# "One Hit" Actors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569 "2021-09-12T23:02:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/202 "2021-09-18T23:43:27Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Hamill performed in a stage production of _Guys and Dolls_ as well. Right after that is one of my favorite Simpsons quotes: “How was I supposed to know it’s not a REAL spaceship?” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UixoYj1CheM/maxresdefault.jpg "Mark Hamill VS Angry Nerds The Simpsons") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UixoYj1CheM&t=134) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/203 "2021-09-19T10:05:08Z")
> [@Polarity](#): > > Colin Farrell had a great run around 2002. After minority report, I was pretty sure he was gonna be the next Tom Cruise type leading man for action movies. Didn’t turn out that way tho. This is another example, I think, where the actor decided he wasn’t interested in this track. He’s pretty successfully reinvented himself as an off kilter character actor. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/204 "2021-09-19T10:56:00Z")
I guess, if you have F/U money already, you don’t need to do a Jaws 4 to build a house, you take the jobs you actually want. I just looked him up and Mark Hamill has 5 Broadway shows on his resume. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2021, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/205 "2021-09-19T11:00:39Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I just looked him up and Mark Hamill has 5 Broadway shows on his resume. Did one of them close after 4 days? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/206 "2021-09-19T11:12:29Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Did one of them close after 4 days? It looks like Harrigan N Hart closed after 4 performances. He was also in the short lived Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, that was 30 performances. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/207 "2021-09-19T18:28:45Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > how about Jamie Foxx Missed _Django Unchained_, that was pretty big? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/208 "2021-09-20T15:49:10Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Hamill performed in a stage production of _Guys and Dolls_ as well. He was also one of the actors to play **The Elephant Man** on Broadway, in Bernard Pomerance’s play of that name. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/209 "2021-10-01T10:11:38Z")
I’m assuming for Jerry Maguire, but he was the star of the notable Boyz in the Hood (which was considered a breakthrough role) and did about a half dozen major studio films before then. Had a bunch of starring vehicles of mixed success (co-headlined a major film with Robert Deniro, was Radio, etc) and supporting roles in very well received films (As Good As it Gets, Men of Honor) but his career stalled out and went the direct to video and low budget route about a decade later. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/210 "2021-10-01T14:19:38Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Peter Billingsley, of Christmas Story fame? He’s acted sporadically since then, though nothing was a hit (he did have a bit part in Iron Man but it’s safe to say he wasn’t why it was a blockbuster). He’s done a lot of directing and producing, though, so he’s had a successful career, just on the other side of the camera. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/211 "2021-10-01T16:59:10Z")
> [@HelenABucket](#): > > Didn’t Tomei win TWO Oscars? She isn’t an A-lister, but she’s great in everything she does. No, she was nominated three times, but only won once. But you are correct in spirit - she has been nominated for, and won, numerous acting awards. Multiple golden globe noms, screen actor’s guild awards, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/212 "2021-10-03T05:24:21Z")
How about Daniel J. Travanti for this thread? He was brilliant on _Hill Street Blues_, five straight Emmy nominations with two wins, but never came close to those heights again. As it happens, I am watching Travanti right now, playing a Space Hippie on an episode of _Lost in Space_. After that, your career can only get better. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/213 "2021-10-03T14:09:43Z")
The most spectacular one-hit wonder I can think of is Igor Keblušek, who was a Czechoslovakian student at the Moscow School State Institute for Foreign Affairs in 1982 when a director at Moscow Television, having seen him in a crowd, declared that he was going to star as “Mr. X” in her new adaptation of the 1926 Viennese operetta Die Zirkusprinzessin (The Circus Princess). He struggled against it, as his lifetime ambition was to be a diplomat, but she had more political clout than he did, and his father (already a diplomat) finally advised him that “Not every actor can be a diplomat, but every diplomat must be an actor.” So he took the job—and Принцесса цирка turned out to be a huge hit. To this day, it’s still regarded by the Russian public as a classic, and on important anniversaries of its initial broadcast, he finds himself back in Russia, doing the talk-show circuit. But he still doesn’t want to be an actor. Here’s a clip to show you why. The essence of the lyric is “Chicks dig hussars”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CPraFxA8omE/hqdefault.jpg "Эй, гусар - Принцесса цирка") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPraFxA8omE) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/214 "2021-10-17T05:50:46Z")
[Michelle Johnson](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001400/), [Blame It on Rio](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086973/?ref_=nm_knf_t1). Okay, this movie was not a monster hit, but it had a terrific cast and she really stood out in it. Watching it, I would have predicted bigger things for her instead of co-star Demi Moore. She has worked steadily in other movies, some great and some not, but in smaller supporting roles. She has done a lot of television, but the only time I know of that she carried the episode was TALES FROM THE CRYPT, when she pissed off the wrong bunch of lumberjacks. (I’d thought she was in the film version of A CHORUS LINE, but that was Michelle Johns_t_on, another pretty young blonde.) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/215 "2021-10-17T15:11:02Z")
**Chris Makepeace**? I remember him from Meatballs, My Bodyguard and The Falcon and the Snowman. When those films were released, he was 15, 16 and 21 years of age, respectively, so you might consider him to have been a child actor. His [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Makepeace) entry says he’s been working as an assistant director since 2001. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/216 "2021-10-18T04:03:59Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > How about Daniel J. Travanti for this thread? He was brilliant on _Hill Street Blues_ , five straight Emmy nominations with two wins, but never came close to those heights again. Though I never watched _Hill Street Blues_ and am not familiar with Travanti, the way you’ve described him makes me think of David Hyde Pierce of _Frasier_ fame. Eleven Emmy nominations with five wins, and he seemed like a household name during the peak of _Frasier_, but outside of that, he’s done sporadic supporting roles and most of his work has been in theater. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/217 "2021-10-18T12:02:14Z")
How about everyone but John Travolta,on **Welcome Back, Kotter**? ---
**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:** [October 18, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/218 "2021-10-18T12:45:42Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > **Chris Makepeace**? That’s a good one. He had a lot of hype around him when he did Meatballs, but he faded pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/219 "2021-10-18T14:13:54Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > **Chris Makepeace**? > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That’s a good one. He had a lot of hype around him when he did Meatballs, but he faded pretty fast… Uh, excuse me - Vamp? Grace Jones with no dialogue? The younger Pfeiffer sister? Albino street gang? Albino. Street. Gang. It’s right up there with Shakes the Clown (aka ‘the Citizen Kane of drunken clown films’) as a pillar of Western film canon 🙂. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/220 "2021-10-18T14:17:05Z")
I’d add Chris Makepeace to the long list of people who didn’t move from child actor to adult actor. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/221 "2021-10-19T00:00:41Z")
What the…??? 210 posts without a mention of Robert Evans?? > **[Robert Evans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Evans)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930 – October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby (1968), Love Story (1970), The Godfather (1972), and Chinatown (1974). > Evans began his career in a successful business venture with his brother, selling women's apparel. In 1956, while on a business trip, he was by chance spotted by actress Norma Shearer, who thought he w... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=12)