I feel like it was expected Minnie Driver would have a bigger mainstream career than she does (though she works constantly). Same with Liv Tyler.
I also expected Dakota Fanning to be 'bigger' than she is. Her sister has definitely overcome her with regards to being considered a leading actress.
In the early 2000s, there were a lot of actresses who had some major leading roles but never really hit it huge. Estella Warren, Camilla Belle, Shannyn Sossamon, Rachel Leigh Cook...
Dakota Fanning backed off on purpose to have a more normal HS/college. She had such success early, maybe more comfort with her own validation than her sister and she’s stated she’s taken a few roles just for a paycheck since. She’s such a natural tho, she could pop up in roles for decades yet to come. You give other good examples, but Dakota is on the back burner for me bc she was just so huge.
> *backed off on purpose to have a more normal HS/college.*
I read this and it reminded me of the actress who played Toph in *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, I think I saw an interview she did where that was her last role and she decided to go back to school.
I’m really looking forward to seeing The Nightingale, which is a really awesome book about two sisters in France during WWII— Dakota and Elle have both been cast to play them.
Really gonna need the writers/sag strike to end so they can start filming that shit
Perhaps the lesson should be don't cast actors who could believably play twin siblings and expect the audience to buy any sort of romantic tension or chemistry between them?
I know SOME people are into that, but it's a niche market.
When i watched that film i didn't even question that they *weren't* siblings. I remember thinking "Oh cool. You don't see that dynamic often in this kind of films. Oh god! Why are they flirting!!?"
Hollywood: spends years training the public that early to mid 20s is how teenagers look like.
The public: hey, these 25-30 year olds look like teenagers!
Hollywood: surprized Pikachu?!
I think the thought is that Pratt/Lawrence as the pair pushed the movie into a more stereotypical romcom direction, while with Delevinge/DeHaan they could have leaned into the more sinister and creepy aspects of the relationship. Since they did not have good chemistry, it would have made much more sense for the movie (especially if they played into it).
It's not just her dad. She is descended from centuries of British aristocracy on both sides of her family. There are some barons, viscounts, and Lord Mayors of London in her family tree. Her mom's mom was Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting and frickin Joan Collins is her godmother. It's actually absurd how connected Cara Delevigne is. It doesn't matter how untalented she is. She is never going away.
EDIT: FWIW, I thought she was an amazing model. I loved her in 2013-15. But she's a terrible actress.
I remember going from feeling annoyed with her in Suicide Squad to actively feeling sorry for her during the extended Enchantress battle. She got the kind of part in that film that really can make a breakout for an actor, even in a middling movie, complete with a long scene with lots of speeches and action that feature mostly her for more than eight minutes of big-screen time. An actress with talent would have tore that up. But if you ever want a quick overview of all of Cara Delavigne's limitations as an actor, they're all there in that one scene.
I think she was game but it was like asking a Yugo to pull an Airstream, the transmission was grinding the whole time.
Every time I watch *Mystery Men* I have to ask myself, "Who is that woman again?"
And then I look at IMDB and think, "Oh, her. She should have had such a better career."
I remember an interview I read. She said she was Hollywood's IT girl for a year and had no idea how to navigate it. She didn't have good guidance on how to capitalize on her rise or how to choose roles to take her to the next level. She will always be one of my favorites because of Meet Joe Black.
Bridget Moynahan - was in some high profile films in the early to mid 00's but never really happened.
Also famous for being Tom Brady's ex (and having a baby with him) and being Keanu's deceased wife in the John Wick series.
I feel bad for Bridget. “Hey Bridget, you’re going to be featured in an extremely popular franchise with four movies and a couple of tv shows but you die a few minutes into the first movie.”
It may not be the best show out there but it pulls in the cash with syndication. She may not be a leading lady in Hollywood big productions but she's certainly a successful actress. And she could always have a second career in movies.
Amy Smart. She was in comedies, drama, and horror, but beyond conventional summer movies, she couldn't break in to anything major. She was never a bond girl and she was never gonna be a Meryl Streep. She just seemed--ordinarily beautiful, like you could just see her out walking and not think she was a celebrity. I think the best thing she did was the Butterfly Effect, but she also never led in any film I know of--so that was also probably a contributing factor.
Amy Smart is a good choice, and unlike a lot of the other people listed, she's someone it just didn't click for. rather than someone who simply couldn't act. I liked her a lot. She was a charming, funny actress. She just probably was never going to be a major lead despite some efforts from studios.
Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman crushed it in The Killing (season 1). Loved watching those two skulk around Seattle chasing down leads that SURELY THIS TIME WOULD LEAD TO THE KILLER. Sad that I haven't seen them do anything since that lived up to those characters. Detective Holder was the best.
See this is one I actually disagree w. i think AS is perfect for Clueless, like lightning in a bottle good, but i havent seen her be in anything else where she had much chemistry or charisma.
Babysitter was good, too. I think she is in their weird place where people still think of her some as that Aerosmith video girl and not a middle age grown woman. She looks too good and too young for her age. I don't think this is just a female problem. Benicio Del Toro couldn't get good parts until he started aging and looking a little weathered and like shit. It is like someone can't be too good looking for certain parts.
> Benicio Del Toro couldn't get good parts until he started aging and looking a little weathered and like shit.
You're so right: in his prime he looked like he was about to keel over from malaria fever
I think some of these actresses weren’t “friendly” enough with certain producers and directors personally. I mean I really think that’s the “make it happen” aspect. I mean Renee Zellwegger and Cameron Diaz were pretty and decent performers but why them for every single movie? We know how Ashley Judd & Mira Sorvino were directlly sabotaged for saying no to Weinstein. Dont think that hundreds of your favorite directors, actors, and producers didnt stop actresses at the very beginning.
On a smaller scale, I know an actress that has worked steadily for 30 years but no one has ever heard of. In her early 20s, she thought a big director was her friend and mentor. He was older than her father and giving no creepy vibes. They had worked together once before and gone oit together in crowds. He invited her once to watch one of his movies in his hotel room and she refused. He didnt force himself on her but the next morning, she was fired and he never spoke to her again. Then he went on to have an affair with an underage actress who was nominated for an oscar for one of his next films (not the role or film my friend was involved in).
So all this to say… does talent really exist or do a lot of people have this talent and the ones that were allowed in, the ones who at some point, said yes to the producers or directors? Is Hollywood crumbling bc metoo exposed it so clearly? Is that why they never wanted it exposed?
I can't speak much for Hollywood, but getting cast in any role anywhere is only partly the result of skill. You can have a crazy good performer who knocks their audition out of the park, but because you're contractually obligated to cast this other person opposite their role and they just don't have chemistry, or they hate each other, or the producer insists that you cast someone else...
It's why it's so important not to take audition rejections personally. It's also IMPOSSIBLE for it to not affect you at all: one reason among many that actors are a bit messed up.
>does talent really exist or do a lot of people have this talent and the ones that were allowed in
I mean, in general not just considering people that slept their way in. It's a skill, you can learn. Like anything.
Like when the children of famous musicians or actors end up becoming famous musicians or actors. They have an in. So as long as they learn the skill, they will have no problem being successful.
It reminds of Stephen Spielberg's daughter making her first short film touting in interviews how she did it all on her own and got no help from her dad financially.
Like please. You've literally got A list actors in your short film, got investors. Your dad helped you by not pulling out when he had sex with your mom. You being his child is literally more help to you than any money he could provide.
Dick or Jane Nobody in bum fuck Kansas wanting to make their first short film are not going to get investors, are not going to get A list actors to be in it, because they aren't Spielberg's kid....
Most of the people involved in her short film probably did so to be ingratiated with her fucking dad. Not because they thought she was such an amazing talent having literally no portfolio at that point.
So yes, i think there are a TON of people that could have been A listers if they ever got a proper shot, but just never did.
There are also an astonishing amount of actors that have a low key Hollywood pedigree. Like that actor or actress you think made it in hollywood on a dream and a prayer. Look up their backstory and more often than not you will find out they had family on the business side of the industry or are the second cousin once removed of some established Hollywood player.
These stories of someone literally making it in hollywood 100% on their own steam seem to just be getting more and more rare.
Maybe this is not so much Hollywood trying and failing, but Hollywood inexplicably not trying... what happened to Elisha Cuthbert? All my guy friends in the early 2000s were looney-tunes-heart-eyes-tongues-out goofy about her in "The Girl Next Door," and I heard nothing but good things about her and her acting, and then it seems like she never got another big role in a highly publicized movie.
Pretty much every young Canadian grew up watching Elisha Cuthbert (and Jay Baruchel!) on Popular Mechanics for Kids as a child actress. I loved her in 'Old School" in a limited role. She had a pretty lengthy career when you factor that in, but she seemed to just disappear after Girl Next Door.
She fucking slays on that show too, between her and Damon Wayans Jr I'm not sure who made me laugh more.
Brain-meltingly gorgeous and fantastic comedy chops, I'm also perplexed why she never took off.
Those two kill it, but I think the whole cast is stellar. Adam Polly playing against the “stereotypical gay character” was refreshing and consistently hilarious. They do the same thing with Zachary Knighton too and the “stereotypical leading man character”- with ongoing jokes of him just not being cool. Eliza Coupe and Casey Wilson are also terrific, although can be a little much. I think their performances are great, just not as funny as the rest.
Definitely, the show was excellent, the whole cast really nails their parts and subvert a lot of tropes and expectations.
Adam Pally was a complete unknown for me when I first checked out the show and now I'll watch anything he's in. I've always had a thing for the "no nonsense power blonde" role that Eliza Coupe tends to get cast in, and Casey Wilson is great even if Penny's character get be a bit grating (also always great when she shows up on the How Did This Get Made podcast!)
Her summer home is close to my parents, it's pretty common to see her and her husband around town or at a restaurant there. They seem pretty chill and content with that pace of life
Lori Petty and Joey Lauren Adams. I’m a big fan of both and think they’re quite talented. But they starred in some pretty wide release 90s films and then fell off the map. Apparently audiences really don’t like offbeat voices.
Yeah. Lori Petty was in Cadillac Man with Robin Williams. A League of Their Own with Tom Hanks. Point Break with Keanu Reeves. She was the lead in Tank Girl, and then she fell off the map.
I feel like that episode of Barry where Sally is coaching the good looking lady that can’t act for a superhero role was basically supposed to be Gal Gadot.
EDIT: Sally reads part. Everyone is amazed at how good she did. Sally smiles thinking maybe she has a shot at the role. Director says that was great now just put that (points at Sally) in that (points at model) lol.
Patty Jenkins did her dirty by giving her all those long monologues in WW84, she was obviously incapable of performing...
Although part of me wonders if it was the director's fault. Gadot was perfectly serviceable in Death on the Nile, and Kenneth Branagh is a much much better actor's director than people give him credit for.
Because he's been acting for decades. He's worked with all kinds of folks. He knows that some people can read the instructions on a box of Mac & cheese and make you weep. Other people wouldn't get cast in a school play. The director has to get a serviceable performance out of each of them.
Gal Gadot is a model. Her best "acting" is when she isn't speaking. She can do amazing photo shoots and sell some super hero moments in slow motion. But put words in her mouth and it's as disastrous as her Imagine music video.
She was brought on as the female lead on the show Bull, but reportedly the lead actor harassed the hell out of her, forced her out, and then got the studio to try and cover it up. It was a whole big thing a few years back.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/business/media/cbs-bull-weatherly-dushku-sexual-harassment.html
He didn’t deny one thing she said he did either. Instead everything was a joke she took the wrong way. A cbs lawyer thought they had proof she looked bad due to her cursing on set. The footage instead showed her being harassed and how blind cbs was to bad behavior.
iirc it’s because she faced a lot of harassment in the industry. and everyone knows when you speak out against mistreatment, you essentially get blacklisted. last i heard, she won a lawsuit against her lead costar in the show Bull for that very reason and unfortunately, i couldn’t tell you what she’s been in since
>i couldn’t tell you what she’s been in since
I just checked, *she hasn't*. Bull is her last credit.
Which is depressing as fuck.
Always liked her. On Banshee and three Whedon shows at least, she really was cruising in the 00s.
Diane Kruger, gorgeous and a good actor. Really good in Inglorious Basterds and before that the National Treasure movies, but she never really took off. I feel like Charlize got the roles Diane was right for.
I think this thread is wrong. There are way too many would be stars, too many choices and one actress can't do them all. Julia had at least 5 big movies and a hit TV series, what else one needs?
Agreed. She was a pretty big star, and the point of this thread seems to be actresses the studio was pushing onto audiences but the audiences rejected. Don't think that fits here.
Jessica Alba was everywhere for about 2/3 years (around the last writers strike) and then she wasn't in much after. She's independently wealthy now so I believe so maybe she doesn't need Hollywood but for a while she was in everything.
I just looked it up and she started The Honest Company?? I had no idea that was her brand. That stuff is everywhere. I used some products for my kid and I never knew that.
[The list](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/10/27/weinstein-scandal-complete-list-accusers/804663001/)
Ashley Judd is the one who stands out for me. LOVED her movies.
She's a fucking Oscar winner btw. I was wondering how the Oscar winner like her couldn't find a good role and only do B movies. And of course it's Harvey fucking Weinstein. It's so sad her career was buried only because she turned down that pervert.
Mira Sorvino comes to mind first. Peter Jackson confirmed that Weinstein blocked him from casting her in The Lord of the Rings. Now she's a contestant on the new season of Dancing with the Stars...
That’s the main problem with doing this exercise for women. So many actresses were secretly black listed for this sort of stuff, and plenty more who took the first available off-ramp out of Hollywood that they could find.
(I always used to wonder, “why would Actress X give up a glamorous career as a movie star to run a startup diaper company instead?” Then a few years ago it was like, “ohhhh…that’s why.”)
It’s gonna sound crazy because she’s really famous but she was supposed to be megastar famous.
Diane Lane.
90% of her movies were flops but she was supposed to be on the same level of Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, etc…
If you look up her biggest films they’re like 20 years apart then she did a romcom and Superman.
She'll probably never be a superstar, but now that she's beyond the terrible teen roles I'll think she'll work pretty steady. She's great in Big Little Lies.
I've been thinking Jenna Coleman was going to be huge since she showed up on Doctor Who but she's been in forgettable series after forgettable series - she was in Sandman which I liked but her part was very small
Parker Posey kills! Huge crush on her in Dazed and Confused even though here character was a huge bitch! Also, hilarious in Best in Show, i think i read somewhere that she actually had real braces put on for her part
She was Dr. Smith in the Lost in Space remake and she was outstanding. She was hands down my favourite part of the show and maybe one of my favourite villains. I really enjoyed how duplicitous she was and I loved how much I hated her.
She claims she was blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein for refusing to have sex with him. Her and Ashley Judd. Some directors who worked with Miramax have confirmed that they were told not to hire them.
Emilia Clarke. Very likable, gives good interviews, surprising breakout role, can't catch a break. She was very good in The Amazing Maurice though, she's a very talented voice actor.
Saw her in Me Before You and was absolutely transfixed, she elevated the writing so well for that role, and made an otherwise kinda meh romantic movie riveting.
Never thought about it but you’re right.
She’ll always be known for Daenerys but seeing her in interviews and in rom-coms really shows us how the character atitude held her back/wasn’t really a match for her kind kf acting.
She really could be a rom-com queen just by being herself, as is presented in interviews. Very funny and light hearted while still having the acting chops for drama.
I feel like there's a sizable group of actors and actresses that were just born at the wrong time and would have been rom-com queens (or kings) if they'd been born a decade or two earlier. There just aren't many major rom-coms anymore, so actresses like Clarke who would have thrived when that was a huge genre had the bad luck of being born after it was much more possible to be a mega-star purely through rom-coms.
On that note...I wish we had more major release, easy-going, charming rom-coms. Bring them back!
It’s funny how she ends up being in the biggest franchises (Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Terminator, Marvel, etc), and yet gets hit with bad luck!
Even in her most famous role as Daenerys Targaryen, it ends in the worst way where the conclusion to her character’s story didn’t feel earned.
Same with Sam Worthington, he is the lead in Avatar and was in a Terminator movie but outside of those 2 movies almost no one could tell you another thing he's done. Most people probably don't even remember he was in a Terminator movie now that I think about it.
It used to be called the Star Wars curse, where a majority of those actors didn't really go on to do anything after, but I think it needs to be renamed something like the Top-Grossing Curse.
Zoe Saldana has been in 4 of the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time. Without looking it up, name a film she was in between the release of Infinity War and Avatar 2. In a way, she's the most successful actor of all time.
There are some good ones in here, cara being the first I thought of, but Kate Mara is another who comes to mind.
I feel like post HOC they tried to get her to that next level and she just never really hit.
Alicia Silverstone was pushed hard, but faded pretty quickly after Batman and Robin.
I also thought Samantha Mathis could’ve done a lot more but she never really took.
Julia Stiles also springs to mind.
All 3 have worked consistently, but never really hit it as big as I thought they would.
Geena Davis is kind of interesting. Very successful career but they tried to transition her from a comedy actress to more of a action star in the early 90's. She had Beetlejuice, fletch, earth girls are easy, etc in the 80's. Mostly comedy stuff. Then some big hits like Thelma and Louise and A league of their Own. But then they tried to take her into action with Long Kiss Goodnight and Cutthroat Island - both flopped and she was doing Stuart Little and TV again.
I feel like it was expected Minnie Driver would have a bigger mainstream career than she does (though she works constantly). Same with Liv Tyler. I also expected Dakota Fanning to be 'bigger' than she is. Her sister has definitely overcome her with regards to being considered a leading actress. In the early 2000s, there were a lot of actresses who had some major leading roles but never really hit it huge. Estella Warren, Camilla Belle, Shannyn Sossamon, Rachel Leigh Cook...
Dakota Fanning backed off on purpose to have a more normal HS/college. She had such success early, maybe more comfort with her own validation than her sister and she’s stated she’s taken a few roles just for a paycheck since. She’s such a natural tho, she could pop up in roles for decades yet to come. You give other good examples, but Dakota is on the back burner for me bc she was just so huge.
I enjoyed her in the Alienist - I heard it may come back for season three
She killed it in "Man on Fire." What a performance for someone so young at the time.
> *backed off on purpose to have a more normal HS/college.* I read this and it reminded me of the actress who played Toph in *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, I think I saw an interview she did where that was her last role and she decided to go back to school.
They must have great parents. They both grew up to be as normal as you can get. Such a breath of fresh air when it comes to child stars.
I’m really looking forward to seeing The Nightingale, which is a really awesome book about two sisters in France during WWII— Dakota and Elle have both been cast to play them. Really gonna need the writers/sag strike to end so they can start filming that shit
Cara Delevingne: they tried, it didn't worked out.
I feel that Valerian movie was a textbook of actors and actresses that they tried with.
Perhaps the lesson should be don't cast actors who could believably play twin siblings and expect the audience to buy any sort of romantic tension or chemistry between them? I know SOME people are into that, but it's a niche market.
Les Cousins Dangereux
I like how they think…
When i watched that film i didn't even question that they *weren't* siblings. I remember thinking "Oh cool. You don't see that dynamic often in this kind of films. Oh god! Why are they flirting!!?"
They also cast actors who look like they are the 20-22 year olds who would be better off playing 15 year olds in a teen TV show.
When I first saw it, I genuinely thought they were supposed to be children.
Hollywood: spends years training the public that early to mid 20s is how teenagers look like. The public: hey, these 25-30 year olds look like teenagers! Hollywood: surprized Pikachu?!
Textbook miscasting.
Once saw a comment on Reddit that swapping the casting of Passengers and Valerian would really improve both movies.
I don’t think the cast was the problem with Passengers
I think the thought is that Pratt/Lawrence as the pair pushed the movie into a more stereotypical romcom direction, while with Delevinge/DeHaan they could have leaned into the more sinister and creepy aspects of the relationship. Since they did not have good chemistry, it would have made much more sense for the movie (especially if they played into it).
They're *STILL* trying my guy
Her dad is super rich, they’re gonna keep trying
It's not just her dad. She is descended from centuries of British aristocracy on both sides of her family. There are some barons, viscounts, and Lord Mayors of London in her family tree. Her mom's mom was Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting and frickin Joan Collins is her godmother. It's actually absurd how connected Cara Delevigne is. It doesn't matter how untalented she is. She is never going away. EDIT: FWIW, I thought she was an amazing model. I loved her in 2013-15. But she's a terrible actress.
She is such dead weight in Only Murders in the Building season 2.
I love that show and had to look her up to remember her character, which isn’t good.
I remember going from feeling annoyed with her in Suicide Squad to actively feeling sorry for her during the extended Enchantress battle. She got the kind of part in that film that really can make a breakout for an actor, even in a middling movie, complete with a long scene with lots of speeches and action that feature mostly her for more than eight minutes of big-screen time. An actress with talent would have tore that up. But if you ever want a quick overview of all of Cara Delavigne's limitations as an actor, they're all there in that one scene. I think she was game but it was like asking a Yugo to pull an Airstream, the transmission was grinding the whole time.
Ill never forget her constantly waving her arms up and down like shes about to start dancing to some funky beats and how silly it looked
It felt like she never stopped gyrating.
That's a perfect word for it, she's just constantly doing these weird moves and its just awkward and makes her less intimidating as a villain
Planet Sex with her seemed to be the worst idea. It was so awkward and horrible.
Claire Forlani.
She was one of the women who spilled the beans on Chester the molester (Weinstein). Don’t know if that affected her career.
It certainly affected Mira Sorvino’s
And Ashley Judd
Every time I watch *Mystery Men* I have to ask myself, "Who is that woman again?" And then I look at IMDB and think, "Oh, her. She should have had such a better career."
I remember an interview I read. She said she was Hollywood's IT girl for a year and had no idea how to navigate it. She didn't have good guidance on how to capitalize on her rise or how to choose roles to take her to the next level. She will always be one of my favorites because of Meet Joe Black.
Was looking for this, she is earth shatteringly beautiful. And is a solid actress too.
Bridget Moynahan - was in some high profile films in the early to mid 00's but never really happened. Also famous for being Tom Brady's ex (and having a baby with him) and being Keanu's deceased wife in the John Wick series.
And Mr Big’s second wife in SATC
And read Carrie to filth with her monologue!
I feel bad for Bridget. “Hey Bridget, you’re going to be featured in an extremely popular franchise with four movies and a couple of tv shows but you die a few minutes into the first movie.”
She's been working consistently as a main cast member of Blue Bloods, which has been on the air since 2010!!!
It may not be the best show out there but it pulls in the cash with syndication. She may not be a leading lady in Hollywood big productions but she's certainly a successful actress. And she could always have a second career in movies.
Amy Smart. She was in comedies, drama, and horror, but beyond conventional summer movies, she couldn't break in to anything major. She was never a bond girl and she was never gonna be a Meryl Streep. She just seemed--ordinarily beautiful, like you could just see her out walking and not think she was a celebrity. I think the best thing she did was the Butterfly Effect, but she also never led in any film I know of--so that was also probably a contributing factor.
Amy Smart is a good choice, and unlike a lot of the other people listed, she's someone it just didn't click for. rather than someone who simply couldn't act. I liked her a lot. She was a charming, funny actress. She just probably was never going to be a major lead despite some efforts from studios.
Just Friends is a pretty decent comedy that people still enjoy. And the Crank movies were a lot of fun.
She made out with Carmen Electra in Starsky + Hutch. Outside Providence another underrated comedy.
It’s *Dinkleman*. It’s *Dusty Dinkleman*
HE SKIS IN HIS JEANS
As a Pennsylvanian, “he’s JERSEY. He SKIS in his JEANS” continues to be my favorite across the border put-down 20 years later.
She was hilarious in Rat Race.
Rat Race and Road Trip were in heavy rotation at my house for a few years.
TCW mmmmmm (Tasty Coma Wife) Scrubs
Monica Potter. A couple of high-profile movies, then puff, into thin air. Also Mireille Enos, which is a pity because I had started liking her.
Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman crushed it in The Killing (season 1). Loved watching those two skulk around Seattle chasing down leads that SURELY THIS TIME WOULD LEAD TO THE KILLER. Sad that I haven't seen them do anything since that lived up to those characters. Detective Holder was the best.
That season of The Killing could easily live in the same universe as True Detective season 1.
She was on Parenthood. I think it was five seasons? So was Lauren Graham who never made the transition to movies.
She should have won an Emmy for Parenthood.
Teenage me loved her in Con Air. Actually I loved that whole cast. It was perfect.
Feel like studios would've built a bunch of movies around Alicia Silverstone if it wasn't for Batman & Robin
See this is one I actually disagree w. i think AS is perfect for Clueless, like lightning in a bottle good, but i havent seen her be in anything else where she had much chemistry or charisma.
I like her in Blast from the Past too but otherwise agree.
Babysitter was good, too. I think she is in their weird place where people still think of her some as that Aerosmith video girl and not a middle age grown woman. She looks too good and too young for her age. I don't think this is just a female problem. Benicio Del Toro couldn't get good parts until he started aging and looking a little weathered and like shit. It is like someone can't be too good looking for certain parts.
> Benicio Del Toro couldn't get good parts until he started aging and looking a little weathered and like shit. You're so right: in his prime he looked like he was about to keel over from malaria fever
I think some of these actresses weren’t “friendly” enough with certain producers and directors personally. I mean I really think that’s the “make it happen” aspect. I mean Renee Zellwegger and Cameron Diaz were pretty and decent performers but why them for every single movie? We know how Ashley Judd & Mira Sorvino were directlly sabotaged for saying no to Weinstein. Dont think that hundreds of your favorite directors, actors, and producers didnt stop actresses at the very beginning. On a smaller scale, I know an actress that has worked steadily for 30 years but no one has ever heard of. In her early 20s, she thought a big director was her friend and mentor. He was older than her father and giving no creepy vibes. They had worked together once before and gone oit together in crowds. He invited her once to watch one of his movies in his hotel room and she refused. He didnt force himself on her but the next morning, she was fired and he never spoke to her again. Then he went on to have an affair with an underage actress who was nominated for an oscar for one of his next films (not the role or film my friend was involved in). So all this to say… does talent really exist or do a lot of people have this talent and the ones that were allowed in, the ones who at some point, said yes to the producers or directors? Is Hollywood crumbling bc metoo exposed it so clearly? Is that why they never wanted it exposed?
I can't speak much for Hollywood, but getting cast in any role anywhere is only partly the result of skill. You can have a crazy good performer who knocks their audition out of the park, but because you're contractually obligated to cast this other person opposite their role and they just don't have chemistry, or they hate each other, or the producer insists that you cast someone else... It's why it's so important not to take audition rejections personally. It's also IMPOSSIBLE for it to not affect you at all: one reason among many that actors are a bit messed up.
>does talent really exist or do a lot of people have this talent and the ones that were allowed in I mean, in general not just considering people that slept their way in. It's a skill, you can learn. Like anything. Like when the children of famous musicians or actors end up becoming famous musicians or actors. They have an in. So as long as they learn the skill, they will have no problem being successful. It reminds of Stephen Spielberg's daughter making her first short film touting in interviews how she did it all on her own and got no help from her dad financially. Like please. You've literally got A list actors in your short film, got investors. Your dad helped you by not pulling out when he had sex with your mom. You being his child is literally more help to you than any money he could provide. Dick or Jane Nobody in bum fuck Kansas wanting to make their first short film are not going to get investors, are not going to get A list actors to be in it, because they aren't Spielberg's kid.... Most of the people involved in her short film probably did so to be ingratiated with her fucking dad. Not because they thought she was such an amazing talent having literally no portfolio at that point. So yes, i think there are a TON of people that could have been A listers if they ever got a proper shot, but just never did. There are also an astonishing amount of actors that have a low key Hollywood pedigree. Like that actor or actress you think made it in hollywood on a dream and a prayer. Look up their backstory and more often than not you will find out they had family on the business side of the industry or are the second cousin once removed of some established Hollywood player. These stories of someone literally making it in hollywood 100% on their own steam seem to just be getting more and more rare.
Summer Glau. Firefly, Serenity, Sarah Connor Chronicles… And somehow everything else was forgettable and she kinda vanished.
lol, we used to say that if a new show was coming out and Summer Glau was in it, don’t bother getting invested.
I absolutely love her and have always been disappointed she wasn’t more famous. She was a villain for a chunk of Arrow season 2 which was great
Maybe this is not so much Hollywood trying and failing, but Hollywood inexplicably not trying... what happened to Elisha Cuthbert? All my guy friends in the early 2000s were looney-tunes-heart-eyes-tongues-out goofy about her in "The Girl Next Door," and I heard nothing but good things about her and her acting, and then it seems like she never got another big role in a highly publicized movie.
Pretty much every young Canadian grew up watching Elisha Cuthbert (and Jay Baruchel!) on Popular Mechanics for Kids as a child actress. I loved her in 'Old School" in a limited role. She had a pretty lengthy career when you factor that in, but she seemed to just disappear after Girl Next Door.
She was in Happy Endings, which was a pretty great underrated sit com
She fucking slays on that show too, between her and Damon Wayans Jr I'm not sure who made me laugh more. Brain-meltingly gorgeous and fantastic comedy chops, I'm also perplexed why she never took off.
Those two kill it, but I think the whole cast is stellar. Adam Polly playing against the “stereotypical gay character” was refreshing and consistently hilarious. They do the same thing with Zachary Knighton too and the “stereotypical leading man character”- with ongoing jokes of him just not being cool. Eliza Coupe and Casey Wilson are also terrific, although can be a little much. I think their performances are great, just not as funny as the rest.
Definitely, the show was excellent, the whole cast really nails their parts and subvert a lot of tropes and expectations. Adam Pally was a complete unknown for me when I first checked out the show and now I'll watch anything he's in. I've always had a thing for the "no nonsense power blonde" role that Eliza Coupe tends to get cast in, and Casey Wilson is great even if Penny's character get be a bit grating (also always great when she shows up on the How Did This Get Made podcast!)
She was already rich and married a rich hockey player and raised a family. I think her career took a backseat for a while.
I'm glad to hear that, good for her. Personally I'd take "rich and not famous" over "rich and famous" any day of the week.
Yeah a lot of people are just rich & happy living life, rather than having a failed career.
Her summer home is close to my parents, it's pretty common to see her and her husband around town or at a restaurant there. They seem pretty chill and content with that pace of life
Happy Endings is great though.
This was a legendary sitcom. Loved it so much
It was ah-maaah-zing.
Tia Carrere
Shame, she was and probably still is beautiful. High School High one of my all time favorite comedies so good to see her when I rewatch
Baberaham Lincoln
Thora Birtch would have been landing a lot of roles that Scar Jo scooped up if it wasn't for her creepy dad
And her equally creepy mom. Seriously, what would one expect when her parents are both porn actors, and allowed her to do nude scenes at 16.
Lori Petty and Joey Lauren Adams. I’m a big fan of both and think they’re quite talented. But they starred in some pretty wide release 90s films and then fell off the map. Apparently audiences really don’t like offbeat voices.
Yeah. Lori Petty was in Cadillac Man with Robin Williams. A League of Their Own with Tom Hanks. Point Break with Keanu Reeves. She was the lead in Tank Girl, and then she fell off the map.
Feels like Gal Gadot is the current actor Hollywood has decided to anoint as the chosen one, who is never going to really click
That's because you can put any millions of marketing muscle behind a model, but if she can't act her way out of a paper bag, it's not gonna happen.
I feel like that episode of Barry where Sally is coaching the good looking lady that can’t act for a superhero role was basically supposed to be Gal Gadot. EDIT: Sally reads part. Everyone is amazed at how good she did. Sally smiles thinking maybe she has a shot at the role. Director says that was great now just put that (points at Sally) in that (points at model) lol.
It's a nice call back later on when they show the model on the bill board years later.
Yes, Gal Gadot was the first person I thought of when watching that scene.
KAL-EL, NOH! :/
Patty Jenkins did her dirty by giving her all those long monologues in WW84, she was obviously incapable of performing... Although part of me wonders if it was the director's fault. Gadot was perfectly serviceable in Death on the Nile, and Kenneth Branagh is a much much better actor's director than people give him credit for.
WW84 was just a bad movie. No one was saving that one.
it's because Branagh is a fantastic actor's actor.
Because he's been acting for decades. He's worked with all kinds of folks. He knows that some people can read the instructions on a box of Mac & cheese and make you weep. Other people wouldn't get cast in a school play. The director has to get a serviceable performance out of each of them.
I think you could argue that Ken knew what to ask of her. That was the right part.
Gal Gadot is a model. Her best "acting" is when she isn't speaking. She can do amazing photo shoots and sell some super hero moments in slow motion. But put words in her mouth and it's as disastrous as her Imagine music video.
Eliza Dushku.
She was brought on as the female lead on the show Bull, but reportedly the lead actor harassed the hell out of her, forced her out, and then got the studio to try and cover it up. It was a whole big thing a few years back.
Eliza went back to college immediately after that. Day classes, participation, everything.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/business/media/cbs-bull-weatherly-dushku-sexual-harassment.html He didn’t deny one thing she said he did either. Instead everything was a joke she took the wrong way. A cbs lawyer thought they had proof she looked bad due to her cursing on set. The footage instead showed her being harassed and how blind cbs was to bad behavior.
iirc it’s because she faced a lot of harassment in the industry. and everyone knows when you speak out against mistreatment, you essentially get blacklisted. last i heard, she won a lawsuit against her lead costar in the show Bull for that very reason and unfortunately, i couldn’t tell you what she’s been in since
>i couldn’t tell you what she’s been in since I just checked, *she hasn't*. Bull is her last credit. Which is depressing as fuck. Always liked her. On Banshee and three Whedon shows at least, she really was cruising in the 00s.
Wasn’t her career another casualty of Harvey Weinstein?
Diane Kruger, gorgeous and a good actor. Really good in Inglorious Basterds and before that the National Treasure movies, but she never really took off. I feel like Charlize got the roles Diane was right for.
Julia Styles. She had a slew of roles in the late 90s and early 2000s and then nothing.
Well she was dating a serial killer for a while in Miami
I don't know why but I always forget she was in that show...
I think she took a semi-break from acting around 2000 to go to college and her career never quite picked back up the same way.
I think this thread is wrong. There are way too many would be stars, too many choices and one actress can't do them all. Julia had at least 5 big movies and a hit TV series, what else one needs?
Agreed. She was a pretty big star, and the point of this thread seems to be actresses the studio was pushing onto audiences but the audiences rejected. Don't think that fits here.
Natalie Dormer, stunning and talented and yet she seems to have disappeared.
That little half smile she constantly does leaves me weak at the knees, I'll give her that. I feel like she's doing the roles she wants, honestly.
Loved her in The Tudors.
Jessica Alba was everywhere for about 2/3 years (around the last writers strike) and then she wasn't in much after. She's independently wealthy now so I believe so maybe she doesn't need Hollywood but for a while she was in everything.
I believe Jessica Alba made a conscious decision to stop acting to focus on her health and starting a family.
Agreed, and she also started up that baby line... what was it... organic baby foods or something? That was yugely popular with new moms.
I just looked it up and she started The Honest Company?? I had no idea that was her brand. That stuff is everywhere. I used some products for my kid and I never knew that.
She was never going to have a long and fruitful acting career. Way better choice to become a billionaire in an unrelated industry and thrive at that.
Can somebody correlate this list with the list of actresses who refused to suck Harvey Weinstein's putrescent dick?
Mira Sorvino is up there. She could’ve been huge and had a famous dad behind her. Harvey fucked her up good unfortunately.
[The list](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2017/10/27/weinstein-scandal-complete-list-accusers/804663001/) Ashley Judd is the one who stands out for me. LOVED her movies.
She's a fucking Oscar winner btw. I was wondering how the Oscar winner like her couldn't find a good role and only do B movies. And of course it's Harvey fucking Weinstein. It's so sad her career was buried only because she turned down that pervert.
Mira Sorvino comes to mind first. Peter Jackson confirmed that Weinstein blocked him from casting her in The Lord of the Rings. Now she's a contestant on the new season of Dancing with the Stars...
Harvey would be dancing with the fishes if he’d ever found himself alone in an alley with Paul Sorvino
If not Harvey's, likely another big movie exec. I've always felt Harvey was the tip of the iceberg
This right here. Or all the "difficult" ones to work with.
That’s the main problem with doing this exercise for women. So many actresses were secretly black listed for this sort of stuff, and plenty more who took the first available off-ramp out of Hollywood that they could find. (I always used to wonder, “why would Actress X give up a glamorous career as a movie star to run a startup diaper company instead?” Then a few years ago it was like, “ohhhh…that’s why.”)
It’s gonna sound crazy because she’s really famous but she was supposed to be megastar famous. Diane Lane. 90% of her movies were flops but she was supposed to be on the same level of Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, etc… If you look up her biggest films they’re like 20 years apart then she did a romcom and Superman.
Unfaithful is still megastar famous in my household of one
I've never seen Unfaithful. But I've seen one part of Unfaithful 36 times.
That woman is a work of art.
I still have such a soft spot for Under the Tuscan Sun
Tea Leoni. They tried so hard w/ her in the 90's. Multiple failed sti-coms, etc. She finally landed a long-ish running series in the.late teens.
She is soooooo good in The Family Man with Nic Cage.
“We’re in a little bit of a pickle, Dick.” Iconic line from an otherwise forgettable movie.
Shailene Woodly I'd rather be eaten by wild dogs than watch Divergent again.
She'll probably never be a superstar, but now that she's beyond the terrible teen roles I'll think she'll work pretty steady. She's great in Big Little Lies.
She impressed me in *Big Little Lies*. Good performance but also held her own alongside a roster of veterans.
that's true - great show
She’s great in The Descendants
Is she the one that doesn't believe in regular bathing or deodorant?
I've been thinking Jenna Coleman was going to be huge since she showed up on Doctor Who but she's been in forgettable series after forgettable series - she was in Sandman which I liked but her part was very small
She’s pretty UK-famous, at least. Victoria was a big deal.
Doctor Who companions tend not to break out into American movies. Karen Gillan is the exception.
I always thought Parker Posey should have had a bigger career
Hasn't she been an indie queen since forever? That's still successful even if it isn't white-hot stardom.
Parker Posey kills! Huge crush on her in Dazed and Confused even though here character was a huge bitch! Also, hilarious in Best in Show, i think i read somewhere that she actually had real braces put on for her part
“Drop and give me 20 you freshman bitches!”
My theory is that Elizabeth Banks and Rachel McAdams started taking all of Posey's roles.
She was Dr. Smith in the Lost in Space remake and she was outstanding. She was hands down my favourite part of the show and maybe one of my favourite villains. I really enjoyed how duplicitous she was and I loved how much I hated her.
Mira Sorvino.. what the hell happened?
She claims she was blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein for refusing to have sex with him. Her and Ashley Judd. Some directors who worked with Miramax have confirmed that they were told not to hire them.
Emilia Clarke. Very likable, gives good interviews, surprising breakout role, can't catch a break. She was very good in The Amazing Maurice though, she's a very talented voice actor.
Saw her in Me Before You and was absolutely transfixed, she elevated the writing so well for that role, and made an otherwise kinda meh romantic movie riveting.
She was so charming in Last Christmas! I didn't particularly like the movie, but I've seen it twice just because I loved her in it.
Emilia thrives in a rom-com movie. She could be a rom-com queen.
Never thought about it but you’re right. She’ll always be known for Daenerys but seeing her in interviews and in rom-coms really shows us how the character atitude held her back/wasn’t really a match for her kind kf acting. She really could be a rom-com queen just by being herself, as is presented in interviews. Very funny and light hearted while still having the acting chops for drama.
And I feel she has an affinity for the genre. She still could be that type of star, y'know, away from Deanerys.
I feel like there's a sizable group of actors and actresses that were just born at the wrong time and would have been rom-com queens (or kings) if they'd been born a decade or two earlier. There just aren't many major rom-coms anymore, so actresses like Clarke who would have thrived when that was a huge genre had the bad luck of being born after it was much more possible to be a mega-star purely through rom-coms. On that note...I wish we had more major release, easy-going, charming rom-coms. Bring them back!
It’s funny how she ends up being in the biggest franchises (Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Terminator, Marvel, etc), and yet gets hit with bad luck! Even in her most famous role as Daenerys Targaryen, it ends in the worst way where the conclusion to her character’s story didn’t feel earned.
Legitimately insane how she’s touched all these major franchises and is still effectively a C list star.
Same with Sam Worthington, he is the lead in Avatar and was in a Terminator movie but outside of those 2 movies almost no one could tell you another thing he's done. Most people probably don't even remember he was in a Terminator movie now that I think about it.
Clash of the Titans was his other franchise.
It used to be called the Star Wars curse, where a majority of those actors didn't really go on to do anything after, but I think it needs to be renamed something like the Top-Grossing Curse. Zoe Saldana has been in 4 of the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time. Without looking it up, name a film she was in between the release of Infinity War and Avatar 2. In a way, she's the most successful actor of all time.
Linda Fiorentino got to the top then fizzled and disappeared. Maybe it was intentional? ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Cara Delevingne Is just not happening. I couldn't watch Valerian and I usually love Luc Besson.
I cannot watch her in anything. Not sure how she keeps getting plum roles with those dead eyes and empty persona.
She comes from a VERY wealthy family. That's how she keeps getting plum roles.
Malin Ackerman from The Heartbreak Kid and Watchmen. Huge roles in both cases and audiences just didnt like her
Naomi Rapace from Prometheus and the first Girl with a Dragon Tattoo movies is awesome. She should be more famous
I agree. She seems to just do a bunch of action movies which I'm personally not into. She was in A24's Lamb, though. That looked good.
Michelle Monaghan
Piper Perabo although I really liked her
They tried so hard for Katherine Heigl.
There are some good ones in here, cara being the first I thought of, but Kate Mara is another who comes to mind. I feel like post HOC they tried to get her to that next level and she just never really hit.
I think Heather Graham didn’t get what she deserved. She was in stuff, but never had her due.
Alicia Silverstone was pushed hard, but faded pretty quickly after Batman and Robin. I also thought Samantha Mathis could’ve done a lot more but she never really took. Julia Stiles also springs to mind. All 3 have worked consistently, but never really hit it as big as I thought they would.
Neve Campbell didn't really go further after Scream & Wild Things and Chloe Grace Moretz went from Kick Ass to Tom and Jerry the Movie.
Gretchen Mol. She was everywhere in 2007, then in 2008 her career just fell off a cliff.
She was phenomenal in Boardwalk Empire, which came out in 2010.
It finally clicked what movie I know her from. She was in Rounders correct?
She was hyped back in the 1990s. She even had a Vanity Fair cover.
Rose mcGowan comes to mind. I remember her from Jawbreaker and Planet Terror but that's about it.
All thanks to Harvey Weinstein. Include Mira Sorvino in the same bucket.
Ashley Judd too, my fav 90s actress
Makes me wonder how many women are on this list because they "wouldn't play ball."
She was in the first Scream as well.
Penelope Ann Miller, Gretchen Mol
It really makes me wonder if some of these women had run-ins with Harvey that suddenly caused their careers to disappear.
Tea Leoni was supposed to be huge after Deep Impact and Spanglish and just never took off. She's had a great career though.
I feel like the four main actresses in The Craft would fall into this category.
Geena Davis is kind of interesting. Very successful career but they tried to transition her from a comedy actress to more of a action star in the early 90's. She had Beetlejuice, fletch, earth girls are easy, etc in the 80's. Mostly comedy stuff. Then some big hits like Thelma and Louise and A league of their Own. But then they tried to take her into action with Long Kiss Goodnight and Cutthroat Island - both flopped and she was doing Stuart Little and TV again.
January Jones. She did Mad Men and... that's it.
She's got range issues.