Felix Kjellberg is not your typical movie star.
His medium is YouTube, he avoids the spotlight and his stage name is PewDiePie.
And even though you might not know his face, he is making more money than your average actor. Much more.
PewDiePie films himself playing video games while giving outlandish commentary. In doing so, he has gathered a following of 27 million subscribers. His channel has been the most subscribed to on YouTube since December last year.
The 24-year-old created the channel five years ago, and since then has become the biggest personality on the books at Maker Studios, the company that was sold to Disney this year for a deal that could eventually be worth $1.06 billion — if audience targets are met.
At the moment, his brand pulls in $4.25 million in ad sales a year through YouTube, with most of the amount being pure profit.
Kjellberg spoke to the Wall Street Journal about his cult-like influence over his followers.
“It’s cool to have this kind of influence, but at the same time it’s kind of scary,” he said.
Warning: Video below contains strong language.
The native Swede seems uncomfortable with his fame, and often passes up interviews, preferring to stay in his London flat publishing multiple clips of himself a day.
“I’m so central to YouTube now, and that puts me in the spotlight and raises a lot of questions like ‘Why is he so big?’” he told the Wall Street Journal. “I’d much rather prefer to have something like 5 million subscribers.”
The companies that own the video games he promotes certainly wouldn’t think the same. Even when Kjellberg criticizes games, the sales increase — and so do his followers.
Not only has YouTube made him millions, it also introduced him to his girlfriend.
Marzia Bisognin is another YouTube star — who posts under the name CutiePie. The two met after Bisognin emailed the Swedish entrepreneur, saying she thought he was funny and liked his videos.
She started her own channel in 2012, where she focuses on fashion trends and make-up tutorials, and has become a star in her own right with a following of 2.8 million subscribers.