# A Listed actors whose careers are fading **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368 "2011-02-14T22:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/41 "2011-02-15T08:52:22Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Nicole Kidman is up for an Oscar this year and some people are saying she’ll win. They only reason it seems like she’s less big is because she’s been taking a lot of time off because of her new kids. > > Angelina Jolie was great in Wanted and Salt and even though The Tourist supposedly blew, everything I’ve read said she was good. > > Lucy Liu was never A-list. > > And the Ocean’s cast are all still huge stars. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon… all as huge as ever. Hell, even one of the bottom tier 11, Scott Caan, supposedly makes Hawaii 5-0 a good show. Nicole Kidman was A-list back in the Val Kilmer Batman Movie. Since then she’s been in a string of flops (Australia, anyone?) and arthouse films. And even then, she was only A-list by marrying into it. Lucy Liu, for a few years, was in every single role that required an asian beauty: High Noon, Charlie’s Angels 1 and 2, Kill Bill, etc. George Clooney has always been box office poison. His career was going nowhere fast until he had moderate success with Ocean’s 11. Brad Pitt hasn’t made a splash since Babel. Matt Damon was on life support after Good Will Hunting. Bourne basically saved his career. Julia Roberts also had her career killed after Ocean’s 11-12. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/42 "2011-02-15T09:12:50Z")
I’m not sure about Clooney, but Damon’s career is doing just fine - he simply manages it differently then most A-list actors, alternating serious work in films by respected directors (Coens, Eastwood, Scorcese, Soderberg, Greengrass - all of whom he’s worked with in the past five years) with the occasional blockbuster like the Bourne films. He’s an actor who occasionally plays the role of a movie star, not the other way around. Pitt, on his part, seems only to take roles that he finds interesting - very few of which are standard “leading man” roles. His last two movies were directed by Quentin Tarantino and David Fincher, and were critical and commerical successes. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/43 "2011-02-15T10:09:18Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Lucy Liu, for a few years, was in every single role that required an asian beauty: **High Noon** , Charlie’s Angels 1 and 2, Kill Bill, etc. _Shanghai Noon_, I think you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/44 "2011-02-15T10:19:03Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Last Ewan McGregor movie that made over $50 million (and that wasn’t an already well-known property like “Star Wars” or Dan Brown books) which did show his face was… > > Eight years ago with the film _Big Fish_ (2003). What about _The Men Who Stare At Goats_, which was made in 2009 and (according to Wiki) has a gross revenue of nearly $69 million? He was also one of the leads in 2010’s _The Ghost Writer_, which (again, according to Wiki) has gross revenue of just over $60 million. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/45 "2011-02-15T10:20:37Z")
Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy have certainly seen better days. Cameron Diaz is sliding slowly. Bill Murray is running out of edgy, hip, young directors to keep him aloft. And Billy Bob Thornton!.. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/46 "2011-02-15T14:28:56Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Nicole Kidman was A-list back in the Val Kilmer Batman Movie. Since then she’s been in a string of flops (Australia, anyone?) and arthouse films. And even then, she was only A-list by marrying into it. She may have initially entered the A-list by marrying into it, but she’s been pretty well-respected over the years and still draws a lot of attention. And it’d be hard to argue that her career right now isn’t better shape than that of Tom Cruise. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/47 "2011-02-15T14:40:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Julia Roberts also had her career killed after Ocean’s 11-12. It wasn’t murder, it was suicide. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/48 "2011-02-15T14:43:50Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > What about _The Men Who Stare At Goats_, which was made in 2009 and (according to Wiki) has a gross revenue of nearly $69 million? I was talking US grosses - my bad. > **[The Men Who Stare at Goats - Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl140674561/)** Also, a movie in which he’s third-billed can hardly be described as an “Ewan McGregor movie.” Regardless, a string of worldwide $60 million grosses does NOT make you an A-lister. Not even close. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/49 "2011-02-15T15:03:42Z")
So using your bizarro, only count the movies I want to count logic, when was he ever an A lister? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/50 "2011-02-15T15:29:01Z")
Likely back in 1997-2001, when he was receiving props and nominations for _Trainspotting_, _Moulin Rouge!_, and _Black Hawk Down_. And it’s not using “bizarro logic” to say a film with disappointing BO grosses indicates you are no longer on the A-list, especially if you’re not even the leading man. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/51 "2011-02-15T15:36:41Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’d add Jerry Seinfeld to the list. > > He used to be the biggest comedian on the planet, but I can’t remember anything he’s done since he ended his show. Seinfeld is still packing in big crowds as a standup comic. I saw him at Austin’s Bass Concert Hall last year, and he’s still in peak form. My sense is, standup comedy is still his first love, and his TV show gave him the financial security to do what he LIKES doing. Remember that, unlike Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jerry HASN’T tried to launch a new TV series, nor has he starred in any flop movies (or ANY movies, unless you count his voiceover work in the cartoon “Bee Movie”). He’s doing what he wants to do, and is still very good at it. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/52 "2011-02-15T15:42:57Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Seinfeld is still packing in big crowds as a standup comic. I saw him at Austin’s Bass Concert Hall last year, and he’s still in peak form. > > My sense is, standup comedy is still his first love, and his TV show gave him the financial security to do what he LIKES doing. Remember that, unlike Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jerry HASN’T tried to launch a new TV series, nor has he starred in any flop movies (or ANY movies, unless you count his voiceover work in the cartoon “Bee Movie”). > > He’s doing what he wants to do, and is still very good at it. That’s the impression I get also, that stand-up is his true passion. Also it doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the few comedians in America who can consistently sell out arenas while charging a premium ticket price (which start at about $50-$60 whenever he plays around here, a mid-sized city in the south). ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/53 "2011-02-15T15:43:58Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > George Clooney has always been box office poison. His career was going nowhere fast until he had moderate success with Ocean’s 11. His two movies before Ocean’s 11 were _O Brother, Where Art Thou?_ - $45M Box office and \*The Perfect Storm \*- $182M. Odd definition for either career going nowhere or box office poison. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/54 "2011-02-15T16:21:19Z")
How about Reese Whitherspoon? Is she still A-list? And Halle Berry. Offcially off the A-list yet? ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/55 "2011-02-15T16:39:03Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > How about Reese Whitherspoon? Is she still A-list? > And Halle Berry. Offcially off the A-list yet? True about Halle Berry, I dunno about Reese Whiterspoon though. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/56 "2011-02-15T16:50:58Z")
Sylvester Stallone re-visited ‘Rocky’ several times after the first and original. Sigourney Weaver re-visited ‘Alien’ a few more times, and is going to be in a ‘Ghostbusters’ sequel. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someday Julia Roberts made an appearance in a ‘Pretty Woman’ sequel, and didn’t Quentin Tarantino once say he wanted to make a ‘Kill Bill’ sequel far in the future, starring the little girl who watched the big fight in the kitchen and is going to seek revenge? - well, there’s Uma Thurman’s retirement ka-ching, if she can just wait a few years. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/57 "2011-02-15T17:27:29Z")
Tom Hanks, John Travolta, Brad Pitt are all has-beens. How is Francis X. Bushman doing these days?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/58 "2011-02-15T18:41:45Z")
I’m not seeing how Brad Pitt fits on this list. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/59 "2011-02-15T18:59:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Tom Hanks Hanks is more of a producer these days (_Big Love_, _The Pacific_, indie movies), but movies he stars in (_Angels & Demons_, _Toy Story 3_) still make serious money. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368/60 "2011-02-15T19:27:49Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Nicole Kidman was A-list back in the Val Kilmer Batman Movie. Since then she’s been in a string of flops (Australia, anyone?) and arthouse films. And even then, she was only A-list by marrying into it. > > Lucy Liu, for a few years, was in every single role that required an asian beauty: High Noon, Charlie’s Angels 1 and 2, Kill Bill, etc. > > George Clooney has always been box office poison. His career was going nowhere fast until he had moderate success with Ocean’s 11. Brad Pitt hasn’t made a splash since Babel. Matt Damon was on life support after Good Will Hunting. Bourne basically saved his career. Julia Roberts also had her career killed after Ocean’s 11-12. Are you sure you aren’t confusing actors you don’t like with actors “on the decline”? I think that the fact that you mention Bourne saved Matt’s career directly contradicts yourself. Julia’s “Eat, pray, love” shows you aren’t quite up to speed on her career. Also, I disagree that Lucy Liu was an A-list or that Charlie’s Angels _required_ an asian beauty. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listed-actors-whose-careers-are-fading/571368.md?page=4)