# Actors you were sure would make it big, and they didn't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194 "2013-12-26T03:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**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:** [January 3, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/161 "2014-01-03T04:05:39Z")
But even an actor who never broke out of supporting roles is doing better than many, many other actors out there. Really, any actor mentioned in this thread is lucky to have done as well as he or she did, given the competition out there. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2014, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/162 "2014-01-03T06:23:50Z")
Well, in the context of trying to make it big in Hollywood, every single actor whose name any of us recognizes has “made it big.” Though in the context of stars who were hyped up to be the next big thing but then kind of fizzled out, someone like Gretchen Mol comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/163 "2014-01-03T13:52:34Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Yes he was and it was a fortunate thing for movie fans. After that if anyone is ever asked for the worst acting performance in movie history they have an immediate answer. Well “making it big” and “being a great actor” are two different things. To be honest, I have never watched “Saw” but I remember the movie had about a dozen sequels. Frankly it struck me as torture porn, but it was undeniably successful. Though I did find one of the deathtraps amusing … Link is mildly NSFW: [Braces, steampunk style.](http://politicallysexy.blogspot.com/2009/01/when-dentistry-goes-steampunk.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/164 "2014-01-03T14:00:03Z")
Should we try to find a subjective way of defining _“making it big”_? Being top bill on at least three movies produced by a major studio, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/165 "2014-01-03T14:09:18Z")
The whole MST3K crew, while they might not be ACTORS in the strict sense of the term, are some of the smartest, funniest people around, and I expected would do very well after MST3K. Instead, they have drifted into relative obscurity, with some of the leads doing [Rifftrax](http://www.rifftrax.com/) (Mike Nelson, Crow and Tom Servo) and some of them (Joel and the gang) doing [Cinematic Titanic.](http://www.cinematictitanic.com/) They SHOULD be household names, or at least highly paid comedy scriptwriters, but I suspect they are happier snarking it up big time. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/166 "2014-01-03T14:19:54Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > The whole MST3K crew, while they might not be ACTORS in the strict sense of the term, are some of the smartest, funniest people around, and I expected would do very well after MST3K. Instead, they have drifted into relative obscurity, with some of the leads doing [Rifftrax](http://www.rifftrax.com/) (Mike Nelson, Crow and Tom Servo) and some of them (Joel and the gang) doing [Cinematic Titanic.](http://www.cinematictitanic.com/) They SHOULD be household names, or at least highly paid comedy scriptwriters, but I suspect they are happier snarking it up big time. MST3K was always obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/167 "2014-01-03T15:54:32Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > I’ll second **Stink Fish Pot’s** nomination of Maura Tierney. Helen Hunt gets an Oscar, and Tierney, who is a truly brilliant actress, never made it big in movies. There is no justice. Tierney has certainly had a distinguished television career, though. > > My nomination is Giovanni Ribisi. The guy is a brilliant actor, and deserves better than the piece of crap sitcom he’s in now (_Dads_). Come to think of it, Martin Mull, also wasted on _Dads_, should have had a bigger career. And Peter Riegert, too (speaking of _Animal House_ alums). Did you know Seth Green was in “Hotel New Hampshire”? There’s a guy who seems to never go away by sheer force of will. And good for him, I say. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/168 "2014-01-03T17:47:41Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > MST3K was always obscure. The Misties are, and always will be, A-listers in my book! ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/169 "2014-01-04T02:53:29Z")
When I saw the first Spiderman movie, I thought Tobey Maguire would be a big, big star. He’s done ok, I guess, but hasn’t really done much since then. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/170 "2014-01-04T17:11:38Z")
Everything I’ve ever seen Kevin McKidd in he’s been great. I thought **Rome** would catapult him to superstardom, but he hasn’t done much since then. He was in a show called **Journeyman** which I thought was excellent and cancelled way too soon, but he didn’t really take off. Ray Stevenson, who played Titus Pullo in **Rome** , seems to have been in more stuff. ETA: I see that McKidd was in Grey’s Anatomy a bunch, which I’ve never seen. Still, would love to see him in the right movie role. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/171 "2014-01-04T23:06:01Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > The whole MST3K crew [Joel Hodgson](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388273/?ref_=nv_sr_1) [Kevin Murphy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614436/?ref_=tt_cl_t1) Looks like they’ve done a few things. Also interesting they have producer, actor, writer, art, music credits, all that, which is more than a lot of performers! ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/172 "2014-01-05T03:19:37Z")
When I was in middle school I had a huge crush on Holly Robinson, now Holly Robinson-Peete, but after 21 Jump Street ended she just disappeared. Same with Heather Thomas from The Fall Guy and Catherine Bach from The Dukes of Hazzard. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/173 "2014-01-05T08:18:17Z")
The other day I watched a Star Trek movie, The Undiscovered Country for the first time in something like two decades, when I was eleven or twelve. Now, when I was a kid I didn’t realize one thing: the actors are terrible. Except for Nimoy, everybody else was amateur hour. Sorry, Trek fans, but that’s what I really thought. And then there was Iman, who I’d forgotten was even in the movie, and I barely knew her as anything but that gorgeous model David Bowie married. She was actually quite good. In part by comparison with you-know-who, but she also had presence, and could deliver lines with conviction and emote and so on. She should have been in way more stuff during the nineties. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/174 "2014-01-05T08:45:52Z")
In the mid-1980s, I was constantly telling people that Mare Winningham was going to be a major movie star. She’s had a solid career, but nothing on the grand scale that I anticipated. I remember making similar predictions about Fairuza Balk (someone upthread already mentioned her). Still, I don’t fault any actor for not “making it big.” Just making a living as an actor (without needing a “day job”) is a truly remarkable achievement. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/175 "2014-01-05T13:37:37Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > The other day I watched a Star Trek movie, The Undiscovered Country for the first time in something like two decades, when I was eleven or twelve. > > Now, when I was a kid I didn’t realize one thing: the actors are terrible. Except for Nimoy, everybody else was amateur hour. Sorry, Trek fans, but that’s what I really thought. > > And then there was Iman, who I’d forgotten was even in the movie, and I barely knew her as anything but that gorgeous model David Bowie married. > > She was actually quite good. In part by comparison with you-know-who, but she also had presence, and could deliver lines with conviction and emote and so on. She should have been in way more stuff during the nineties. I don’t know how hard she tried but her exotic looks and strange accent have to be limiting. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/176 "2014-01-05T14:02:27Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I don’t know how hard she tried but her exotic looks and strange accent have to be limiting. I know. It’s really limited Arnold Schwartzenegger’s career. I thought he would make it big after that documentary he was in about lifting. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/177 "2014-01-05T14:12:32Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > When I was in middle school I had a huge crush on Holly Robinson, now Holly Robinson-Peete, but after 21 Jump Street ended she just disappeared. She was Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/178 "2014-01-05T15:44:49Z")
Not that I care a bit, but I remember after “That 70’s Show” ended reading that Topher Grace was so enormously talented he was going to go on to be a huge huge star. A la Shia LaBeouf. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/179 "2014-01-05T16:40:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know. It’s really limited Arnold Schwartzenegger’s career. I thought he would make it big after that documentary he was in about lifting. His career may have been big but it’s certainly been limited. Lucky for him being a muscle head with a strange accent limits him to big budget action movies. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194/180 "2014-01-05T16:54:21Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > His career may have been big but it’s certainly been limited. Lucky for him being a muscle head with a strange accent limits him to big budget action movies. _Twins_ was a pretty decent comedy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-were-sure-would-make-it-big-and-they-didnt/677194.md?page=10)