# Almost, But No Cigar--Actors Who Showed Promise of Superstardom, then... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766 "2005-01-03T01:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/1 "2005-01-03T01:37:44Z")
Probably not a new topic, biut I’m not sure how to phrase the search. What actors or actresses were truly on the brink of or had the true potential of being the next Bogart, Tracy, Newman, Hanks, the next Colbert, Bergman, Hepburn (K or A) (or the Television equivalents thereof) but then, for whatever reason, lost it all, chose too many bad roles, fell out of favor, and became relegated to Lifetime MOW’s, and occasional guest-turns on the latest CSI or Homicide on the Streets spin-off (or whatever the hell these shows are called)? And, ftr, acting is acting, if you can make a living at it, bravo. As I think it takes a good ten years for a career to truly “tank,” let’s try to add some perspective by naming actors who peaked around 1994 or before. For a long time I feared that Ed Harris was going to fall into this “almost, but no cigar” category. I had admired his work for a long time before his name became synonymous with good supporting acting. In the mid-90s I thought an actress named Megan Gallagher was going to become a television superstar, but nowadays, I’m not so sure. Your choices? Sir Rhosis My choices of big names reflect only my tastes, I left off many who are no doubt finer actors in all regards. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/2 "2005-01-03T01:41:32Z")
Rutger Hauer. After his fantastic (IMHO) work in _Bladerunner_, I expected him to hit it really big. Instead, he ended up in a bunch of “Movies that HBO will only show late Saturday night/early Sunday morning” movies. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/3 "2005-01-03T01:49:43Z")
Speaking of BR, Sean Young is also waiting to read for a minor role in **Space Barbarians VII**. Sir Rhosis ---
**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:** [January 3, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/4 "2005-01-03T02:05:49Z")
Perhaps a “kiss of death” indicator would be referring to an actor just starting out as ‘The New James Dean’. I believe each of these actors at one time or another was given that dubious distinction: Geoffrey Horne Lee Kinsolving Christopher Jones Michael Parks Each of those 4 showed early promise but I’m sure the majority of you are saying “Who ???”. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/5 "2005-01-03T02:08:20Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Rutger Hauer. After his fantastic (IMHO) work in _Bladerunner_, I expected him to hit it really big. Instead, he ended up in a bunch of “Movies that HBO will only show late Saturday night/early Sunday morning” movies. He did sort of fall off the (US) map. I think he did a fair amount of European films. He was a good actor and I was sort of surprised Larry Hagman never had a big movie role. But he was a bit of an oddball. The guy who played the main character on SLEDGE HAMMER!, the cop comedy show on TV, was good but I never saw much of him after that Michael Keaton seemed to be ascendant then sort of faded. ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/6 "2005-01-03T02:29:27Z")
Stephen Dorff I thought was great in Backbeat, but has pretty much starred in shit since then. ---
**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, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/7 "2005-01-03T02:45:47Z")
**Bruce Campbell.** He had everything an action hero type could wannabe. I have no idea why he isn’t Action Hero Number One. It sure can’t be unwillingness to appear in a movie with a dumb script. **Lucy Lawless**. After Xena she hasn’t done a hell of a lot. What, no roles for kickass babes who really look like they can kick ass? Or is she turning those roles down in droves? Even more to the point, **Renee O’Conner** … she was great in Xena, she’s had virtually no work since Xena – according the IMDB, a short film and currently in production on a role Lawless turned down. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/8 "2005-01-03T02:46:26Z")
I remember Gretchen Mol being dubbed “the next IT girl” by somebody, but it doesn’t sound like much came of it. ---
**Author:** ![Blackdragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Blackdragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackdragon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/9 "2005-01-03T02:53:54Z")
Kevin Costner The little boy from **Gimme a Break** Alf ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/10 "2005-01-03T02:55:38Z")
> [@astro](#): > > The guy who played the main character on SLEDGE HAMMER!, the cop comedy show on TV, was good but I never saw much of him after that David Rasche. He showed up a while back in an episode of _Monk_, but mostly has been spending his time starring in very forgettable movies. I mean, [just look at this pile of junk](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0711058/). Talk about a one-hit wonder actor. Either the guy had the world’s worst agent, or couldn’t spot a decent script to save his life. ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/11 "2005-01-03T04:24:36Z")
What ever happened to **Dirk Diggler**? I thought he had great potential. I miss him. (no, I don’t mean Mark Wahlberg) ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/12 "2005-01-03T04:59:11Z")
Brad Davis. He never really did much after _Midnight Express_ and _Querelle_. I don’t much his health had to do with this. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/13 "2005-01-03T05:35:42Z")
**Kel Mitchell.** Nickelodeon’s \*Keenan and Kel \* show was kind of crappy, but Kel showed he has excellent comic timing, and I really thought he’d go farther than he has. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/14 "2005-01-03T05:35:30Z")
**Kel Mitchell.** Nickelodeon’s \*Keenan and Kel \* show was kind of crappy, but Kel showed he has excellent comic timing, and I really thought he’d go farther than he has. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/15 "2005-01-03T05:38:05Z")
Although he’s not so good he deserves a double post. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/16 "2005-01-03T05:56:28Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > David Rasche. He showed up a while back in an episode of _Monk_, but mostly has been spending his time starring in very forgettable movies. I mean, [just look at this pile of junk](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0711058/). Talk about a one-hit wonder actor. Either the guy had the world’s worst agent, or couldn’t spot a decent script to save his life. He also showed up in an episode of _Las Vegas_ – it was a memorable episode, because Jean-Claude Van Damme got killed. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/17 "2005-01-03T07:51:30Z")
Edward Norton. Sure, he’s a Name and is definitely known to a good chunk of the public, but he’s nowhere near the same class as, say, Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp. But he should be. He should be what Jude Law is rapidly becoming. Not that he still can’t, but it’s just surprising that he hasn’t already. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/18 "2005-01-03T09:58:09Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > David Rasche. He showed up a while back in an episode of _Monk_, but mostly has been spending his time starring in very forgettable movies. I mean, [just look at this pile of junk](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0711058/). Talk about a one-hit wonder actor. Either the guy had the world’s worst agent, or couldn’t spot a decent script to save his life. He was also in a commercial for laundry detergent in the mid-'80s in NZ, where **Sledgehammer** was really popular - I’m pretty sure the ad was NZ only. He was, as far as I can recall, in a couple of Telethons here around the same time. I used to love that show. In one episode he busted some perp, realised he had to be somewhere else fast, and handcuffed the guy to a car with instructions to “Beat yourself up!” ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/19 "2005-01-03T10:07:17Z")
Chris O’Donnell seemed to be getting huge, then dropped off the face of the earth. My big one, though, is Ryan Phillippe. He was just blowing up as the new it-boy in the late nineties, then completely vanished off the face of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/20 "2005-01-03T10:24:16Z")
I think that some of these guys are too “character actor” and I never thought they’d make it big. (I have a pretty decent—but not infallable—instinct for future stars. I pegged Jim Carrey and a whole lot of others I can’t even recall now as “stars” long before they were.) I _never_ saw David Rasche as big star material, even though he’s great. Supporting character actor, sure, but not superstardom. The one that I though would go places was [Jeffrey Osterhage](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0652346/). (He was often in Louis L’Amour TV movies, playing the brother that wasn’t Tom Selleck or Sam Elliot.) Maybe he wouldn’t have been big on the big screen, but certainly, I thought, on TV. But he didn’t. Big disappointment. (I guess he wasn’t that good of an actor, but still, I was disappointed. He had the looks.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766.md?page=2)