How Reddit Made a Movie Extra More Famous Than Tom Cruise

Alexander Rhodes didn’t expect much when he posted a link to his IMDB page in a Reddit thread about movie extras in Holocaust films. But Reddit found the University of Pittsburgh student’s brief filmography — he has a bit part in the new Tom Cruise flick Jack Reacher as “Suspicious Onlooker” — so amusing that Rhodes’ page got a decent amount of traffic.

So much traffic, actually, that Rhodes is now the first-billed cast member on Jack Reacher’s IMDB page. More popular than Robert Duvall and Richard Jenkins. More popular than Tom Cruise.

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Turns out IMDB ranks movie casts not by first billing but by profile traffic — and Rhodes is now a site superstar. Overjoyed Redditors launched a “Rhodes to Hollywood” campaign to flood the extra’s page with hits, post on his message boards, and follow him en masse on Twitter and Facebook.

He’s currently the eighth-most-popular actor on IMDB.

The Rhodes message board:

Other threads include “Does Alexander Rhodes have literally the biggest penis ever?” and “Was Alexander Rhodes responsible for the TomKat breakup?”

Someone wrote his character this awesome bio:

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Searching for “Alexander” on IMDB:

His IMDB STARmeter:

A tweet of congrats from Tom Cruise’s team:

Well done, Alexander! #Rhodes2Hollywood -TeamTC RT @alexanderrhodes And LMAO I’m #5 cast on Jack Reacher imdb.com/title/tt079072…

— TomCruise.com (@TomCruise) October 2, 2012

A fake teaser poster for the film:

“Most-viewed celebrities” on the IMDB homepage:

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why was ‘Suspicious Onlooker’ not given a larger role?

Because other members of the cast and crew felt intimidated by Alexander Rhodes’ acting talent. Not wanting to be cast into the shadows they ridiculed him into a small extra part.

When will Alexander Rhodes be receiving his Grammy for this flawless performance?

We don’t quite know yet, but we have confirmed that Obama had invited him to the White House to request an autograph and a photo session with this brilliant face.

Official Alexander Rhodes Facebook page:

The #Rhodes2Hollywood Twitter campaign:

A Google search for Jack Reacher:

MSN’s coverage:

“Nerd chills! This is INSANE,” Rhodes writes. But no calls from agents or casting directors just yet. “As popular as this is on Reddit I still remain forever alone.”

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