# Actors you're surprised never made it big **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044 "2011-06-27T17:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/41 "2011-06-28T19:58:25Z")
Terry O’Quinn is mine. Decades of great performances in bit roles and B movies. He finally had a big-visibility role on Lost, but with the departure of that show he risks slipping away to just being “that one guy from Lost”. He could easily carry a premier series as the lead. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/42 "2011-06-28T20:05:07Z")
The original Jennifer, Claudia Wells. So much yummier than Elisabeth Shue. Took 22 years off from Hollywood, but seems to be coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/43 "2011-06-28T20:45:52Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Well, I don’t know if the second two there would count as making it huge, but they’re certainly doing better than her, and she was also one of the main characters in Party of Five, so I agree - it is surprising. She was so fetch. And was the original Meg Griffin. ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/44 "2011-06-29T03:42:06Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > Not that I think that she’s especially a great actress or anything, but I’ve always been a little surprised that Piper Perabo didn’t get to be a bigger star than she is. She’s the Golden Globe nominated star of the #1 cable series of 2010 among 18-49 year olds. So she isn’t doing THAT horribly. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/45 "2011-06-29T06:24:39Z")
From the 1950s Ralph Meeker. Looked like he had a breakthrough in “Kiss Me Deadly” and was in Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory”. But never progressed. Every now and then I see him in an old tv show like “Route 66” and wonder what went wrong. > **[Ralph Meeker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Meeker)** > > Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 – August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of Mister Roberts (1948–1951) and Picnic (1953), the former of which earned him a Theatre World Award for his performance. In film, Meeker is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's 1955 Kiss Me Deadly. > Meeker went on to play a series of roles that used his husky and mach... ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/46 "2011-06-29T12:26:13Z")
Oded Fehr, from The Mummy franchise. I thought " Wow" and poof, where’d he go? ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/47 "2011-07-01T21:02:12Z")
Jason Bateman, although that could be changing soon. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/48 "2011-09-14T19:55:02Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Oded Fehr, from The Mummy franchise. I thought " Wow" and poof, where’d he go? I knew him from [UC: Undercover](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280344/). He’s alright. Handsome man, certainly. Does some TV work, seems to be doing voice acting now. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/49 "2011-09-14T20:24:19Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Terry O’Quinn is mine. Decades of great performances in bit roles and B movies. He finally had a big-visibility role on Lost, but with the departure of that show he risks slipping away to just being “that one guy from Lost”. > > He could easily carry a premier series as the lead. Well, he’s just been added to the cast of the new Hawaii 5-0 so he seems to be doing well. One actor I’ve liked for a long time but until recently with Suits never seemed to get a lot of publicity was Gabriel Macht. Also I don’t know his name but I thought whoever played Jake Ryan in 16 Candles would be huge considering how all the girls in my middle school reacted to him, but he just disappeared. I also wa surprised that Ed Marinaro never got huge or Betty Thomas(huge Hill Street Blues fan here). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/50 "2011-09-14T20:33:06Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > …or Betty Thomas(huge Hill Street Blues fan here). Me, too. She became quite the successful [Director](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0858525/) - quite a few hits like Private Parts and Dr. Doolittle remake, and maybe some misses, too 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/51 "2011-09-14T20:39:57Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Also I don’t know his name but I thought whoever played Jake Ryan in 16 Candles would be huge considering how all the girls in my middle school reacted to him, but he just disappeared. His name is Michael Schoeffling. I only know this because around six years ago, a girl told me I looked like him. I had never seen _16 Candles_, but I looked him up. He also played “Kuch” in the great _Vision Quest_ with Matthew Modine, one of my favorite movies. Trivia - the screenplay was written by Darryl Ponicsan, who also wrote _The Last Detail,_ another one of my favorite movies. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/52 "2011-09-14T20:57:53Z")
A couple of other names occurred to me. Heather Thomas from the Fall Guy. She was gorgeous, incredibly charismatic and just disappeared. Dale Midkiff, the star of this really terrible scifi show from the 90s called Time Traxx. Finally, Chiwetel Ejiofor. The operative from Serenity. I thought he was fantastic and would be huge but he just disappeared as well. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/53 "2011-09-14T21:30:52Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Finally, Chiwetel Ejiofor. The operative from Serenity. > > I thought he was fantastic and would be huge but he just disappeared as well. I’ve seen him in six movies since then, most notably **Inside Man** , **Children Of Men** , **American Gangster** , and **2012**. There’s a few from Deadwood that I thought would blow up - the woman that played Calamity Jane and the woman that played Alma Garrett, most notably. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/54 "2011-09-14T21:33:45Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I’ve seen him in six movies since then, most notably **Inside Man** , **Children Of Men** , **American Gangster** , and **2012**. You don’t even want to dignify **Salt** with a name? ---
**Author:** ![all1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@all1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all1966)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/55 "2011-09-14T22:18:03Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Terry O’Quinn is mine. Decades of great performances in bit roles and B movies. He finally had a big-visibility role on Lost, but with the departure of that show he risks slipping away to just being “that one guy from Lost”. > > He could easily carry a premier series as the lead. Saw a commercial the other night that he’s going to be on Hawaii 5-0 as one of the main characters. Working with one of his former Lost co-stars, as a matter of fact. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/56 "2011-09-14T22:53:46Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You don’t even want to dignify **Salt** with a name? Didn’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/57 "2011-09-14T23:02:05Z")
I always though David Faustino who play Bud on Married w/Children was a terrific comic actor with great timing. I think he played well off Christina Applegate. He did the physical comedy very well. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/58 "2011-09-15T00:28:30Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Oded Fehr, from The Mummy franchise. I thought " Wow" and poof, where’d he go? I brought him up in the similar thread re leading men. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/59 "2011-09-15T00:37:09Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I brought him up in the similar thread re leading men. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was one of the stars of the Showtime series Sleeper Cell where he played Faris Al-Fariq, just about the most chilling and believable portraits of a Jihadi I’ve ever seen. He also played a Mossad agent on V and has a recurring role as one on Covert Affairs. More than a few fans of the show, including myself, would like the idea of him being a series regular because he has vastly more chemistry with Piper Perabo then Ben Mercer, the guy we’re supposed to believe she’s in love with. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044/60 "2011-09-15T01:00:04Z")
One I’ve mentioned in threads like this before: Bruce McGill. I remember seeing him in _Animal House_ and thinking he was going to go on to be a major star. But while he’s worked steadily through the last thirty years, he’s never risen above being a supporting actor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-youre-surprised-never-made-it-big/587044.md?page=4)