We've been hearing for a while now that there are no more movie stars, to the point where it's become trite to suggest as much. However, with the monoculture that defined the pre-internet years now a distant memory, talk of the death of the movie star is really just a way of pointing to the changing cultural landscape, of which Hollywood is no longer the vanguard.

Culture is now fragmented in a way it has never been before. The public no longer looks primarily to Hollywood to shape its cultural ideals, but it would be foolish to argue that actors like Zendaya or her "Dine" co-star Timothée Chalamet don't possess star power. These are names that will be a boon to any production. The thing is, being a movie star was never just about that. For those in the business, being a star was about more than being able to create buzz and ultimately bring in box office revenue based on your name alone.

In receiving his honor OscarAlec Guinness recalled something he learned during his acting training. "If I was serious about having a career in movies," he said, "the wisest thing was to do absolutely nothing, and that's more or less what I've done ever since." It's the same thing that Alfred Hitchcock valued in his stars. The director stuck to it James Stewart's job in Rear Window was to "do no good." which may sound like an overly simplistic rhetorical flourish, but this idea of ​​"doing nothing good" is a consistent concept throughout Hollywood history - one that links Guinness, Hitchcock and Stewart to director James Cameron, his Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio and screen legend Jack Nicholson.

In an interview with GQJames Cameron once recalled casting Leonardo DiCaprio in his 1997 epic Titanic. As the director recalled, Leo advocated that his character Jack have some sort of physical affliction. It seems that it occurred to the actor that such a thing would guarantee him success at the awards, but to Cameron it was all nonsense. The director remembers telling Leo, “You've got to learn how to hold the center and not have all that stuff. This is not "Richard the Third". "When you can do what Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck did, they just stood there, they didn't have a jet or a lap or whatever, then you're ready for this." For Cameron, having some past adversity or trauma was an easy way to take the drama out of the role. "Those are props, those are crutches," he said, adding, "What I'm talking about is much more difficult."

What he was talking about was exactly what Alfred Hitchcock hit upon when he talked about Stewart and his ability to "do nothing good." For both directors, an essential part of being a movie star was this ineffable magnetism that would radiate regardless of what the individual did physically. That's what connects these greats with another Hollywood legend in the form of Jack Nicholson, who seemingly had it all figured out long before Cameron and Leo.

In 1985 Chicago Tribune Nicholson said: “Doing nothing on camera is the key. The ability to do nothing is the basic ingredient. The camera makes most people want to perform. But nothing needs to be accomplished before you can do something."

It might sound strange to hear Jack Nicholson talk about doing nothing on camera. The man has built a career delivering some of the most expressive performances ever committed to film, from Jack Torrance's villainous rampage in The Shining to Jack Napier's transformation from underappreciated mob soldier to twisted mass-murdering clown in Tim Burton's Batman. The fact is, Nicholson is swinging for the fences. But there's a reason for The Shining director. Stanley Kubrick said that Nicholson brought the "sparing" quality of intelligence for his roles. He could see that his star appeal was much more than the way he played twisted a little too convincingly.

Nicholson's most famous roles, of course, are not his only roles. The understated Nicholson is just as alluring as the over-the-top Nicholson—just look at his performance as Warren Schmidt in About Schmidt, which earned him an Oscar nomination and remains one of Nicholson's most famous roles. That aside, even in his more expressive performances, you can see Nicholson not doing anything good. In the aforementioned "Batman," his Jack Napier exudes a menacing aura before his big transformation into the Joker. The man doesn't really have to do much in those early scenes to convey his character's imposing presence, which when paired with his delightfully odd performance as the Clown Prince of Crime, makes the film a true Nicholson masterclass.

Unfortunately, Jack Nicholson has disappeared from Hollywood about a decade ago, and one can't help but feel as if he has carried the age of a true movie star with him. It's not that there isn't anyone who can't "do anything good" anymore, it's just that this kind of quality seems to carry less value in an age driven by the fast cultural rhythms of social media and streaming. Maybe that's the reality behind the idea of ​​no more movie stars, then. In an age where everything is designed to get and hold your attention, it's just harder to notice those who, as James Cameron would say, "just stand there."