# 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:** 5
**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:** [January 4, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/81 "2005-01-04T11:38:35Z")
**Linda Hamilton** of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and **The Terminators** was red hot for a couple of years and then, pooof, she disappeared. Same thing for **Joe Pesci**. You couldn’t spit without hitting Pesci in the early 90’s. (Goodfella. Lethal Weapon. My Cousin Vinny. Something else about getting back to college that I forget right now.) He seems to have faded into oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/82 "2005-01-04T14:46:55Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Same thing for **Joe Pesci**. You couldn’t spit without hitting Pesci in the early 90’s. (Goodfella. Lethal Weapon. My Cousin Vinny. Something else about getting back to college that I forget right now.) He seems to have faded into oblivion. And the same thing with Helen Hunt. She was EVERYWHERE in the late 90s, and she even won as Best Actress in “As Good As It Gets”. And then she just seemed to fade after that Mel Gibson movie “What Women Want” and “Cast Away”. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/83 "2005-01-04T16:52:59Z")
And **Helen Slater**. I think her and **Helen Hunt** are the same person. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/84 "2005-01-04T17:54:31Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > And **Helen Slater**. I think her and **Helen Hunt** are the same person. 😃 I have to step in and comment on **Lucy Lawless**. I think she’s right on track as a rising star. Xena cultified her, and she’s milking that celebrity for guest appearances on _Eurotrip_ and _Spiderman_. _Tarzan_ was a flop, but it was a big opportunity, and she got several development deals out of it. She may not be appearing on screen, but she’s going to all the right parties and charity events, and she’s in the dynasty that takes credit for _Spiderman II_ and _The Grudge_. Her failure and fadeout is yet to come. Some names to add… **Andrea Thompson** - Famous television actress from _Babylon 5_ and _NYPD Blue_. When I saw her last year at a con, she had two or three big television projects on the table (mostly docudrama cable stuff). Nothing ever came of them. **Jodie Foster** - While she’s done good work, she never managed to turn _Silence of the Lambs_ into Hollywood gold. Like Lucy, she’s more of a celebrity than a success. ---
**Author:** ![Selkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/85 "2005-01-04T18:03:49Z")
Whatever happened to [Meg Tilly](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHxwbj0wfHE9bWVnIHRpbGx5fGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=1;ft=1)? Judging by her IMDB entry, I wonder if she chose to leave the profession altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/86 "2005-01-04T18:27:31Z")
**Ellen Barkin**. After “The Big Easy” and “Sea of Love,” she just kindof tanked. **Marisa Tomei** has never become the A-Lister one would’ve expected after “My Cousin Vinny.” **Kiefer Sutherland** , while doing quite well in television these days, sure didn’t become the box office sensation he was slated to be, either. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/87 "2005-01-04T19:59:32Z")
Didn’t Andrea Thompson turn her back on Hollywood and become a news reporter? ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/88 "2005-01-04T20:44:08Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Didn’t Andrea Thompson turn her back on Hollywood and become a news reporter? For awhile. She was an anchor for CNN Headline News. She enjoyed it, but due to the internal politicking (she was resented for being a starlet rather than a journalist), she was ousted/quit. I saw her soon after it happened, and there was a lot of bitterness. > [@from article](#): > > A Washington Post source is quoted as stating, "Thompson felt that the network was not promoting her sufficiently. That may have been a blessing, given how badly she could sometimes mangle a report. But this is a woman who chose as her first words as a Headline News anchor: “Hi, I’m Andrea Thompson – and unless you’ve been living in a cave, you probably already know that.” > > It is unknown if this statement was a reflection of the resentment evident in former and active CNN personnel when she was hired. Some of whom were instrumental in an undignified internet representation of her acting career From [here](http://www.code7r.org/inquiz/cnn4.htm). She seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. Maybe she _is_ spending time with her son. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/89 "2005-01-04T20:51:39Z")
I can’t comment on those names I don’t recognize, but of the ones mentioned here that I do recognize, I can point out: all or almost all of them are on the north side of 30 years old. And if you look around the world of entertainment these days, you basically have to be an embryo to be on the track for superstardom. That’s probably the answer to all questions here. Having said that, anyone who says Denzel is not a superstar is totally high. Brilliant actor, gets his name over the title on every movie he does, among the most recognizable people in the world–he’s clearly A-list. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/90 "2005-01-04T20:58:12Z")
Hey, **Lion** , since your email is disabled, welcome to the boards! Your first 12 posts have been stellar. Keep it up. 🆒 (I’m only saying this because you’re a fan of Renee O’Connor) ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/91 "2005-01-04T21:05:09Z")
> [@Rysler](#): > > Hey, **Lion** , since your email is disabled, welcome to the boards! Your first 12 posts have been stellar. Keep it up. 🆒 > > (I’m only saying this because you’re a fan of Renee O’Connor) Merci, beaucoup. Yep, she’s my Muse. And, despite my previous post–on the age thing–I still think Reneé can have a great career ahead of her, if she wants it. And thanks for the heads up on the email. I didn’t even know I was disabled. Maybe I can get a better parking space… ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/92 "2005-01-05T01:24:24Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > What the heck happened to **Christian Slater**? From what I could tell, he had the acting chops to transcend the 80s-teen-actor quicksand that engulfed the likes of Corey Feldman and Molly Ringwald. This guy seemed destined to inherit Jack Nicholson’s role in Hollywood (and I guess he still could). > > I know he’s been working and all, but Slater just doesn’t seem to be an A-lister anymore. He’s getting slightly pathetically ubiquitous in the UK. I guess that his first recent involvement over here was filming [Churchill: The Hollywood Years](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0359078/), which pretty much sunk without trace even here when it got released a couple of months back. But by the time that came out, he’d gathered some respect by playing in the stage version of _One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest_, doing, not entirely unsurprisingly, the Jack Nicholson part. The production originally played at the Edinburgh Festival over the summer, though the main story there was how he’d come down ill just before the opening. It has transferred to the West End, even if it does seem to be slightly running on his star casting alongside Mackenzie Crook. He’s apparently decided to move to London on a permanent basis. Though one wonders whether this has anything to do with the fact that he appears flavour of of the month when it comes to TV producers looking for an American voice to dub documentaries these days. ---
**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 5, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/93 "2005-01-05T01:41:46Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > Diane Franklin. > > After _Last American Virgin_ and \*Better Off Dead \* I thought for sure she’d be huge. I thought she was great! Well, at least she got nekkid in _Second Time Lucky_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/94 "2005-01-05T01:43:54Z")
Jenny McCarthy. She was a former Playboy playmate and I actually thought she might have decent career doing comedy. I was wrong. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/95 "2005-01-05T02:47:22Z")
Judge Reinhold looked like he was going to be huge, but after Beverly Hills Cop" pfft, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/96 "2005-01-05T03:36:36Z")
> [@Selkie](#): > > Whatever happened to [Meg Tilly](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000672/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHxwbj0wfHE9bWVnIHRpbGx5fGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=1;ft=1)? Judging by her IMDB entry, I wonder if she chose to leave the profession altogether. She’s actually writing books now. Red Hen Press will be publishing her second novel, though I can’t remember the title for the life of me, or the release date. I interned there last summer and had a chance to read the manuscript. It was very good. ---
**Author:** ![ZombiesAteMyBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ZombiesAteMyBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZombiesAteMyBrain)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/97 "2005-01-05T03:43:46Z")
My nomination would be Christopher Walken - haven’t heard of him for years. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/98 "2005-01-05T04:17:51Z")
C. Thomas Howell. The one actor in “The Outsiders” whose career went nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/li_l_Dickie_Dirtz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/99 "2005-01-05T04:44:49Z")
The first actor I thought of (and I scanned and didn’t see him mentioned) was **Mickey Rourke**. He seemed to have the world on a string. A nice supporting role in **Body Heat**. Several lead roles ( **Angel Heart** , **Johnny Handsome** , **Barfly** , **9 1/2 Weeks** , and my all-time favorite, **The Pope of Greenwich Village** ). Turns out… he was just too weird. I guess the same could be said for one of his co-stars, **Eric Roberts**. Although it’s a little more understandable with Eric, since he’s not all that good looking (not that Mickey is all that good looking now either, but he was then). ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766/100 "2005-01-05T05:31:00Z")
Steve Zahn. Seemed to be in every other movie in the late 90’s, and then he seemed to just trickle out of the limelight. Shame, he turned in some good performances in “Out of Sight” and “That Thing You Do.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-but-no-cigar-actors-who-showed-promise-of-superstardom-then/282766.md?page=6)