Google recently unveiled the top trending actors of 2017, and there are more than a few surprises on the list. The days of AltaVista and Ask Jeeves are long gone, folks, and now that Google has well-established itself as the world's top search engine, it's fair to say that its search statistics paint a pretty accurate picture of the internet as a whole. Last year, for example, the presidential election and Pokémon Go ranked among the top trending searches overall. If there were ever four words to describe 2016, the "presidential election" and "Pokémon Go" are those words.2016's trending actors, meanwhile, helped encapsulate the year in pop culture. For every trending actor, there's at least one clear reason why people were searching for them so frequently. There's Brad Pitt, whose divorce from Angelina Jolie made waves in the industry. Marion Cotillard, who was rumored to have had an affair with Pitt, was also widely Googled in 2016. From Brie Larson (cast as Captain Marvel in the MCU) to Tom Holland (Spider-Man!) and Tom Hiddleston (dated Taylor Swift...also a moderately successful actor) -- across the board, the top trending actors on Google just make sense.Before we dive into 2017, keep in mind that these aren't necessarily the most searched actors on the planet overall. Rather, they're the stars that enjoyed the highest traffic spike in 2017 compared to the previous year. "Enjoyed" may not be the right word for some of these actors, of course.
10. Tommy Wiseau
Kicking things off at number ten is the underdog of all underdogs, Tommy Wiseau. He of course is the writer/producer/director/star of The Room, perhaps the best worst movie of all time. Wiseau's star burned brighter than ever in 2017 thanks to James Franco's recently released film The Disaster Artist, an adaptation of the novel of the same name that chronicles the real life story behind the making of The Room.
Somehow, someway, Franco managed to turn it all into a legitimate awards contender.
9. Maia Campbell
One of the more depressing entries on our list may be a head-scratcher for some of you. Maia Campbell isn't exactly a household name these days, but she was a pretty recognizable actress in the mid to late '90s thanks to her starring role on the NBC/UPN series, In The House. Her star has faded since, and she hasn't appeared onscreen in over a decade.
Unfortunately, Campbell made waves for all the wrong reasons earlier this year when she was caught on camera at a gas station asking for drugs in her underwear. The video ended up going viral. Here's hoping she gets the help she needs.
8. Tom Holland
Coming in at number 8 is a repeat offender from 2016's top search list, Tom Holland. The 21-year-old has quickly become one of Hollywood's fastest rising stars since landing the role of Peter Parker in the MCU, a role he reprised this past summer in Spider-Man Homecoming.
Holland's wall-crawler will swing back into theaters next year for Avengers: Infinity War before pulling double duty in the red and blue tights in 2019, when he's set to appear in both Avengers 4 and the untitled Homecoming sequel.
7. Millie Bobby Brown
Stranger Things star Millie Bobbie Brown is another up-and-coming name in Tinseltown that you should familiarize yourself with. (Like Holland, she too was a trending actor in 2016.) Her breakout role as the soft-spoken telekinetic Eleven earned her an Emmy nomination last year, and given how well the recently released season 2 went, she could be in for another nod next fall.
It might be a while before Brown returns to the role, but she's keeping busy. She recently wrapped filming on Godzilla: King of the Monsters, due out in March of 2019.
6. Bill Skarsgård
Google definitely likes its young breakout stars, and 2017 brought a crazy new talent to the table in the form of 27-year-old Bill Skarsgård. The Swedish actor shot to fame with his fresh take on Pennywise the Clown in the recent horror smash, It. He must have done solid work in fans' eyes, as folks were clearly interested in learning more about the man behind the makeup.
Before he reprises the role for Chapter Two in 2019, you can catch Skarsgård in another Stephen King adaptation -- the upcoming Hulu series, Castle Rock.
5. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep has been a Hollywood A-lister and Oscar mainstay for decades (seriously, she's been nominated 20 times). Given her lengthy stint as a celebrity, you might be surprised to see her trending in search engines. That is, if you happened to miss her headline-grabbing, anti-Trump speech at the Golden Globes last January.
The speech was widely praised in the media, but it proved to be pretty divisive in the online community, with more than a few folks questioning the validity of the political opinions of the Hollywood elite. Hence, the increased Googling.
4. Louis C.K
Speaking of the Hollywood elite, the widespread sex scandal that rocked Tinseltown in 2017 will likely go down as the biggest news item of the year. The fallout from Harvey Weinstein's public outing as an all-around awful person was massive, with dozens of household names being accused of sexual harassment as the #metoo movement took hold.
One of the biggest stars to see their career go down in flames as a result of their disgraceful conduct was comedian Louie C.K. So you don't have to Google it, five women came forward and said that he'd asked them to watch or listen to him while he masturbated. He later confirmed the accusations and apologized for his actions.
3. Gal Gadot
It shouldn't surprise anyone that Gal Gadot managed to superhero her way onto the top three on our list. Fans were certainly skeptical when she was cast as the DCEU's Wonder Woman, but she more than proved her doubters wrong when she astounded in her solo film earlier this year. Wonder Woman proved to be the megahit DC sorely needed, earning rave reviews and killing it at the box office.
Justice League didn't go over quite as smoothly, but fans are still psyched to see more from Gadot. Luckily for them, this Amazon won't be gone for long. Wonder Woman 2 is due out in 2019, and she'll co-star in the Flash's solo movie the year after that.
2. Kevin Spacey
The reveal of Kevin Spacey's cringe-inducing sexual history was arguably the low point of Hollywood's 2017 sex scandal. After actor Anthony Rapp accused the once-revered star of making inappropriate sexual advances back when Rapp was only 14, crew members on Spacey's hit Netflix series House of Cards came forward with similar claims.
The aftermath was swift and just. Spacey was fired from both House of Cards and his new movie, All the Money in the World. We wouldn't expect to hear anything from Spacey, Louie C.K., or anyone else that was wrapped up in the aftermath of the Weinstein scandal anytime soon.
1. Meghan Markle
Thankfully, we can wrap up our list on a brighter note. It's probably not much of a surprise to see Meghan Markle on our list, given her recent engagement to Prince Harry. The real shocker is that the 36-year-old actress shot to the very top of the charts just two weeks after their engagement was confirmed. (People are still super invested in what happens to the royal family, apparently.)
The day after the engagement was announced, it was confirmed that Markle would be leaving the USA Network series Suits after its upcoming seventh season.
Next: Hollywood's Sexual Assault Scandals Create an Oscars Dilemma