# Huge movies that failed to produce a star? (Or, actors who failed to turn a hit into stardom) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236 "2018-03-08T13:56:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/41 "2018-03-08T21:17:07Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > That hasn’t been true for a long time. The IT girl of the moment, Jennifer Lawrence, just bombed with Red Sparrow. Older male “stars” like Tom Cruise, Will Smith, and Tom Hanks don’t reliably open movies in recent years. Well, stars have always had movies that didn’t do well. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/42 "2018-03-08T21:19:03Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Avatar as a whole has made almost no impact on the culture. Titanic was much more of a cultural moment than Avatar, even if it made more money. This is, I think, very true. For a film that was incredibly popular (and generated a ton of buzz) on its release, awareness of it in the culture has largely evaporated since. I think part of that was that it was a visually amazing film, but not particularly noteworthy for its story (it’s basically “[FernGully](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/?ref_=nv_sr_1)” in space, with a huge SFX budget) or acting performances, and part may also be that Cameron’s promised sequels have taken forever to materialize. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/43 "2018-03-08T21:21:09Z")
So the Avatar thing intrigues me. Enough to start a separate thread on it. [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=850759](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=850759) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/44 "2018-03-08T21:24:36Z")
Edward Furlong disappeared after Terminator 2. But his drug problems played a role in that too. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/45 "2018-03-08T21:27:39Z")
Who could forget Klinton Spillsbury, top-billed in _The Legend of the Lone Ranger_ (1981)? It appears he never worked again. Christopher Jones had a big hit with _Wild in the Streets_ (1968). After _The Looking Glass War_ (1970), he was cast by David Lean in _Ryan’s Daughter_ (1970), who was unaware Jones had been dubbed. Jones was dubbed again for Lean’s film. He did not achieve stardom. “According to the book _Anthony Hopkins: The Unauthorized Biography_ (1994) by Michael Feeney Callan, Christopher Jones ‘was the walking embodiment of the Hollywood sourpuss.’ When he could, he avoided social drinking and meals with the crew or cast, was monosyllabic to the point of stupor and, says a technician, ‘given to catatonia when everyone was making sense of a non-action action movie’.” ---
**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:** [March 8, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/46 "2018-03-08T21:57:36Z")
It may not have been a huge hit but “Amadeus” was pretty well known yet F. Murray Abraham, Timothy Hulce and Elizabeth Berridge (I had to look up who played Constanza Mozart) didn’t do much with it. May have done more for Salieri into getting some of his music more well-known (he had largely disappeared except for one piece for oboe) and boosting Mozart past Bach and Beethoven. On a somewhat different note when “The Right Stuff” came out, people thought it would be a boost to John Glenn’s presidential campaign. Instead Chuck Yeagar, who was largely forgotten, became the guy with commercials and appearances on Johnny Carson. Timothy Holt who was in both “The Magnificent Ambersons” and “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” but was primarily a B western actor. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/47 "2018-03-08T23:06:28Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Well, stars have always had movies that didn’t do well. OK, then answer my question. Are there any stars in today’s Hollywood whose movies do well? I got stuck after naming Robert Downey Jr. Who you got? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/48 "2018-03-08T23:32:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > OK, then answer my question. Are there any stars in today’s Hollywood whose movies do well? I got stuck after naming Robert Downey Jr. Who you got? Chris Pratt ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/49 "2018-03-08T23:49:49Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I think Avatar is a good example. > > I mean when was the last time we saw the star in it? What was the name? > > Oh yeah > > Sigourney Weaver. > > What’s SHE been in? - Finding Dory\* for one ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/50 "2018-03-08T23:54:44Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Chris Pratt OK. His last five movies are the two Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, The Magnificent Seven, and Passengers. The first three are franchise blockbusters. Would they not be franchise blockbusters if someone else had starred? I doubt it. The Magnificent Seven and Passengers made back their budgets. They ranked 30 and 32 in 2016. It’s a nice career, but the OP asked about huge movies turning people into stars. Chris Pratt is not a good example if he only does well as part of a spectacle. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/51 "2018-03-09T00:08:11Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It’s a nice career, but the OP asked about huge movies turning people into stars. Chris Pratt is not a good example if he only does well as part of a spectacle. I think Chris Pratt may be the closest we’ll get to an example of a recently-ascended star. I never watched _Parks & Rec_ so I had never really noticed him before _Guardians_, even though I had seen him before and recognized his face but never knew his name until then. It was definitely, IMO, a star-making role. I suspect this may be the “new stardom” in the 21st century, where an actor establishes a hit franchise or two and rides them into another, with only a few projects outside of those franchises peppered gingerly across their career. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/52 "2018-03-09T00:09:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > OK. His last five movies are the two Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, The Magnificent Seven, and Passengers. > > The first three are franchise blockbusters. Would they not be franchise blockbusters if someone else had starred? I doubt it. The Magnificent Seven and Passengers made back their budgets. They ranked 30 and 32 in 2016. > > It’s a nice career, but the OP asked about huge movies turning people into stars. Chris Pratt is not a good example if he only does well as part of a spectacle. Chris Pratt is 100% a star. If your definition of a star is so narrow, then you’re essentially arguing that stars don’t exist. Everything you said about Chris Pratt applies to RDJ. Or did I miss that The Judge was a box office smash? ---
**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:** [March 9, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/53 "2018-03-09T01:29:01Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > I have heard of Joey Fatone, but off the top of my head, I couldn’t name a single thing he has done. The others were character actors before “Wedding” and they are still character actors? I would say that definitely means that the movie failed to launch them into stardom. You’re kind of making my point for me. Joey Fatone was in NSYNC so he’s not hurting for money. He seems to dabble in many things. I last saw him on the Food Network. He is best described as a “personality” rather than an actor. The movie had many character actors in character actor roles. After the movie they continued to work in the roles that suited them. There were really no star turning roles in the movie besides Nia Vardalos. That’s an entirely different conversation which would include the dearth of staring roles for women above a certain age and those that are not classically beautiful. Most noticeable role in the ensemble cast was Michael Constantine. The man is 90 years old and has had a 60 year career that includes staring in a successful tv show (Room 222) and having the title role in a not so successful tv show (Sirota’s Court). He’s had a very successful career by any definition. To put it more simply, the film was filled with working actors who will never be big stars no matter what they are put in because they don’t fit the mold. It fits the definition of what the OP asked but it’s not surprising that it didn’t produce big stars. On a tangent I always found it interesting that the screenplay was based on how Nia Vardalos met and married her husband. In the movie he’s played by John Corbett. Tall, handsome, charming, great head of hair. In reality she married Ian Gomez. Almost a foot shorter, not exactly handsome, bald, but a really funny guy. The whole feel of the movie would have been different if the role was played by him or someone more like him. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/54 "2018-03-09T02:39:40Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Chris Pratt is 100% a star. If your definition of a star is so narrow, then you’re essentially arguing that stars don’t exist. Everything you said about Chris Pratt applies to RDJ. Or did I miss that The Judge was a box office smash? Well, since I \*\*am \*\*arguing that stars don’t exist, I guess I’m making my point. I put Downey on the list as a “maybe,” remember. I gave him credit for Sherlock Holmes. That was not a franchise, and had no reason to be a smash hit. Several zillion Sherlock Holmes movies were only minor releases. Yet Downey’s was 10th and the sequel was 9th. Who else has done that?\* But The Judge and Chef and The Soloist all appeared since Iron Man. Dwayne Johnson maybe? He gets credit for Jumanji. But he couldn’t open Baywatch and San Andreas at 20 was middling for a supposed blockbuster. Matt Damon was a smash in The Martian. But his last other big picture was the last Jason Bourne and that underproduced. George Clooney hit big with Gravity. He doesn’t do franchises and that’s obvious with his grosses. Angelina Jolie had a smash with Maleficent. She \*and \*Brad Pitt were in By the Sea. It grossed $538,000. I’m having trouble finding literally anyone else who can be said to have had a top ten non-franchise hit as a star in recent years. Who starred in Oz The Great and Powerful, Cinderella, Dunkirk, or It? Who cares? Those top ten films should be starmakers. They aren’t. I think that’s powerful evidence. Not proof, especially since others are arguing that stars are those who are famous. Maybe that’s a better definition. But it doesn’t answer the OP’s question, which is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/55 "2018-03-09T03:18:51Z")
As for actors who failed to turn a hit into stardom, I have to mention Hayden Christensen from the Star Wars prequels. He never really had another role that was as high profile as Anakin Skywalker. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/56 "2018-03-09T03:31:26Z")
_E.T.: The Extraterrestrial_, which was the highest grossing film for almost 15 years, never produced a breakout star. Drew Barrymore came close, but her life & career tanked early and never completely recovered. She’s done okay since then, but I’ll bet most Millennials have never even heard of her. Henry Thomas, though, hasn’t had another major film role, ever. Peter Coyote only does documentary narrations, and I don’t even know about Dee Wallace or Chris Makepeace. None of actors from _The Matrix_ series seemed to improve their fortunes, except maybe Keanu Reeves, who was already hugely famous by then. But Laurence Fishburne never broke out of his image as a poor man’s Samuel L. Jackson, and then-unknowns like Carrie-Anne Moss never parlayed the film’s success into superstardom. (Viewer backlash against the 2nd & 3rd films may have played a role in this.) ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/57 "2018-03-09T03:50:48Z")
nm ---
**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:** [March 9, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/58 "2018-03-09T04:29:20Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > _E.T.: The Extraterrestrial_, which was the highest grossing film for almost 15 years, never produced a breakout star. Drew Barrymore came close, but her life & career tanked early and never completely recovered. She’s done okay since then, but I’ll bet most Millennials have never even heard of her. Henry Thomas, though, hasn’t had another major film role, ever. Peter Coyote only does documentary narrations, and I don’t even know about Dee Wallace or Chris Makepeace. First of all, the older brother was played by Robert MacNaughton, not Chris Makepeace. Second, I’m amazed that you think Drew Barrymore just did “okay”. I don’t think most people realize just how many actors there are and how few good roles there are. Her filmography is far better than most and she’s produced quite a few movies. And looking at Henry Thomas’ filmography, he’s had a productive career. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/59 "2018-03-09T14:42:46Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Chris Pratt is 100% a star. If your definition of a star is so narrow, then you’re essentially arguing that stars don’t exist. Yeah, this “Who is a star?” thing feels like an exercise in No True Scotsman nitpickery. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/60 "2018-03-09T14:55:31Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > None of actors from _The Matrix_ series seemed to improve their fortunes, except maybe Keanu Reeves, who was already hugely famous by then. But Laurence Fishburne never broke out of his image as a poor man’s Samuel L. Jackson, and then-unknowns like Carrie-Anne Moss never parlayed the film’s success into superstardom. (Viewer backlash against the 2nd & 3rd films may have played a role in this.) You mean like Hugo Weaving of Lord of the Rings, Transformers (Megatron), and Captain America? Yes he had some exposure before then, but his Agent Smith certainly made him more bankable. Also Carrie-Anne Moss didn’t exactly disappear being visible in Memento, and now of course in the Netflix Marvel series. //i\ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236.md?page=4)