About
Big Cheese exists because audiences deserve a formal say in acting.
Right now, you can rate movies on IMDb, Letterboxd, and Rotten Tomatoes. But there's no formal place to rate the acting itself.
Award shows have been running for nearly a century. The Academy Awards, The BAFTAs, The Emmys, The Screen Actors Guild Awards. All decided by industry voters, most of whom you'll never meet.
And here's the honest bit: those voting bodies aren't diverse. The Academy is 68% male and 84% white, with limited LGBTQ+ representation. Genre films get dismissed. Streaming performances get overlooked. Character actors from underrepresented backgrounds get missed.
We're not saying the Academy is wrong. We're saying audiences see different things.
We watch every night. We pay for the streaming services. We fill the cinema seats. We spend hours debating performances on Reddit, TikTok, and in group chats. We notice when an actor completely disappears into a role. We know when someone should have won or shouted out.
And until now, none of that had a formal home.
Big Cheese is that home.
The Story
Big Cheese was built by a single female founder in Newcastle, Australia. She spent nearly two years working on it with her small team - discovery, refinement, and now technical build - because no one else was building it, and audiences deserved it.
The name came from what the best performers actually are: the ones who stand out, command attention, and make everything better just by being in it. That's a Big Cheese.
This isn't a Silicon Valley product. It wasn't built by a big team with venture funding. It was built quietly, from Newcastle, by someone who cares about the craft.
What Big Cheese Is
The first platform where audiences rate actor performances on a scale of 1 to 7. Not the movie. Not the show. The actual acting.
You can rate quickly, or sit down and write the detailed analysis you've been wanting to share. You can search for any actor, browse their performances, add your review, or follow how audiences are receiving their work over time.
The best reviews get upvoted and rise to the top. The community shapes the conversation.
That's it. Simple and yours.
About Cheese Slices
Reviewing takes effort. So we built cheese slices as a way to acknowledge that.
You earn cheese slices when you rate performances and write reviews. The more thoughtful your review, the more slices you earn. If the community upvotes your review, you earn more.
Cheese slices aren't points. They're not a game. They're a way of saying: your contribution matters here.
In our next phase, cheese slices will unlock actor trading cards through the Big Cheese Store. Common cards, rare cards, legendary cards - a way to build your collection based on the actors and performances you care about most. Think 90’s basketball cards in the new age.
We'll share more about the store when it's closer. For now, cheese slices are a quiet acknowledgment of the work you put in.
What We Stand For
Craft, not gossip
There's no space for attacking someone's personal life on Big Cheese. We care about the work. The transformation. The choices actors make.
Every genre matters
Horror. Comedy. Streaming. Genre films. If the acting was extraordinary, it deserves recognition.
Diverse voices
Audiences ARE diverse. When millions of voices come together formally, industries listen.
Disruption with respect
We're not tearing down the Academy. We're building an alternative. Both can exist.
What's Next
Phase One (now): Launching the core platform. Rate actor performances. Write reviews. Earn cheese slices. Build the community.
Phase Two (coming): The Big Cheese Store. Actor trading cards to collect using your cheese slices. Common, rare, legendary - a way to celebrate the performers you champion.
Beyond: Continuing to grow the community, refine the platform, and build audience recognition that carries real weight in the industry.
We Made This For You
If you're one of our early users, thank you. Genuinely.
We want to hear what you're enjoying. What's frustrating. What's missing. What would make this better. Because this platform is for the film buffs, the streamaholics, the people who notice. It only works if it works for you.
Tell us what you think. We're listening.
Get In Touch
Email: Contact Support
Follow along: Big Cheese Instagram · Big Cheese TikTok
Feedback: We read every message. Send yours to support@bigcheeseit.com or DM us on socials.