# Actors / Actresses whose promising careers stalled? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513 "2005-10-29T22:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/61 "2005-10-31T16:35:13Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I don’t know, I think Russell was in the top tier there for a few years. Movies like Executive Decision, Tango and Cash, Tombstone, Backdraft, Escape from New York… Not all of them were good, but they were all marketed with his starring role being a major selling point. For a while there, he could carry movies. Yeah, he’s kind of in the middle on this issue… every time he made a good movie as an adult, the reviewers would be all over it with “Hey, he’s really broken out of the Disney mold now,” and people would be, like, “well, what about The Thing?”, then “What about Big Trouble in Little China?”, and on and on… ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/62 "2005-10-31T17:10:30Z")
In a similar thread about a year ago I mentioned 4 actors who, at one time or another were proclaimed as “the new James Dean”: **Geoffrey Horne, Lee Kinsolving, Michael Parks, Christopher Jones** They have long since faded from public view and Mr Kinsolving is now deceased. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/63 "2005-10-31T17:30:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Carrie Snodgress. Did a star turn with Diary of a Mad Housewife, but dropped out of films (to travel with Neil Young) and never caught on. Being dead doesn’t help. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/64 "2005-10-31T17:45:31Z")
Julia Ormond seemed to starting off pretty good, in the _Sabrina_ remake, then with Brad Pitt in _Legends of the Fall_. Where the hell is she now? Carrie Fischer-but that could be due to her substance abuse and suffering with bipolar disorder. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/65 "2005-10-31T17:49:13Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Rachel Ward was in _Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid_ and _The Thornbirds_, and we all thought, holy crap, a beautiful actress who can really act and doesn’t have a whiny, shrill voice! Cool! > > … and then she just sort of drifted off into second-banana parts, except for a few (And the Sea will Tell)… I think she went the way of Phoebe Cates. She married co-star Bryan Brown and had a couple of kids. I think she just chooses when she wants to work. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/66 "2005-10-31T18:30:56Z")
[Megan Follows](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001227/) , best (for that matter, only) known for _Anne of Green Gables_ and its sequels, is a good actress and quite possibly the most beautiful woman ever on television. I’m amazed she never went further. (The stigma of being 1-Canadian and 2-always featured in conjunction with PBS beg-a-thons, perhaps.) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/67 "2005-10-31T18:32:41Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > I thought of another one - **Elizabeth Shue**. She was everywhere as a teen and early twenty-something - Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future series, Cocktail - and then in her first “adult” role she was nominated for an Academy Award for “Leaving Las Vegas”. > > After that, not much. She did “The Saint”, which bombed, and she’s been in a few good films since, but not as a leading figure. Come to think of it, her brother Andrew hasn’t been seen sice “Melrose Place”. A [film](http://www.findinggracie.com/movie.htm) inspired by Elisabeth made by the family. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/68 "2005-10-31T19:23:16Z")
> [@scotandrsn](#): > > Christian Slater seems to have taken a nosedive after “Broken Arrow” just barely cleared its budget domestically, and “Very Bad Things” didn’t turn a profit. Of course, one could argue that him taking those roles in those movies were already part of the nosedive. The reason why Slater’s career stalled likely had more to do with his rather ugly run-ins with the law and well-publicized problems with substance abuse than his movies not being financial blockbusters. As for Kurt Russell, I don’t think his career has necessarily stalled. Just last year, there was Oscar talk for his role as Coach Herb Brooks in **Miracle** (even though he didn’t get a nomination). In the Hollywood hierarchy, he’s been a consistently mid-level star for many years. Eventually, he’ll probably get an Oscar nom or two tossed his way as a reward. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/69 "2005-10-31T20:05:16Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > I have a theory - as with Jeannie Tripplehorn, acting with Tom Cruise makes anyone look good, and then they get big leading roles and find that they really aren’t that good at all. While this may explain the careers of his co-stars, how does this explain the career of Tom Cruise himself? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/70 "2005-10-31T20:05:32Z")
**Tom Hulce** After a slow start in **Animal House** he got a major role as Mozart in **Amadeus**. Then he does some Okay parts, like \*\*Parenthood, but before you know it he’s playing a small part as Henry Clerval in **Frankenstein** and now the last notable things he’s done have been Disney voices (admittedly the star) in the Hunchback cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/71 "2005-10-31T20:08:41Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > I thought of another one - **Elizabeth Shue**. She was everywhere as a teen and early twenty-something - Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future series, Cocktail - and then in her first “adult” role she was nominated for an Academy Award for “Leaving Las Vegas”. […] I have a theory - as with Jeannie Tripplehorn, acting with Tom Cruise makes anyone look good, and then they get big leading roles and find that they really aren’t that good at all. Another theory, not involving Tom Cruise: Pretty actresses with good but not quite sizzling personalities are worth very little to Hollywood after they turn 35. Their best hope for staying in the business after that point is to marry a working actor or director,which Jeanne and Elisabeth respectively have done. Then they have the fresh connections to work when they want to - or not - as they choose. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/72 "2005-10-31T20:31:58Z")
A good chunk of the actors from **Sliders** really shou;d be doing more. No one is going to argue that John Rhys-Davis and Jerry O’Connell had careers that fizzled (though for a while it looked like O’Connell’s might have) but Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks, and to a lesser degree the already mentioned Kari Wuhrer really deserved more than their careers gave them. Especially Derricks, IMO. I remember reading an interview with Wuhrer a while about her talking about how hard it was for a “B” actor to get out of the persona of the “B” actor. You don’t _want_ to do that crappy, direct to video relaese of Poison Ivy 10, but you have to to pay the bills, and half the time, they want you naked to do it. And in regards to Bruce Campbell: To me, he probably has more fun making movies than just about anyone else in Hollywood. Sure, 90% of his movies are crap, but they were probably fun as Hell to make. And he still gest paid enough to do nothing else but act, and every now and then have a cool cameo where he gets to work with Toby McGuire, Kristen Dunce, and Willam Dafoe. Plus, he can easily walk down the street and do some errands without being mobbed by fans and cameras. Personally, if i had to live the life of any actor, I might choose ol’ Bruce. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/73 "2005-10-31T20:40:49Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > Another theory, not involving Tom Cruise: Pretty actresses with good but not quite sizzling personalities are worth very little to Hollywood after they turn 35. Their best hope for staying in the business after that point is to marry a working actor or director,which Jeanne and Elisabeth respectively have done. Then they have the fresh connections to work when they want to - or not - as they choose. Young, pretty but mediocre actresses are a dime a dozen. When you get to be the age of the Diane Lanes, Juliane Moores and Sigorney Weavers of the world, you actually have to act. As for Kurt Russel, he’s in some horsey movie with Dakota Fanning (and Elizabeth Shue). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/74 "2005-10-31T20:48:51Z")
Nobody’s mentioned **Cary Elwes**? He was great in **The Princess Bride** - I thought he was leading man material for sure. Then he did Robin Hood: Men in Tights and he showed he could bring the funny even more. Then what? Weird bad guy roles from Liar, Liar to Twister and last I heard (but haven’t seen) he was in Saw. I expected more from him. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/75 "2005-10-31T21:03:22Z")
What about the incomparable, utterly charming Bailey Quarters from “WKRP in Cincinnati”…[Jan Smithers?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0810453/) She hasn’t done a lick of work since 1987! How is that possible?? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/76 "2005-10-31T21:05:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Tom Hulce** He largely left the motion picture business to do experimental theater. He currently lives in Washington state and adapted a nine hour (you read that right) stage production of _Cider House Rules_ (shown in three parts). Like James Earl Jones and some other stage actors, he takes occasional screen roles to subsidize his theater ventures. Don Cheadle is one of the most brilliant actors working today, imo, and it’s a crime he’s still supporting actor rather than A List. Angela Bassett also is not as big a star as I think she should be. She’s beautiful, obviously highly intelligent (she stole a scene from Jodie Foster in the beauty & brains category!) and talented but- perhaps it’s another case of black actresses/low glass ceilings. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/77 "2005-10-31T21:37:55Z")
**Cary Elwes** was so uncharacteristically bad in “Saw” I didn’t even know it was him until the credits. His looks and telent have left him completely. **Jan Smithers** married James Brolin in 1987, when he already had two kids. They had at least one more together, so I assume she decided to raise family. **Don Cheadle** : Yeah, sure, he’s an underappreciated B-lister, unless of course you count his 2005 Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in “Hotel Rwanda”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/78 "2005-10-31T21:50:17Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Angela Bassett also is not as big a star as I think she should be. She’s beautiful, obviously highly intelligent (she stole a scene from Jodie Foster in the beauty & brains category!) and talented but- perhaps it’s another case of black actresses/low glass ceilings. Her last important starring role seems to have been “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”. Then she married Courtney Vance and seems to have scaled back her career drastically, apart from playing Rosa Parks in a TV movie three years ago. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/79 "2005-11-01T00:31:52Z")
The X-files tv show gave big boosts to the careers of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. He’s made several movies distinguished only by their mediocrity and nothing lately. She made 2 movies while the show was still on, got decent reviews in both, but nothing since the show ended. Perhaps he really was one “one of the great acting robots” but she could act. Perhaps her career was kidnapped by the aliens she didn’t believe in. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513/80 "2005-11-01T00:40:58Z")
I’d assume that people like David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson made a pile of money from a series that lasted that long. Perhaps they simply choose not to work as actively afterwards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-whose-promising-careers-stalled/328513.md?page=5)