Frozen face frenzy: Botox in Hollywood is ruining films, and we need to talk about it

Lots of our favourite big Hollywood actors are getting Botox, but what’s an actor who can’t properly express their emotions?

A widespread fear of ageing has marked the 2020s. Women in their 20s are getting “preventative botox”, people are using anti-wrinkle straws, and there’s now skincare routines for children. This paranoia has spread to Hollywood and translated into a rise in Botox use among celebrities.

And who can blame them? If I were getting projected on a massive screen as part of my job, I’d probably want my face to be as smooth and wrinkle-free as possible. But there’s a major problem.

Botox is the new emotional lobotomy, and it’s tearing through the film industry

Acting isn’t always pretty. Some of my favourite performances are downright ugly, with snotty-nosed and tear-stained faces. Even the more subtle expression touches, the subtle raise of an eyebrow or slight twitch of an eye, communicate a character’s true intentions to the audience. After all, before sound, expressions were all actors had.

Having Botox is like a disability for actors https://t.co/lAsIy0H55Q pic.twitter.com/qqaIWppxtl

— 🏛 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 🏛 (@nonregemesse) May 5, 2026

Botox is designed to smooth over those lines on your forehead. Look up a video of people with Botox trying to frown on TikTok, and you’ll get what I mean. It mutes your emotions, and yes, definitely makes you look younger, but at what cost?

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Take Anne Hathaway in the upcoming The Odyssey film. A promotional shot from Nolan’s next feature went viral on Twitter a couple of weeks ago when paired with performances from a younger Anne Hathaway. Side by side, the range of emotion is almost night and day.

We need to be kinder as audiences to stop this getting worse

It’s hard to blame Anne for getting any work done – if she has – because of the pressure to stay conventionally attractive throughout your acting career, especially as a woman. The same week Anne went viral on Twitter for botox, Beyoncé was criticised for having a couple of wrinkles at 44. You just can’t win.

But it’s important for us all to be kinder and more mindful in our conversations about ageing. Actress Jameela Jamil put it best in 2019, when she described ageing as a “privilege”.

“Those of us who fight for our lives and those who lost that fight young deserve more respect,” she said.  “It is a sickness of our society to look at ageing as anything other than an achievement/privilege.”

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Featured image via John Salangsang/BEI/Shutterstock, Fred Duval and Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock,