# "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:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/41 "2021-09-13T05:06:21Z")
Hillary Swank. In 1999, she came out of nowhere and won an Oscar for _Boys Don’t Cry._ Then, after five years of nothing, she won another Oscar for _Million Dollar Baby_. And that’s it - she hasn’t really made any impact since. ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/42 "2021-09-13T07:34:40Z")
Parminder Nagra was excellent in the movie Bend It Like Beckham and truly carried the movie. I have never seen her in any other film. I know she had a small role on ER for a couple of seasons. She even popped up for a small part for 2-3 episodes in Thirteen Reasons Why. She deserved so much better. Her Bend It costar Keira Knightley was just as unknown as Parminder, but she went on to make countless films, as did costar Jonathan Rhys Meyers. She should have had just as prominant of a film career as those two. It’s pretty unbelievable that Bend It Like Beckham came out 20 YEARS AGO next year, in 2022. Summer Bishil was tremendous in the 2007 film Towelhead, directed by Alan Ball. Making her debut, she acted well alongside stars like Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette and Maria Bello. Unfortunately, she has not appeared in any notable films since. She did star on the TV series The Magicians which recently ended its run. Seems to be a pattern. Attractive and talented young actresses of color have it tougher and don’t seem to be respected, despite their talent. This is super unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/43 "2021-09-13T07:39:26Z")
Eric Stoltz had a rather big and important role in _Pulp Fiction_ as Lance, the guy who sells John Travolta the heroin that almost kills Uma Thurman. ---
**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 13, 2021, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/44 "2021-09-13T10:16:20Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Carey Elwes, Mandy Patinkin and Robin Wright never did re-attain the heights of their roles in ‘The Princess Bride’. All went on to secondary roles in theater or television. i don’t think _The Princess Bride_ was the blockbuster you’re implying here. e.g. for Wright, _Forrest Gump_ was way more of a “height”, and she wasn’t “secondary” in _House of Cards_. ---
**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 13, 2021, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/45 "2021-09-13T10:20:06Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Here’s an example: Bronson Pinchot. He stole the scenes he was in with Eddie Murphy in _Beverly Hills Cop_ and there was a lot of buzz about him afterwards. But nothing really happened for him after that. Aah, I get it, you’re one of those people who think TV work doesn’t count as real acting, or something. Because Balki is way more famous a character than (had to look this up…) Serge. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/46 "2021-09-13T11:00:10Z")
And Lou Diamond Phillips would be his Hollywood one-hit doppelganger for _La Bamba_. ---
**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 13, 2021, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/47 "2021-09-13T11:40:34Z")
As noted above, child actors are kind of a special case. Nevertheless, Carrie Henn is kind of the apotheosis of a one-hit actor. She is absolutely iconic as Newt in _Aliens,_ and she has **literally** done nothing else. If she’d wanted, she could easily have parlayed this into a career, but either she or her parents or both weren’t interested, so she did this one massively prominent role, and then moved on. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/48 "2021-09-13T12:28:35Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Gretchen Mol famously appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair as Hollywood’s next “It Girl” in 1998 after eye catching performances in _Rounders_ and _Donny Brasco_ . She’s worked steadily, but came nowhere close to the hype generated by the article. Penelope Ann Miller had a similar arc-- she had “it girl” buzz at one point, her “breakout” role probably being _Carlito’s Way_. After that she had prominent roles in a couple more big studio movies-- _The Shadow_ and _The Relic_, but I believe they both fizzled at the box office. After that she had steady work but nothing too big. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/49 "2021-09-13T12:44:23Z")
Eddie Furlong. Just 13 when he famously starred in **T2**. Did a string of indie films, an Aerosmith video, then enjoyed a second peak in 1998 with three films: the critically acclaimed **American History X** , John Waters’ **Pecker** , and **Detroit Rock City**. Then 2000 came and he basically disappeared. Had drug problems and was not brought back for **Terminator 3**. Did some crappy staright-to-video B-movies like the third **The Crow** sequel and the 2009 **Night of the Demons** remake. Personally, his adulthood has been a complete disaster. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/50 "2021-09-13T13:01:28Z")
> [@BigDfromLA](#): > > Parminder Nagra was excellent in the movie Bend It Like Beckham and truly carried the movie. I have never seen her in any other film. I know she had a small role on ER for a couple of seasons. She was already 27 in Bend it Like Beckham. She was then a lead in ER for 7 years. I was sorry not to see her in more large roles after that, but don’t minimize her role on ER. From [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parminder_Nagra): > Nagra became the longest-serving cast member and lead actor of _ER_ and remained so until the series concluded with season 15: episode 22, the two-hour series finale titled "[And in the End…](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_in_the_End...) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/51 "2021-09-13T13:28:57Z")
Mark Hamill had essentially one role: Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films. Other than that, all he has done is voice acting in a few animated TV programs. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2021, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/52 "2021-09-13T13:34:30Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > > Carey Elwes, Mandy Patinkin and Robin Wright never did re-attain the heights of their roles in ‘The Princess Bride’. All went on to secondary roles in theater or television. > > Hmmm…I dunno about any of them. It becomes an issue of the hazy line between undeniable high point and “one hit wonder” I suppose. Wright, Patinkin and Elwes have all had major exposure, a few awards and a boatload of nominations. Afterall you did say actor not film actor 🙂 . Mandy Patinkin was a star on Broadway even before _The Princess Bride_, and is probably better known there. He’s also appeared on quite a few TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/53 "2021-09-13T13:36:03Z")
Bud Cort, co-star of _Harold and Maude_ (1971). ---
**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:** [September 13, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/54 "2021-09-13T13:49:47Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Eric Stoltz had a rather big and important role in _Pulp Fiction_ as Lance, the guy who sells John Travolta the heroin that almost kills Uma Thurman. I also saw him in an episode of _Law & Order: SVU_ where his name was misspelled in the credits. Seems like that would be a bit of a letdown for an actor. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/55 "2021-09-13T14:18:37Z")
One could probably say the same about Halle Berry. She was riveting in “Monster’s Ball” and won an Oscar for it (the first woman of color to do so). She was one of the highest paid actresses in the 2000s, but everything since MB has been pretty disappointing, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![wjChia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wjChia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wjChia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/56 "2021-09-13T14:21:44Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Other than that, all he has done is voice acting in a few animated TV programs. Dude, he’s THE definitive Joker. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/57 "2021-09-13T14:26:04Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > One could probably say the same about Halle Berry. She was riveting in “Monster’s Ball” and won an Oscar for it (the first woman of color to do so). She was one of the highest paid actresses in the 2000s, but everything since MB has been pretty disappointing, IMO. I think there are a few actors who didn’t have big career post-Oscar, such as the ones listed in [this article from Insider](https://www.insider.com/oscars-curse-2019-2). ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/58 "2021-09-13T14:58:18Z")
This list has to include Sam Jones (_Flash Gordon_) and Cleavon Little (_Blazing Saddles_). ---
**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 13, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/59 "2021-09-13T15:01:07Z")
Helen Gahagan (later Helen Gahagan Douglas). She was big on Broadway, then moved to Hollywood where she had only one role – the starring role in Merian C. Cooper’s iconic adaptation of H. Rider Haggard’s novel **She**. Douglas’ depiction and costuming undoubtedly influenced the look of the Evil Queen in Disney’s **Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs** , but she had nothing to do with that film. (It also influenced Ray Harryhausen, who pretty clearly based the Lunar Throne Room in **First Men in the Moon** on the one in _She_) She never did another movie. She hated the “atmosphere” in Hollywood. She had a daughter, and around then became politically aware of things like the plight of migrant workers. She had tea with a Nazi sympathizer in Vienna and that, too, motivated her to politics. She became a member of the House of Representatives and later ran against Nixon for Senate (she’s the one who called him “Tricky Dick”) She returned to acting, but only onstage (She got the surname “Douglas” from marrying actor Melvyn Douglas). Regarding Tom Hulce, by the way – besides Animal House, Amadeus, and Hunchback of Notre Dame, he was in Kenneth Branaugh’s **Frankenstein** , playing Victor’s companion Henry Clerval. He’s had lots of other roles, but those are the only ones that stand out in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/60 "2021-09-13T15:11:38Z")
Jean Hagen had a spectacular star turn in _Singin’ In The Rain_ as the hilariously stupid Lina Lamont, earning her an Academy Award nomination. She followed that with three seasons of _Make Room For Daddy_ with Danny Thomas but when she decided to leave the show Thomas was so annoyed he had her character killed off. She never really got her film or television career going again. She suffered from alcoholism and died of cancer at 54. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Regarding Tom Hulce, by the way – besides Animal House, Amadeus, and Hunchback of Notre Dame, he was in Kenneth Branaugh’s **Frankenstein** , playing Victor’s companion Henry Clerval. He’s had lots of other roles, but those are the only ones that stand out in my mind. He was quite good in a supporting role in _Parenthood_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=4)