Definitions of success vary.
I recall an interview with Keifer Southerland sometime after 24 had hit it big. He was commenting that all the hype about 24 had called it “Keifer Southerland’s comeback role” and such. He was like, “Where did I go? I thought I was having a successful carreer.” He had been working on stage and doing smaller projects, not leads in movies.
What makes someone a “star” is not necessarily the quality of work, but primarily the visibility of the roles the pick and get cast for. If they aren’t interested in pursuing those visible roles, then their “stardom” suffers.
Timothy Hutton is a case in point. He starred in a TV show on A&E called “Nero Wolfe”, and now stars in a TV Show called “Leverage”. He’s absolutely awesome in both.
[QUOTE=The Superhero]
This is one of the great urban myths of the cinema. Here’s what Wikipedia says:
[snip]
As usual with anything that ever happened to any movie star, actual events have been overblown into a bigger, weirder, more nonsensical story. Yeah, he’s got a couple of scars, but he’s not the Phantom of the Opera or anything.
[/QUOTE]
Thank You! I’ve been a victim of that myth.
And I’ve seen both Corvette Summer and Slipstream. With the latter, there’s a reason nobody has heard of it. Though Hamill is nearly unrecognizable, being someone bulked up and wearing a full beard.
[QUOTE=CalMeacham]
Mark Hamill appeared in Slipstream over a decade after The Empire Strikes Back with Ben Kingsley and Murray F. Abraham == pretty impressive for a movie nobody ever saw.
[/QUOTE]
Don’t forget Bill Paxton and Robbie Coltrane.