# "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:** 12
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/222 "2021-10-19T17:50:19Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > How about everyone but John Travolta,on **Welcome Back, Kotter**? I was surprised to see Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs on an episode of Chuck the other day. He’s been working steadily since Welcome Back but nothing spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/223 "2021-10-19T18:01:14Z")
What was the “one hit” he acted in? Obviously he’s been involved in several big hits as a producer. ---
**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, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/224 "2021-10-19T18:05:44Z")
He was famously in _The Sun Also Rises_, which wasn’t a hit but was pretty notorious as the _Heaven’s Gate_ or _Ishtar_ of its day: huge budget, lots of stars, highly anticipated, etc. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/225 "2021-10-21T12:37:50Z")
Jennifer Beals. . . .Flashdance, big hit, then nothing, at all that I can recall. I just saw her in Vampire’s Kiss with Nick Cage and I think that predates Flashdance. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/226 "2021-10-21T12:55:04Z")
She was a lead in _The L Word_, which (at least in its earlier seasons) was critically acclaimed and had strong ratings. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/227 "2021-10-21T13:20:33Z")
Sure. But, she was the hottest actor around when Flashdance hit. Think of Pretty Woman and Julia Roberts. It was kinda similar with Jennifer Beals and Flashdance but with much different results. Also, Timothy Bottoms is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/228 "2021-10-21T14:17:49Z")
What about Linda Kozlowski from Crocodile Dundee and it’s sequels? I just checked her in Wikipedia and, though she has been in a few other things, she seems to have disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/229 "2021-10-21T14:32:51Z")
I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/230 "2021-10-21T14:39:16Z")
If you’re counting Crocodile Dundee and its sequels as “one hit,” why not include Paul Hogan? He was huge when he burst onto the scene in the original but has had a pretty sparse resume since then and certainly nothing notable outside of his Mick Dundee character. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/231 "2021-10-21T14:47:53Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > why not include Paul Hogan? He was huge when he burst onto the scene in the original but has had a pretty sparse resume since then and certainly nothing notable outside of his Mick Dundee character. Yeah, but did anyone actually expect big things from him? He was the Australian version of Jim Varney. Actually, another Aussie - Yahoo Serious - brings up this Simpson’s reference: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xq0XNILIYTw/hqdefault.jpg "I know those words, but that sign makes no sense") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq0XNILIYTw) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/232 "2021-10-21T15:47:42Z")
Yahoo Serious, who annoyed one Australian SF writer so much that the author had a character from the year **2055** criticizing “Young Einstein” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/233 "2021-10-21T19:52:48Z")
Robert Evans, remembered for having a duffel bag filled with Polaroids of the vulvas of his many sex partners, is buried in the same [cemetery as Basil Rathbone and Malcom X, and other notables.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferncliff_Cemetery) ---
**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 21, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/234 "2021-10-21T20:05:44Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Yeah, but did anyone actually expect big things from him? He was the Australian version of Jim Varney. Not here he wasn’t. I remember a huge amount of buzz around him being the next big Bruce-Willis-type action star. I think Paul Hogan fits the criterion. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/235 "2021-10-22T14:57:57Z")
Absolutely! Good point ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/236 "2021-10-23T14:31:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I think Paul Hogan fits the criterion. Hogan is surely one of the few qualifying entries who got an Oscar nomination for his big hit. (For writing it, not acting, but still.) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/237 "2021-10-24T02:28:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Probably Irene Cara, also. She had “Fame” and “Flashdance”, but nothing else of note that I can remember. She’s Electric Company. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/238 "2021-10-24T03:16:38Z")
I came to nominate [Wilhelm von Humberg.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Homburg) He played a henchman in _Die Hard_ and then “Vigo the Carpathian” in _Ghostbusters II_. He hit some rough times before and after that, and never really capitalized on his hench-ability. Tripler It’s a well-known Hollywood term. Trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/239 "2021-10-24T04:59:35Z")
He played a suicidal townsman in _In the Mouth of Madness_ as well (one of my favorite movies)! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/240 "2021-10-24T05:20:16Z")
he does a ton of voice work these days … pretty much voicing different versions of miles … my favorite was Disney’s lilo and stitch ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/241 "2021-10-24T15:20:19Z")
I don’t see David Hyde Pierce’s name in the [cast list of Lilo & Stitch](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275847/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm), which, BTW, came out in 2002, 19 years ago, when _Frasier_ was still on the air. He did have a handful of voice roles around that time, but his last movie credit was 2010 and his last TV credit 2017 (though apparently he does have a supporting role in an upcoming Russell Crowe movie, and the role of Julia Child’s husband in an upcoming HBO Max series about her.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=13)