# Actors who looked like they would become big stars, but didn't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552 "2008-04-16T03:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/41 "2008-04-16T17:38:20Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I’m surprised Elisabeth Shue didn’t leave a bigger footprint. [/QUOTE] Me, too. I suppose she’s still working, but I can’t recall actually seeing her in anything since _Leaving Las Vegas._ ---
**Author:** ![Kalibakthegreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@Kalibakthegreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalibakthegreat)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/42 "2008-04-16T17:43:00Z")
Marissa Tomei tops this list for me, esp. after watching her first few movies again recently. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/43 "2008-04-16T17:48:45Z")
Jennifer Grey post nose job also kind of disappeared. And I always thought it was surprising that Mia Sara (Sloan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) never made anything more substantial. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/44 "2008-04-16T17:50:17Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] And I always thought it was surprising that Mia Sara (Sloan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) never made anything more substantial. [/QUOTE] Me too. The only other film I can remember her from is _Less Than Zero._ (Which, BTW, was **nothing** like the book, in that it had a plot.) ---
**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:** [April 16, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/45 "2008-04-16T17:56:38Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I read an article awhile back (in _Premiere_, IIRC, which is a pretty reputable Hollywood mag) that suggested [Treat] Williams’s career stalled after he played superagent Michael Ovitz in a movie. Ovitz didn’t like his portrayal, and spread the word around town to freeze him out. Dunno if it’s true. [/QUOTE] This deserves to be highlighted - it’s _not_ the audience that makes stars, _it’s the industry_. You can be as popular as you like on Main Street, but if you’re poorly promoted, make one too many flops, drop out of the biz for while, or piss anybody off, it’s bye bye stardom. Anybody wondering “where are they now” or “why aren’t they bigger” - look first to the industry. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/46 "2008-04-16T18:17:00Z")
RE - Mia Sara [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Me too. The only other film I can remember her from is _Less Than Zero._ (Which, BTW, was **nothing** like the book, in that it had a plot.) [/QUOTE] /guilty pleasure ON Legend /guilty pleasure OFF ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/47 "2008-04-16T18:18:49Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Me too. The only other film I can remember her from is _Less Than Zero._ (Which, BTW, was **nothing** like the book, in that it had a plot.) [/QUOTE] Checked imdb, and I don’t think she was in that…do you mean Jami Gertz? She didn’t do much else either. Well, aside from The Lost Boys. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/48 "2008-04-16T19:40:12Z")
[Cleavon Little](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001476/) from Blazing Saddles. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/49 "2008-04-16T20:07:11Z")
If I’d seen Superman in its original release, I would have been sure Chrisopher Reeve would be in everything! I’m not referring to his accident, either. He just seemed smart enough to not do endless crappy sequels and to take a larger amount or roles(to break the typecasting). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/50 "2008-04-16T20:11:38Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit] Checked imdb, and I don’t think she was in that…do you mean Jami Gertz? She didn’t do much else either. Well, aside from The Lost Boys. [/QUOTE] You’re right, Jamie Gertz. As for Mia Sara, the only thing (other than _FBDO)_ I remember **her** from is _Timecop._ ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/51 "2008-04-16T20:24:32Z")
Mia Sara is a good one. I had a girl crush on her in the 80s. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Sara) she married and divorced Sean Connery’s son, has done a few TV things, but little else. Another 80s actress I thought I would be big was [Kerri Green](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerri_Green) of **Lucas** and **The Goonies**. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/52 "2008-04-16T20:27:58Z")
[QUOTE=SaharaTea] Mia Sara is a good one. I had a girl crush on her in the 80s. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Sara) she married and divorced Sean Connery’s son, has done a few TV things, but little else. [/QUOTE] Girl crush is a good word for it. I didn’t see “Ferris Bueller” till the 90s on account of being young, but I definitely thought she was awesome. So pretty and funny and got paired with Matthew Broderick whom I still think is very yummy. Agree with whomever said Thora Birch. I absolutely adored her “Ghost World” performance and it kills me that she’s not doing more. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/53 "2008-04-16T20:36:05Z")
In the mid-80s I thought Judd Nelson was going to be big, but he quickly proved he had little to offer beyond flaring nostrils. Checked out IMDB, and was surprised to see he has been as active as he has. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/54 "2008-04-16T20:37:06Z")
In the '80s I predicted huge success for [Marc Singer](http://memsaabstory.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/beastmaster_ferrets.jpg), [Dale Midkiff](http://www.dalemidkiff.com/pixx/albums/uploads/PHOTOS/tt-promos/dale_midkiff0078.jpg), and [Jeff Fahey](http://www.50.gone.godhattan.com/image13.jpg). These guys are all still working, but none of 'em really hit it big, and I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/55 "2008-04-16T21:15:42Z")
I was kind of surprisded that \*\*Oded Fehr \*\* didn’t become a leading man. He’s got that x quality, IMO, and I can’t take my eyes off him when he’s on screen. **Matthew Fox** is another actor that I find is not only exceptionally handsome, but can really act. I know he’s doing well for himself having been on two very successful tv shows, but I’m surprised he hasn’t found a big screen vehicle to propel him into superstardom. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/56 "2008-04-16T21:22:52Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] They were clearly hoping for Great Stuff from [BN]Horst Buchholz\*\* when they gave him an “introducing” in the credits for **The Magnificent Seven** , and he got a part combining Toshiro Mifune’s role with Isao Kimura’s role as The Young Kid. Apparently he was pretty big in Germany, but his career in the US didn’t get all that big: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001976/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001976/) [/QUOTE] Exactly the one I came to say. One of the few flaws of The Magnificent Seven is that so much screen time is spent on Horst Buchholz’s love interest side story, John Sturges having been convinced he was going to be America’s next big thing. His mugging and extended improvising reportedly pissed Steve McQueen off so much that they nearly came to blows. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/57 "2008-04-16T23:03:46Z")
I’m watching _Scent of a Woman_ right now and am surprised \*\*Chris O’Donnell \*\* hasn’t done much lately. His career was hot in the early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/58 "2008-04-16T23:08:28Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] I was kind of surprisded that \*\*Oded Fehr \*\* didn’t become a leading man. He’s got that x quality, IMO, and I can’t take my eyes off him when he’s on screen. [/QUOTE] Lord, yes. I just watched _The Mummy_\* again, twice, over the weekend – he’s incredible. Did you see him in _Sleeper Cell_ on Showtime? He was the heart of that series, even though he was the bad guy. \*The guy who played Imhotep wasn’t bad either. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/59 "2008-04-16T23:36:39Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] **Matthew Fox** is another actor that I find is not only exceptionally handsome, but can really act. I know he’s doing well for himself having been on two very successful tv shows, but I’m surprised he hasn’t found a big screen vehicle to propel him into superstardom. [/QUOTE] He had the…uh…secondary lead?..in the fairly recent **We Are Marshall** , and also in the upcoming **Speed Racer**. One thing to keep in mind is that he’s been a major player in weekly hour long dramas. That’s a shitload of hours every day; you don’t see people do too many movies even when on hiatus from that kind of schedule. Most of the big crossovers come from ensemble-cast sitcoms, since they aren’t so burned out by their day job schedule. (eg: Jennifer Aniston) > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Me, too. I suppose [Elisabeth Shue is] still working, but I can’t recall actually seeing her in anything since Leaving Las Vegas. She was a featured star in **Palmetto** and **Hollow Man** , though I think the latter tanked at the box office. The biggest thing she’s done recently was probably **Hide and Seek**. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552/60 "2008-04-17T00:41:34Z")
When I saw Dead Poets Society at the theatre, I thought that Robert Sean Leonard would be a star. I thought he was easily the best part of the movie. He’s apparently had a great career in the New York theatre community. I really enjoy seeing him in House. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-looked-like-they-would-become-big-stars-but-didnt/445552.md?page=4)