When some people think “Actors whose careers tanked after Star Wars,” I often think, “Actors who made out so well out of *Star Wars * that after that, they said the hell with Hollywood, fame, and what other people thought, and did as they pleased.”
I seem to recall that the lead actors of Star Wars were each cut in for a tiny percentage of the profits, to make sure they could be drawn back for sequels and suchlike. Alec Guinness, in particular, didn’t much like the first one, and didn’t want to do the rest, but was tempted back due to the insane amount of money – and artistic freedom that represented.
Most actors aren’t rich. They do it largely for love of the craft. And Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill are two examples of People Who Didn’t Have To Go To Cattle Calls To Pay The Bills Any More.
Hell, Mark Hamill still has enough name recognition that he could be in a dozen movies a week, if he was silly enough to make himself available.
Harrison Ford, on the other hand, decided to keep on plugging, capitalize on what Star Wars gave him, and make himself a Name.
Matthew Broderick, from what I hear, prefers doing stage work, which would seem to be why we only hear from him every few years, when he comes out of hiding to be in some extremely well-financed dog (Godzilla, Inspector Gadget) to make enough money so he can go back into stage work. I don’t blame him. You have to feed your soul, you know.
I understand that Patrick Stewart is much the same way. Durn shame, too. That’s a guy who could sell tickets to a performance of Patrick Stewart Reads The Phone Book Aloud.