Just a few weeks after the Dolly Parton Challenge gave celebrities a cheeky chance to show off their many-splendored talents, a new meme has fans worshipping at the altar of range.
Range is variety, adaptability, versatility. Range is the impossibility of being typecast, a sort of anti-Tom Hanks. (Not that we at Fast Co don’t love and respect Tom Hanks, but Tom Hanks has a hard time shedding his Tom Hanksness.) It’s when an actor’s chameleonic skills are so powerful, they can reliably disappear deep into character time and time again.
The meme celebrating this particular talent finds Twitter users posting an image grid with four representative roles from an actor’s catalog, with the caption, “I don’t know who needs to hear this , but no one has the range.” (The implication is that no one has the range except the person in the photos, duh.)
The meme appears to have started last Saturday with a tweet about Margot Robbie, who some say has proven to be one of our range-iest actors over the past decade.
https://twitter.com/clarksleague/status/1228793234735931392
After the tweet went viral, people started adding their own versatile faves like Stanley Tucci, Cate Blanchett, and Samuel L. Jackson into the same thread, with some of those tweets going semi-viral as well.
Let not forget this legend pic.twitter.com/K5EdOjxIsL
— Angel (@angelcastle_) February 16, 2020
I love margot but miss Blanchett… pic.twitter.com/Hjep2R9uYP
— 𐀔 (@bIanchettswhore) February 16, 2020
Samuel L. pic.twitter.com/yZN4oLMnr8
— Kyeju Brown – On Hiatus (@kyejudraws) February 17, 2020
From there, Twitterers began making cases for other worthy talent outside of that initial thread, mercifully abandoning the tired “I don’t know who needs to hear this” intro in many cases.
Keys to the RANGE! @jfreewright pic.twitter.com/uyRIFKa5S1
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) February 21, 2020
YOU REALLY WANNA TALK ABOUT RANGE pic.twitter.com/fb6Oro5qfr
— jonny sun (@jonnysun) February 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/lupitannyongo/status/1230653090484948994
Since we’re talking about range, nobody has range like my man Ron Swanson pic.twitter.com/67YYz4BQTu
— Elizabeth (@the7thleland) February 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/spdrvrs/status/1229091459397279744
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but no one has the range. pic.twitter.com/3fuQI2346V
— Jorge Molina (@colormejorge) February 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/enbykaspbrak/status/1229779428542230530
THIS IS RANGE. WILL SMITH IS RANGE. pic.twitter.com/wI59xcDuXH
— 🌟 (@divinealinement) February 21, 2020
At least one actor was happy to see himself get the range treatment.
Ya’ll. Thank you for taking a small moment to shout this. Its kind. It’s humbling. It’s appreciated. https://t.co/LItERCxbLI
— matthew lillard —Will block. 0-F’s-given (@MatthewLillard) February 21, 2020
The meme format also allows for semi-esoteric jokes, like this one for anybody familiar with the casting change that took place between Iron Man and Iron Man 2.
Don't know who needs to hear this but Don Cheadle has THEE Range 🔥 pic.twitter.com/53wskLOSoy
— Nicole Nichelle (@alamanecer) February 21, 2020
As the meme spread, it moved beyond traditional acting and into other realms as well.
y’all wanna talk about RANGE pic.twitter.com/iZQyokc1Ey
— caitie delaney (@caitiedelaney) February 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/eyesvvideshut/status/1229427779202097156
https://twitter.com/dragonqueer/status/1229814964690485253
https://twitter.com/davdchristmas/status/1230656374994096131
https://twitter.com/ok_tshiamo/status/1230777839768739840
The meme became so popular, in fact, that brands are already ruining it.
i don’t know who needs to hear this, but no one has this range#KeepFightingMichael pic.twitter.com/n1EHwzGabp
— DTM (@DTM) February 21, 2020
Sorry, did someone say range?? Because Pasta has it. All of it.
Shop this recipe in our Tasty iOS app:https://t.co/9weiJ31ihG pic.twitter.com/k0vs2UnscF
— Tasty (@tasty) February 20, 2020
Well, that was fun while it lasted!
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