examiner. “Because as soon as that happened, film directors were like: ‘Oh, he can see something in him that we can’t.’”
Justin Timberlake felt his casting put a cloud over ‘The Social Network’
Because he was such an unproven actor, Timberlake acknowledged that his casting initially might not have done the feature any favors. But the In Time star lost little sleep over it, and was determined to prove to everyone that he was a capable actor.
“I do think there was probably a cloud over a movie like The Social Network in a way that may have been a little unfair, but that’s OK. I can respect that,” Timberlake once told The Independent. “I think the important thing for people to understand is that I’m not doing any of this in vain. I’m doing it because I take it seriously.”
Justin Timberlake movies since ‘The Social Network’
So how exactly did Justin Timberlake’s acting career improve after David Fincher put him in The Social Network? Timberlake’s filmography hasn’t include any films as critically well-received as Fincher’s story of Facebook.
Timberlake’s other dramatic credits include In Time, Trouble With the Curve, and Inside Llewyn Davis. In terms of commercial success, the actor has seen better luck in voice roles.
He’s contributed voices and music to three movies in the Trolls franchise, suggesting that family flicks are the recipe for success when it comes to Justin Timberlake’s acting career.
