Should Reese Date an Agent—or Some Other Actor?

A guide to who you should date in Hollywood to get ahead

Why would Reese Witherspoon go on a date with an agent? Doesn't she have her pick of hot actors to snag?
—TylerP., Connecticut, via the Answer B!tch inbox

Indeed, Reese Witherspoon has reportedly gone on a very not-staged-looking date with a Jim Toth of the Death Star-slash-agency CAA. To complicate matters, Toth looks a bit like Jeremy Piven, who plays a superagent on Entourage.

In Hollywood, dating isn't just dating. Actors can pick their partners as much for their fame-enhancement possibilities as they do for their looks or sweet ways. That isn't to say that Reese doesn't like the Piven-looking guy for who he is, but you never know.

So does an agent offer the best possibilities for keeping Reese in the press? Or maybe a costar or director?

Let's compare:

We'll start with:

Stars who date their agents. If Witherspoon and Toth have hit it off (not, as some have reported, simply gone out on a work date), they've joined a long list of star-power agent pairings. Fellow CAA client Alyssa Milano married agent David Bugliari this summer. Hilary Swank also began dating one of her CAA reps, John Campisi, right after she divorced actor Chad Lowe. The late Brittany Murphy was once engaged to talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz.

Fame enhancement prospects: Meh. Swank still lands lead roles, but Milano is no bigger than she was during her days as a TV witch. Then again, she did just land a new TV gig. Do I speak too soon?

Stars who date their costars. Here we go. Brangelina met on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The Twilight franchise gave birth to Robsten. Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner started kissing in real life for a while after filming that makeout scene for the upcoming Valentine's Day. True Blood star Alexander Skarsgård has been seen walking very close to Straw Dogs costar Kate Bosworth. And of course we're not even talking about celebrities who simply date other celebrities, such as Gyllenspoon or Jaffleck.

Fame enhancement prospects: Fairly good. Brangelina pretty much still owns the tabloids, gossips just loved talking about "Tay Squared," and until recently there, people had almost forgotten who Bosworth is.

Stars who date John Mayer. So we're talking Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson and so forth.

Fame enhancement prospects: The romances never last, but the enterprise does have a magical way of firing up press interest for a brief time.

Stars who date their directors. James Cameron's current wife, Suzy Amis, and his ex, Linda Hamilton, have both starred in his films. Tabloids once linked Mischa Barton with the director of one of her movies back in 2008. Robert Rodriguez was once reportedly engaged to Grindhouse beauty Rose McGowan.

Fame enhancement prospects: When was the last time you tweeted about the latest Suzy Amis news? Exactly.