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Here's a new edition of "Actors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the actors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Armie Hammer's turn.

Early Life

Hammer is the son of Michael Armand Hammer, a businessman who owned several things, such as Knoedler Publishing and Armand Hammer Productions, a film/television production company. And his paternal great-grandfather was oil tycoon and philanthropist Armand Hammer, another powerful businessman. And his paternal great-grandmother was the Russian-born actress and singer Baroness Olga Vadimovna von Root. What does this mean? That Hammer already enjoyed some luxuries early on in his life.

He dropped out of high school in eleventh grade to pursue an acting career. However, he subsequently took college courses at UCLA. Hammer said his parents disowned him when he decided to leave school and take up acting but later became supportive and proud of his work.

2000s: Only TV Pays

Despite the name of his family, Hammer didn't get a big start in the film industry. He actually had to begin in guest roles in shows like Arrested Development, Veronica Mars, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, etc.

His first film role was a minor appearance in Flicka. His first starring roles came in Blackout and Billy: The Early Years, none of which lit the box office on fire.

After a long search, Hammer was hand-picked in 2007 by filmmaker George Miller to star in the planned superhero film Justice League: Mortal, as Batman/Bruce Wayne. The film, which was to be directed by Miller, was eventually canceled. The film's cancellation came in large part due to the looming 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike as well as stalled budgetary rebate negotiations with the Australian Government.

This decade didn't have much for him. Very small roles, or part of small films that didn't play much in theaters. Basically, it was up to TV (and daddy's fortune) to pay the bills.

2010s: A Supporting Actor in a Leading Man Body

But he finally got a break in 2010, when he had a key supporting role in David Fincher's The Social Network. He played twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who sue Mark Zuckerberg after claiming he stole their idea for Facebook. He acted alongside body double Josh Pence while his scenes were filmed. His face was later digitally grafted onto Pence's face during post-production, while other scenes used split-screen photography. The film earned widespread acclaim and was a box office success, helping launch his career.

His follow-up film was a co-lead role in Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Despite the talent attached, the film disappointed at the box office and earned a mixed response, although the acting earned some praise. Hammer got a SAG nomination for Best Supporting Actor, so at the very least, his reputation was growing.

In 2012, he starred in the fantasy comedy Mirror Mirror, playing the Prince. Despite mixed reviews, it was a modest financial success.

In 2013, he got the biggest challenge of his career: playing the lead role in The Lone Ranger. He got the role, which producer Jerry Bruckheimer described as being written for "a young Jimmy Stewart character." Disney was very confident on its prospects, after all, it had the Pirates of the Caribbean team, Johnny Depp still had some clout and Hammer was on the rise.

But despite all that, the film earned negative reviews. And it earned just $260 million worldwide, failing to come anywhere close to recouping its $250 million budget. Which meant that The Lone Ranger went down as one of the biggest financial failures of all time. This was Hammer's door to leading man in blockbusters, and those doors were shut pretty much immediately.

He got another shot in 2015, when Guy Ritchie cast him as Illya Kuryakin in a film adaptation of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., co-starring opposite Henry Cavill. It disappointed at the box office, although it earned a favorable response.

After some misfires, he moved to four smaller films in 2016. The first was The Birth of a Nation, which earned huge buzz upon its premiere in Sundance. But the film found itself in controversy, as news of rape accusations made against director and star Nate Parker resurfaced. As such, the film faded from public consciousness. He also had roles in Nocturnal Animals, Free Fire, and Mine, but neither was a financial success.

2017 was a good year. He had a voice role in Cars 3, which became his highest grossing film (even if not a box office success), and he earned solid reviews in Final Portrait. But he also had a main role in Call Me By Your Name opposite Timothée Chalamet. The film was a box office success and earned widespread acclaim, earning so many awards.

The following year, he starred in more films like Sorry to Bother You, which was a success and earned a cult following. Although despite positive reviews, Hotel Mumbai and On the Basis of Sex weren't financially successful. He capped off the decade with Wounds, which was sent to Hulu, but it earned mixed reviews.

In this decade, Hammer saw his brand rise, although not exactly in the way it was expected. The Lone Ranger was supposed to kick off his blockbuster leading man era, and it pretty much ended there. His hit-and-flop range was 50/50, and even his hits weren't exactly huge. It was clear that Hammer worked best as a supporting vehicle. He might have the body and face of a lead star, but that's not everything. And things were about to get worse…….

2020s: Game Over

His first title was Rebecca, a Netflix original. Despite having a talented crew and cast, it earned negative reviews, as it was unfavorably compared to Alfred Hitchcock's original. He also had Crisis, which came and went without any notice.

Alright, buckle up. This is where the downfall begins.

In January 2021, an anonymous Instagram account published screenshots of sexually charged text messages it claimed Hammer had sent to various women. That same month, the Cayman police spoke to Hammer about leaked videos in which he stated he had sex with "Miss Cayman" in the Cayman Islands. He later apologized to the Cayman Compass, clarifying the woman he referred to in the videos was not associated with the Miss Cayman Islands beauty pageant.

But that was not all, it actually gets weirder. 2 months later, Hammer's ex-girlfriend Efrosina Angelova, also known as Effie, came forward as the owner of the Instagram account and accused Hammer of raping her in April 2017. Two other women then alleged abuse by Hammer: Courtney Vucekovich claimed he subjected her to emotional abuse, expressed a desire to cook and eat one of her ribs, and that she attended a hospitalization program for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the relationship. Paige Lorenze claimed Hammer "branded her, purposefully left her covered in bruises, and talked about 'consuming her'".

After the allegations were made, Hammer was removed from a number of film projects and dropped out of others himself. Hammer admitted to consensual BDSM and emotional abuse but denied claims of sexual abuse and cannibalism. In May 2023, the LA County District Attorney declined to indict Hammer, citing insufficient evidence.

But it didn't matter that he didn't get indicted. His career in Hollywood was done.

He only had one film left in post-production, Death on the Nile. Given that it was already fully shot, it was released in February 2022. Not a financial nor critical success.

Let's talk about those projects he left or was forced out. Hammer dropped out of the film Shotgun Wedding, departed from his leading role in the Paramount+ drama miniseries The Offer, stepped away from the Starz series Gaslit, as well as the Broadway play The Minutes, and was removed from Billion Dollar Spy. Talent agency William Morris Endeavor dropped him as a client, and it was reported that his publicist would no longer represent him. His role in the Taika Waititi film Next Goal Wins had been reshot, with Will Arnett taking over Hammer's role.

Since that point, Hammer was not seen in movies for a while. During this time, Hammer was living in the Cayman Islands. He held several jobs in the Cayman Islands, including selling timeshares and as a manager for an apartment complex. In 2024, Hammer moved to Los Angeles after being refused subsequent work permits in the Cayman Islands. He later claimed to be in a "bad financial state", resulting from limited acting work following his abuse allegations and lacking access to his family's fortune. Oh poor little thing, let me play the world's smallest violin here.

But anyways, even when your career in Hollywood is dead, there is always that very small company that wants to employ you. And that was the case with the Western Frontier Crucible, which marked his first film in a while. But it was dumped on VOD, so you can't be blamed for never hearing about it.

But perhaps the biggest news we've had of him in years is the fact that he would be the lead star in a new film by… Uwe Boll. Titled The Dark Knight, it would follow a vigilante on his quest for justice. Mmmm, where did I hear that before? Well, clearly some WB executives stepped in, cause Boll got a cease-and-desist letter. So now the film is titled Citizen Vigilante.

Recently, he's said that he was finally getting more offers, to the point that he was "happy" that he had the luxury to turn down roles. Sure thing, pal. Sure thing.

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS

He has starred in 22 released films, but only 19 have reported box office numbers. Across those 22 films, he has made $1,563,824,660 worldwide. That's $71,082,939 per film.

ADJUSTED DOMESTIC GROSSES

The Verdict

Unreliable, unsurprisingly.

Hammer has had some successes, but they weren't exactly headlined by him. It was mostly in supporting roles. When you look at titles where he's lead or co-lead, you can tell it's not really working. Or at least not as a huge hit. It wasn't a bad choice to accept The Lone Ranger; the guys attached struck gold with Pirates of the Caribbean, surely they could've done the same with a Western. But a lot of factors simply doomed the project, and Hammer's leading man career was also greatly affected.

You can see there was a time when Hollywood was trying to make some actors happen. Hammer was one of those, and it just didn't click. Other actors like Taylor Kitsch, Jai Courtney, Sam Worthington, etc., shared similar fates. Though the latter still had the biggest film in the world as leverage. Hammer was a person gifted with leading man body and face, but he was still not born for leading roles. It's still crazy that George Miller hand-picked him to be Batman back in 2007, even though he only had a very small film role at that point.

Then, there's the accusations. Hammer pretty much lost his Hollywood career, now demoted to just B-tier movies at best. He might want to kid himself into thinking that this is all fine and that he's comfortable turning down roles. His phone is ringing off the hook with offers and then it's revealed he is doing a Uwe Boll movie. These are mutually exclusive scenarios, ain't it?

I could make a comment regarding his cannibal tendencies… but I ain't doing that. And no one else should. Because I can assure you that Hammer finds these jokes hilarious when he pops into them. Why? Because they're overshadowing the fact that he was accused by many women of sexual assault, which is far, far worse. No one talks about those things, just how crazy it is that he might be or want to be a cannibal. Please do not let that bury these stories, for they need to be heard.

He might try all he wants in keeping himself busy with roles. But that sweet Hollywood money isn't coming back. Then again, he's starring in a Uwe Boll movie. In some way, that's a fate worse than being blacklisted.

Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.

The next actor will be Michelle Pfeiffer. Meow.

I asked you to choose who else should be in the run, and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about… Halle Berry. Hell yeah.

This is the schedule for the following four:

Who should be next after Berry? That's up to you.

REMINDER: If you want to make a suggestion for the next actor, you must make a 150-character comment about the actor we're discussing right now. Failure to do so will result in ignoring the suggestion. But if you leave a short comment about the post without naming a future write-up, that's fine.