On the press tour for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which comes out tomorrow, two clips have gone viral for all the wrong reasons. Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby have been subject to a couple of historically awful questions. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common issue that really speaks to a need for good journalism. It’s high time actors and those working on films got treated with more respect when promoting their work.
Stop Asking Actors Ridiculous Questions Like for The Fantastic Four
This has all come to a head because of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but it’s far from the only movie where this has happened. Think of the worst interview clips you can, and they’re almost all from press tours where some interviewer had the audacity to ask something wildly inappropriate or completely silly. It’s all done in service of getting a viral clip rather than good journalism.
The Fantastic Four press tour has seen two viral moments, but they’re not viral for good reasons. In one, Vanessa Kirby was asked about how she looks when using Invisible Woman’s powers, and the interviewer used the ‘C’ word, a word that has been co-opted by Gen Z to take some of the sting out of it and repurpose it as a compliment.
The problem is, Kirby is not Gen Z, and she was absolutely mortified by what she was asked. Even within the context, it’s a highly inappropriate question to ask, and it’s of no value. Pedro Pascal, a little more chronically online than his on-screen wife, understood that it was a compliment, but Kirby clearly did not and didn’t know what to say about it. It resulted in a painfully awkward moment. The clip below contains language that is NSFW.
Pascal was on the other end of an issue as well. An interviewer, which may be a term too loosely applied here, asked him if he was the first “capital D daddy” in the MCU, referring to the more sexualized nature of the term, a persona that gives off extreme confidence and power. This is something Pascal has joked about in the past, but again, it’s not appropriate on the press tour of a big movie designed with younger moviegoers in mind.
He was dumbfounded this time, genuinely asking if there weren’t any other fathers in the MCU. Kirby clarified it for him this time but not before delivering a vicious side-eye. She was clearly fed up with the drove of awful questions and ridiculous moments she’d found herself in during the press tour.
What’s worse is perhaps the fact that the opening of the question, which referenced Pascal’s many different paternal roles he’s become known for, could’ve led to a great question. “You’ve played countless different father figures, adopted, found, and more, during your career. What is it about that type of role that draws you in?” or “How does this movie provide a new avenue for you to portray this role?” would’ve been so much better than asking about the MCU’s first “daddy.”
At the premier of the film, Pascal was asked by someone on the red carpet what he would stretch if he had his character’s powers in the real world. The interviewer began by wondering if anyone had been “juvenile” enough to ask him. That alone should be a good indicator that the question is not worth asking. Pascal gave a simple, silly answer, but that’s not what these events are supposed to be for.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is far from the first movie to experience this, and it unfortunately won’t be in the last. There are tons of clips from old movies showcasing this. Chris Evans was once asked what it was like to work with the “hot” co-star, Haylee Atwell. Scarlett Johansson was once asked about her underwear. Jonah Hill fielded a question about whether being “unattractive” was a prerequisite to being funny. Anne Hathaway dealt with an interviewer who kept referring to her being in “great physical shape.”
We live in a world where self-proclaimed juvenile questions are more frequent than good, actual journalism. There are plenty of good journalists out there who would come up with brilliant questions, but instead we (and the poor actors) get stuck being asked about their “daddy” status and what they look like when concentrating.
Getting the opportunity to speak with any famous person is generally a pretty big deal, and these interviewers, who are far too often influencers with zero journalistic experience whatsoever, just go for something that will go viral rather than good journalism or an interesting question. Now, journalists aren’t immune to bad questions, history proves that much. But having someone without any experience in that field asking questions is a recipe for disaster.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the viral nature of those clips and the very existence of articles like these are why this phenomenon is not going to go away. The world is driven by clicks, and what’s more clickable: a viral, wild, perhaps inappropriate question posed to an actor that gets a reaction or a worthwhile, interesting question that warrants a thoughtful response? As long as the former is the answer, which it sadly is, this issue won’t go away and will undoubtedly get worse.
