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Compbros

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,425
My pick is Tom Welling. Went from Clark Kent in a massively popular show, starred in about 2 movies, then went silent for years. He's recently started making a comeback being a guest star on Lucifer and did a movie a couple years ago but he's still barely getting work.
 
Oct 27, 2017
12,306
It seems that the shelf-life for a leading actor/actress has shortened considerably (moreso for women). Exception being the Marvel movies. So I've noticed a lot of actors migrate to TV and have a healthy career there.
 

Admiral Woofington

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,892
Are Michael Richards and Jason Alexander in VEEP? Cause there's a reason I said half of the seinfeld cast. Jerry and Julia found their thing, the other two didn't consider how big Seinfeld was.

While we're at it, Rupert or w/e the name of the guy who played Ron in Harry Potter disappeared from the map. He did a couple of small films but he took too big of a sabbatical and is now non existent.
 
Oct 27, 2017
1,280
I feel like maybe people should do a cursory IMDB search, or Google, before coming in here with things like Rick Moranis and Chris O'Donnell. Or I'm not sure what the Era bar is for "career died" - maybe it means they haven't been part of the MCU.
 

Van Bur3n

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
26,089
Perhaps Nicolas Cage. Although arguably, it has worked in his favor in terms of the quality of movies he is in now.
 

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,219
Geena Davis was just in the Exorcist TV show.

Katherine Heigl went from starring in movies like Knocked Up to NyQuil and kitty litter commercials, to failed TV shows. Although I think she is being brought in during the next season of Suits.
Does it count if you murdered your career with a chainsaw?
 

Rob

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,085
SATX
My pick is Tom Welling. Went from Clark Kent in a massively popular show, starred in about 2 movies, then went silent for years. He's recently started making a comeback being a guest star on Lucifer and did a movie a couple years ago but he's still barely getting work.
I thought he was doing more behind the scenes stuff like directing and producing.
 
Oct 26, 2017
7,353
A lot of those actors really aren't that good, and if you're female and not REALLY GOOD you're done after 35 anyway. Generally nowadays decent actors settle into a neverending TV series and are fine with that.

Or you turn out to be a major asshole and noone wants to associate with you. Or you've pissed off a major asshole and get blacklisted. One of those.
 

Aldi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,634
United Kingdom
According to IMDB Chris Tucker was once the highest paid actor in Hollywood.

He's had bit parts in 2 movies since rush hour 3 which was released in 2007.
 

Deleted member 6173

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,088
Not an actor, but the director Miloš Forman. I was wondering what happened to him and then I just saw his wikipedia page and saw he passed away this past April.
 
Dec 22, 2017
7,099
Katherine Heigl went from starring in movies like Knocked Up to NyQuil and kitty litter commercials, to failed TV shows. Although I think she is being brought in during the next season of Suits.

The story was her crazy mother made all kinds of issues on set, but knowing how gross Hollywood is I wouldn't be surprised if her mom was just protecting her from a bad situation and then was thrown under the bus.
 

Saganator

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,108
There's a YouTube channel, Looper I think, that has videos explaining what happened to most of the people posted ITT.
 

Deleted member 2229

User requested account closure
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,740
there's a big difference from a dead career and not getting as many high profile movies as much as they used to. maybe OP should clarify what question they want to ask. reading the title and the OP seem to ask two totally different questions.
Regardless, to complain that people are "answering the question wrong" when its the criteria stated in the original post which said user clearly hasn't read is quite ironic.
 

Enzom21

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,989
HDnObLa.jpg

Only ever liked that dude in Even Stevens.
 

Ithil

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,395
According to IMDB Chris Tucker was once the highest paid actor in Hollywood.

He's had bit parts in 2 movies since rush hour 3 which was released in 2007.
That was his choice I believe. He made ridiculous paychecks for the Rush Hour films and really didn't need to work.
 

Baji Boxer

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,383
Lindsey Lohan. She still gets work, but as far as I can tell its been some really bottom of the barrel stuff.
 

Jest

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,565
Mike Myers pretty much just took a break from acting and writing for awhile, only doing the occasional guest spot here and there. Lucy Liu has had a steady TV gig on CBS and does a lot of non-acting art. Emile Hirsch has been steadily acting the whole time, just not as many "big" movies. He also took over the VA role on Trollhunters after Anton Yelchin passed away. Alicia Silverstone switched over to behind the camera roles, production mostly iirc. John Leguizamo's had steady work for years, a lot of it VA work (Ice Age series) but generally just takes jobs he likes regardless of the size of the project. Etc.. etc..

Most actors careers don't "die" unless they were legitimately flash-in-the-pan stars. Very rarely does anyone reach top billing status and stay there for decades. Either they take a break or they stop doing blockbusters. I can't think of any actor under 50 whose been able to do it and the older ones (Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones) are either holdovers from the older way Hollywood worked, they produce and finance their own vehicles, or both.
 
Oct 25, 2017
26,560
An ncis spin off, truly the career trajectory desired by movie stars
Consistent paycheck from a show guaranteed many seasons until you get bored with it.

It's fun when internet randoms talk shit about celebrities that make more than them. "I mean, I still know your name and everything, but you weren't as big as you were in the 90s lol".

A steady paycheck on a show that will run for 15 years, while keeping your name out there? I think most working actors would take it, easily. The people on NCIS and LaO: SVU hit the Hollywood jackpot.
This guy gets it.
 

Azraes

Member
Oct 28, 2017
997
London
Some dirty Woods get chopped on the 4th of July.
And some pervs are way too Space-y.
Some acting men who're Hacks just retire to become writers
A Moran is a guy who quits to take care of his kids
Pesci guys just quit
You might have been fonda Bridget but she was fond of raising a family.
 

siddx

Banned
Dec 25, 2017
1,807
Consistent paycheck from a show guaranteed many seasons until you get bored with it.

It's fun when internet randoms talk shit about celebrities that make more than them. "I mean, I still know your name and everything, but you weren't as big as you were in the 90s lol".


This guy gets it.
Y'all seem really invested in Chris O Donnell.
 

Advc

Member
Nov 3, 2017
2,632
Macaulay Culkin. He is been out of the spotlight for way too long. He now manages a podcast website and posts random shit on twitter but man, wish he could go back to acting, he still got it. He could do a perfect The Joker role due to his psycopath looking face.

Also Elijah Wood??? Haven't seen him in a while either.
 

Squid Bunny

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 11, 2018
5,342
after Weinstein and metoo, I am a lot more suspicious as to why a lot of promising careers died....I just assume most--women especially--just refused some asshole's sexual advances and poof.
This. And that sucks.

Geena Davis was just in the Exorcist TV show.

Katherine Heigl went from starring in movies like Knocked Up to NyQuil and kitty litter commercials, to failed TV shows. Although I think she is being brought in during the next season of Suits.
Heigl was blacklisted by Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen after Knocked Up.

Haven't seen almost anything of Mena Suvari, Thora Birch and Wes Bentley. They were all the hype after American Beauty.
 

xrnzaaas

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,125
Nicolas Cage finally? He starred only is some super low budget films in the last few years, people made fun before that but he was in many pretty big flicks in the past (even a few per year).
 

Jest

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,565
The story was her crazy mother made all kinds of issues on set, but knowing how gross Hollywood is I wouldn't be surprised if her mom was just protecting her from a bad situation and then was thrown under the bus.

The stories weren't just her mother but that she was also very difficult to work with. She also very publicly ripped negatively into the projects she worked on. Knocked Up and Grey's are two specific cases where she criticized the very things making her a star. The stories came not just from those in power positions but were echoed by crew and writers. I don't personally know of their validity but at face value it seems like there's probably at least some truth to her being difficult/self sabotaging.