# Once promising actors who went off the rails later in their careers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237 "2020-05-21T12:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/21 "2020-05-25T22:13:42Z")
I think you can chalk some of it up to poor choices in scripts and directors. Michael Caine, for example, was an A-List star for years, then started cashing in by taking roles in increasingly bad movies. Some actors just have a knack for finding the directors and roles that make them look good and who know how to work around their limitations. ---
**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:** [May 25, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/22 "2020-05-25T22:25:15Z")
Sir Lawrence Oliver took a lot of bad roles toward the end of his career just for the money. John Gilbert couldn’t adjust to the acting style of the sound era (his voice wasn’t that bad, contrary to legend, but the dialog was terrible\*,) \*\* Singin’in the Rain\* alludes to this. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/23 "2020-05-25T22:40:41Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I think you can chalk some of it up to poor choices in scripts and directors. Michael Caine, for example, was an A-List star for years, then started cashing in by taking roles in increasingly bad movies. Some actors just have a knack for finding the directors and roles that make them look good and who know how to work around their limitations. Caine was reported to have said, about _Jaws: The Revenge_: > [@](#): > > I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/24 "2020-05-25T23:49:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ve read that part of the reason that Brando gained weight was an intentional choice on his part – he felt that, due to his good looks, people didn’t take him seriously for his acting skills, and so, he got fat in order to no longer be attractive. Maybe that explains Orson Welles, who in his younger days was said to be the next Tyrone Power. Not that Welles’ later acting was all that terrible. He was an amusing Le Chiffre in “Casino Royale”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/25 "2020-05-25T23:54:57Z")
> [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](#): > > John Travolta -twice. Once after Saturday Night Fever and then again after some successful movies starting with Pulp Fiction. Travolta once said Hollywood likes kicking him out so they can welcome him back. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/26 "2020-05-26T00:03:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Maybe that explains Orson Welles, who in his younger days was said to be the next Tyrone Power. > > Not that Welles’ later acting was all that terrible. He was an amusing Le Chiffre in “Casino Royale”. He solely cashed in on bad roles in mediocre movies and advertisements to finance his own projects, which unfortunately almost never got finished the older he got. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/27 "2020-05-26T00:14:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Michael Caine, for example, was an A-List star for years, then started cashing in by taking roles in increasingly bad movies. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Sir Lawrence Oliver took a lot of bad roles toward the end of his career just for the money. Yes, but did their _acting_ get worse (which is what the OP is talking about), or just their roles? They may have been dialing it in while still able to give a good performance if they chose. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/28 "2020-05-26T00:16:54Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > > I think you can chalk some of it up to poor choices in scripts and directors. Michael Caine, for example, was an A-List star for years, then started cashing in by taking roles in increasingly bad movies. Some actors just have a knack for finding the directors and roles that make them look good and who know how to work around their limitations. > > Caine was reported to have said, about _Jaws: The Revenge_: > > > [@](#): > > > > I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific. Granted, but: Caine was in his mid-fifties then; and, with his best leading-man days behind him, he picked up yet another Oscar nomination (for _Quiet American_) and yet another win (for _Cider House Rules_) before he became Christopher Nolan’s good-luck charm in lucrative blockbuster after lucrative blockbuster and on and on without end. Since there was no way he could keep headlining the types of movies that made him a star in his thirties, what the hell else was the guy going to do with his sixties? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/29 "2020-05-26T00:31:23Z")
Linsey Lohan seemed to be a talented actress who’s had all the opportunities in the world to mature into a respected Hollywood regular but between her own actions and her parents turned herself into a joke of a talent that nobody takes seriously anymore. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/30 "2020-05-26T01:19:43Z")
Shia Lebeouf seems to be struggling with some personal issues. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2020, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/31 "2020-05-26T02:06:45Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Yes, but did their _acting_ get worse (which is what the OP is talking about), or just their roles? They may have been dialing it in while still able to give a good performance if they chose. Olivier had his share of bad acting toward the end – _The Boys from Brazil_ or _Inchon_, for example. He still had the chops, but if he didn’t care for a project, he overacted blatantly. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/32 "2020-05-26T02:23:38Z")
I happened to catch _American Graffiti_ on cable yesterday. I’ve seen the movie enough that I start looking for little things. Cindy Williams had the most amazing range of facial expressions throughout the film, particularly her being simultaneously angry at, devoted to, and afraid of losing Ron Howard’s character. She also got good reviews for her role in Francis Ford Coppola’s _The Conversation._ Unfortunately, her next career move was\* Laverne & Shirley\*, which did not call for a subtle, nuanced performance. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/33 "2020-05-26T02:50:50Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Shia Lebeouf seems to be struggling with some personal issues. That may be true but he has generally been praised for his acting. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/34 "2020-05-26T09:33:45Z")
Nicolas Cage was great in Kick-Ass, but that may have been partly because he was playing off Chloe Grace Moretz, who was amazing in that movie. He might be one of those actors who really needs a good co-star to bounce off. Speaking of Cage and Travolta, I recently watched Face/Off, because it was one of the few 90s action movies I hadn’t got round to seeing at the time (because it sounded awful), and it has surprisingly good reviews. Most of it was awful because the storyline was ridiculous, but Travolta was not awful at all. You could really tell when he was the cop character and when he was the villain. Cage was meh (and miscast, which was one of the problems - other characters kept saying how amazingly hot he was), but Travolta really was good. The man can act. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Granted, but: Caine was in his mid-fifties then; and, with his best leading-man days behind him, he picked up yet another Oscar nomination (for _Quiet American_) and yet another win (for _Cider House Rules_) before he became Christopher Nolan’s good-luck charm in lucrative blockbuster after lucrative blockbuster and on and on without end. Since there was no way he could keep headlining the types of movies that made him a star in his thirties, what the hell else was the guy going to do with his sixties? Caine transitioned from an A-lister to a character actor, and became excellent as a character actor. The way he played the roles in Quills and The Dark Knight was very similar, but it still worked. If I see his name in a movie I’m likely to watch it and very unlikely to dislike him in it. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/35 "2020-05-26T13:42:16Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Inspired by the [“Great Movies Marred By One Bad Performance”](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22313617&posted=1#post22313617) thread in which I mentioned Nicholas Cage. > > I think Nick Cage is a pretty good example of this, but his acting always had an eccentric quality to it, so when he started to enthusiastically chew the scenery in later movies it doesn’t seem like it was all \*\*\* that\*\*\* surprising. > > I think the real poster boy for this would be Al Pacino. His performance in “The Godfather” was perfectly restrained and low-key. But somewhere along the line, his acting style transformed into the over-the-top caricature of itself we all know so well: “HOO RAH!!”. Makes me wonder when the transformation began to take place. Was it “Scent of a Woman”? Seems like it was already well established by then. “You’re out of order!!! The whole system is out of order!!!”…is when Pacino turned. You know for a two time Academy Award winner…wed don’t hear much from Kevin Costner. Someone already mentioned Mickey Rourke. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/36 "2020-05-26T20:33:30Z")
I wouldn’t exactly consider Dwayne Johnson to be a great actor but the movies _Jumanji_ and _Journey to the Center of the Eartn_ were rather disappointing. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/37 "2020-05-26T20:56:45Z")
Mel Gibson. The man could practically do no wrong for a solid two decades, then after winning the Oscars with **Braveheart** , he didn’t go fully off the rails right away, but the train was definitely teetering, even before his racist, misogynistic rants were made public. He made \*another \*\*\*Lethal Weapon \*\*sequel, made the legit great **Apocalypto** , but then apparently felt a strong need to assert his American patriotism with a pair of flag-waving schmaltz movies (\*\*The Patriot \*\*and **We Were Soldiers** ) that were both pathetically transparent (and terrible) attempts to get back into the Oscar conversation. After pumping out a series of bad B-movies he took another whack at the Oscar tree with **Hacksaw Ridge** and while more successful than the other two attempts, I personally found it to be boring as shit; it takes almost 90 minutes of bullshit to even get to the actual war. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/38 "2020-05-26T21:18:00Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I wouldn’t exactly consider Dwayne Johnson to be a great actor but the movies _Jumanji_ and _Journey to the Center of the Eartn_ were rather disappointing. I don’t know if anyone ever though of Dwayne Johnson as a “promising actor” but I think the guy knows exactly what kind of actor he is and is at the peak of his career right now. He’s getting the lead role in campy action blockbusters one after another that are making the studios rich and making him rich. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/39 "2020-05-26T22:06:01Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Hey! A thread about Johnny Depp! Depp hasn’t, imo, gone off the rails. He started his career as a teen heart-throb and deliberately steered into some weirder roles to avoid that label. He will still turn in a solid performance when asked. He did **The Tourist** and **Alice In Wonderland** the same year. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237/40 "2020-05-26T22:28:21Z")
Nic Cage is a good actor with a very poor financial sense that led to him taking any role to meet his debts. Terrence Howard was flying high after Hustle & Flow and got a lot of money to star in Iron Man. Then he didn’t make it to the sequel, and it depends on who you ask whether he got greedy or whether they fired him without attempting to negotiate. At any rate, he’s in a pretty successful TV show but it completely nuts, last telling people about the new math he invented. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-promising-actors-who-went-off-the-rails-later-in-their-careers/854237.md?page=3)