Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex
Michael J. Fox – went from one-off appearances on various episodic TV series to a lead role on Family Ties before being tapped to play Marry McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex
Michael J. Fox – went from one-off appearances on various episodic TV series to a lead role on Family Ties before being tapped to play Marry McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex
Michael J. Fox – went from one-off appearances on various episodic TV series to a lead role on Family Ties before being tapped to play Marry McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bruce Willis - from Moonlighting to Die Hard.
George Clooney - Left the hit medical drama ER after five seasons to try his luck on the big screen, and has done OK for himself.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex
Michael J. Fox – went from one-off appearances on various episodic TV series to a lead role on Family Ties before being tapped to play Marry McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bruce Willis - from Moonlighting to Die Hard.
George Clooney - Left the hit medical drama ER after five seasons to try his luck on the big screen, and has done OK for himself.
Clint Eastwood - his breakthrough was as Rowdy Yates in the series Rawhide and has gone on to big a big star on the big screen and an Oscar winning director to boot.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex
Michael J. Fox – went from one-off appearances on various episodic TV series to a lead role on Family Ties before being tapped to play Marry McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bruce Willis - from Moonlighting to Die Hard.
George Clooney - Left the hit medical drama ER after five seasons to try his luck on the big screen, and has done OK for himself.
Clint Eastwood - his breakthrough was as Rowdy Yates in the series Rawhide and has gone on to big a big star on the big screen and an Oscar winning director to boot.
Morgan Freeman: From Easy Reader, Mel Mounds, and other roles on the Electric Company kids show to driving Ms. Daisy and literally God.
Established TV stars who successfully made the leap to films (that is, they were TV A-list, not "THAT guys, or someone with one TV movie credit, and went on to a career in films, not one film, and a return to TV)
Sally Field: From three series one highly successful, and an Emmy for Sybil, to a film career over 4 decades with 2 Oscars.
Pierce Brosnan - Went from Remmington Steele to some suave British secret agent franchise.
Woody Harrelson - went from being a cast member of Cheers as Woody Boyd to leading man roles in movies like White Men Can’t Jump and Kingpin.
Lisa Kudrow - went from the recurring role of Ursula on Mad About You, to a starring role as Ursula’s sister Phoebe on Friends, to starring in films including Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Analyze This, and The Opposite of Sex
Michael J. Fox – went from one-off appearances on various episodic TV series to a lead role on Family Ties before being tapped to play Marry McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bruce Willis - from Moonlighting to Die Hard.
George Clooney - Left the hit medical drama ER after five seasons to try his luck on the big screen, and has done OK for himself.
Clint Eastwood - his breakthrough was as Rowdy Yates in the series Rawhide and has gone on to big a big star on the big screen and an Oscar winning director to boot.
Morgan Freeman: From Easy Reader, Mel Mounds, and other roles on the Electric Company kids show to driving Ms. Daisy and literally God.
Tom Hanks: from Bosom Buddies to two Oscars in a row!
Established movie stars that come back to Television
Burt Reynolds: From 70s / 80s sex symbol to Evening Shade
Burt Reynolds: From 70s / 80s sex symbol to Evening Shade
Michael J. Fox (see also: previous list): From Back to the Future and Teen Wolf to TV’s Spin City and The Michael J. Fox Show.
Charlie Sheen: from Platoon and Wall Street to TV’s Three and a Half Men and public meltdown.
Tony Curtis from Houdini, Operation Petticoat, and The Great Race to TV’s McCoy and Vega$.
Dick Van Dyke: from Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Diagnosis: Murder
Tom Sellick: from Three Men and a Baby and Mr. Baseball to Blue Bloods
Claire Danes: My So-Called Life should have been a bigger hit, but Danes work in it still attracted a lot of attention, and she went on to make feature films with Winona Ryder, Leonardo DiCaprio, Josh Brolin & Meryl Streep, before returning to TV with better-than-average TV movies like a bio of Temple Grandin, and finally the series Homeland.
Funny note: Temple Grandin is always happy to give advice to people working with autistic people with fewer communication skills than she has, who are running into some kind of problem, and she has remarkable insights. A friend of mine went up to her after a lecture to ask how to explain to someone that her father had died. She had visited her father in hospice, and he explained things to her, she went to the viewing and the funeral, and still thought she would go visit him again.
Grandin said the next time you see a dead bird or squirrel on the ground that is beginning to decay, but is still recognizable, point to it, and say “Squirrel’s dead; dad’s dead.”
Established movie stars that come back to Television
Burt Reynolds: From 70s / 80s sex symbol to Evening Shade
Michael J. Fox (see also: previous list): From Back to the Future and Teen Wolf to TV’s Spin City and The Michael J. Fox Show.
Charlie Sheen: from Platoon and Wall Street to TV’s Three and a Half Men and public meltdown.
Tony Curtis from Houdini, Operation Petticoat, and The Great Race to TV’s McCoy and Vega$.
Dick Van Dyke: from Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Diagnosis: Murder
Tom Selleck: from Three Men and a Baby and Mr. Baseball to Blue Bloods
Claire Danes: My So-Called Life should have been a bigger hit, but Danes work in it still attracted a lot of attention, and she went on to make feature films with Winona Ryder, Leonardo DiCaprio, Josh Brolin & Meryl Streep, before returning to TV with better-than-average TV movies like a bio of Temple Grandin, and finally the series Homeland.
Holly Hunter: from Raising Arizona, Broadcast News and The Incredibles to Starfleet Academy