# "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:** 4
**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, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/61 "2021-09-13T15:14:45Z")
> [@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 a standout in Dominick and Eugene, playing the mentally challenged brother of Ray Liotta. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/62 "2021-09-13T15:22:35Z")
> [@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 think you’re overstating that role a bit, I think he has like 4 minutes of screen time in _Pulp Fiction._ ---
**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, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/63 "2021-09-13T15:27:01Z")
Heath Ledger and Cesar Romero would respectfully disagree. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/64 "2021-09-13T15:43:40Z")
Seems to me that a lot of these fall into two categories- child/teen actors who had one big role, and then never really found their footing, or character/supporting actors who had one big role, and then went back to character acting. Or some sort of found their names in dual-star or ensemble casts, not as sole protagonists. I’m thinking about Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Hulce here- both of them are best known for movies where they weren’t the sole protagonists, and were cast either as part of an ensemble, or as part of a pair of stars. I would say Mark Hamill stands out to me; he basically came out of nowhere, starred as Luke Skywalker, and then faded into voice acting semi-obscurity. ---
**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, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/65 "2021-09-13T15:43:53Z")
Why do you have to diss Cock Knocker like that? > [@bump](#): > > faded into voice acting semi-obscurity He’s a God of voice acting. Which is niche, but hardly _obscurity_, semi- or otherwise… his series of Joker-reads-Trump videos were a big hit online. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/66 "2021-09-13T15:49:58Z")
Michael Sarrazin was the new hot boy on the street when he made **The Flim Flam Man** with George C Scott and Sue Lyon (who also might qualify for this). He worked continuously for another 40 years, mostly bit parts and TV appearances; some highlights included **The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, The Loves and Times of Scaramouche** (he played the title roles in both of these), and he played Frankenstein’s monster on some TV remake in the 70s, but never really regained his momentum. He had a small part in **On the Road** nine years ago and apparently died right after that. Marjoe Gortner, a former child evangelist, starred in **Marjoe** , an expose of the tent preacher racket, in 1972. His subsequent career, which lasted about 23 years, kind of defines “diminishing returns.” He starred in **Starcrash** , the kind of crappy sci-fi vehicle people stopped making after **Star Wars** , right after **Star Wars** was released, and kind of spiraled downward from that. He was also on the rebooted version of **Laugh-In** in 1977-78. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/67 "2021-09-13T15:54:38Z")
Jewel (the singer) was cast in a leading role in a 1999 film, _Ride with the Devil_. Hearing that she was cast as the lead in a major motion picture made me think she might become one of those superstars that’s famous for both her music and her acting, like JLo or Demi Lovato. But that never happened. Stacey Dash also comes to mind. She starred in clueless along with a bunch of other actors who went on to some pretty successful careers (Paul Rudd and Brittany Murphy, for example). But I think people only know her as an actress from Clueless. (I would put “news contributor” in a separate category from acting.) It’s hard to know what exactly fits the OP, since both of those people did make other appearances on TV. But anything else they were offered seems incredibly minor in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/68 "2021-09-13T15:57:31Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Marjoe Gortner, a former child evangelist, starred in **Marjoe** , an expose of the tent preacher racket, in 1972. His subsequent career, which lasted about 23 years, kind of defines “diminishing returns.” He starred in **Starcrash** , the kind of crappy sci-fi vehicle people stopped making after **Star Wars** , right after **Star Wars** was released, and kind of spiraled downward from that. He was also on the rebooted version of **Laugh-In** in 1977-78. You neglected to mention his tour-de-force performances in _Bobby Jo and the Outlaw_, _Food of the Gods_, and _American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt_. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/69 "2021-09-13T15:58:51Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Jewel (the singer) was cast in a leading role in a 1999 film, _Ride with the Devil_ . Hearing that she was cast as the lead in a major motion picture made me think she might become one of those superstars that’s famous for both her music and her acting, like JLo or Demi Lovato. But that never happened. Someone who I was thinking of was Jennifer Hudson. She got rave reviews for her role in _Dreamgirls_ and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year. She’s certainly had plenty of acting work since then, but nothing that seemed to rise to the level of that initial promise. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/70 "2021-09-13T16:01:04Z")
Obscure for the star of the fourth highest grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation), when you think that he did not star in ANYTHING of any real note after Jedi, and before “The Force Awakens”. I don’t doubt it was by choice; I can’t imagine that the attraction of being a voice actor and sometime actor in low-budget sci-fi, and raking in the Star Wars residuals, wasn’t huge. He had his “fuck you money” so to speak, and took advantage of it I’m assuming. Another one who I think falls into the same category, although even more dramatic is Sam Worthington. Star of **Avatar** , and then not much else of note besides playing Perseus in some IMO, bad Greek mythology movies. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/71 "2021-09-13T16:07:03Z")
Craig Charles played the lead in one of _the_ shows of my childhood, Red Dwarf. Though its still being made, or at least was until recently, its not what it once was (there is a reason British shows don’t normally have too many seasons) > **[Craig Charles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Charles)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera Coronation Street. He presented the gladiator-style game show Robot Wars from 1998 to 2004, and narrated the comedy endurance show Takeshi's Castle. As a DJ, he appears on BBC Radio 6 Music. > Charles first appeared on tel... But he’s done nothing else in terms of fiction on TV (he hosted the UK version of Robot Wars), though has had a fairly successful career as a DJ on BBC radio. He had some well publicized (thanks to scumbag UK tabloids) struggles with drug abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/72 "2021-09-13T16:07:36Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Another one who I think falls into the same category, although even more dramatic is Sam Worthington. Star of **Avatar** , and then not much else of note besides playing Perseus in some IMO, bad Greek mythology movies. When I think of Sam Worthington I also think of Taylor Kitsch. He gets steady work but never got the ‘star’ role that studios tried to give him. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/73 "2021-09-13T16:10:34Z")
The only reason Christopher Jones had an acting career was his resemblance to James Dean. Mr. Jones was in two seasons of a TV Western before gaining cult status and PR push as the star of _Wild in the Streets_ (1968). He hit the bigtime in _The Looking Glass War_ (1970) - a John Le Carré adaptation that flopped - on the basis of which legendary director David Lean unwisely cast him as the lead in _Ryan’s Daughter_…not realizing that Mr. Jones had been dubbed in the previous film. Mr. Jones was also dubbed for Lean’s film, proof that it takes more than looks to make an actor. Apart from a supporting role in the obscure _Mad Dog Time_ in 1996, Mr. Jones never acted again (not a great loss, imo). ---
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/74 "2021-09-13T16:15:12Z")
I think of Taylor Kitsch often, I think the studios were trying to make him happen ten yrs ago and the works never panned out. Like that scifi film? or even that Battleship one. ---
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/75 "2021-09-13T16:17:12Z")
Or, they won’t be able to find any other project to define them. Like many years ago the stars of MASH , some stated not listing MASH on their resumes, because 1)it’s dated 2)nothing else would be as big as MASH. ---
**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, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/76 "2021-09-13T16:24:44Z")
Two ultimate one-hit actors are **Harold Russell** and **Haing S. Ngor** , two non-professional actors who won acting Oscars. Russell lost his hands during World War II, and was cast a couple years later in _The Best Years of Our Lives_, about servicemen returning and adjusting to civilian life. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for his inspiring performance, and won for Best Supporting Actor, too. He’s the only person to win two Academy Awards for the same performance. ---
**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, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/77 "2021-09-13T16:34:53Z")
Speaking of MASH, Jamie Farr was spat out the bottom of the game show industry after his run. Same with Gary Burghoff, who pretty much made a career (both movie and TV series) of the show, then ended up doing game shows. I guess one could argue that this doesn’t really fit the requirements of the OP, however, as neither of them would have been thought of as star material. ---
**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 13, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/78 "2021-09-13T16:41:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Speaking of MASH, Jamie Farr was spat out the bottom of the game show industry after his run. Same with Gary Burghoff, who pretty much made a career (both movie and TV series) of the show, then ended up doing game shows. I guess one could argue that this doesn’t really fit the requirements of the OP, however, as neither of them would have been thought of as star material Jon Hamm, though, seems like quite possibly the most perfectly-positioned TV actor _ever_ to springboard off his award-winning role as a handsome leading man with great comic timing, only for years and years of Hollywood ‘star’ treatment to — er, not quite ensue. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/79 "2021-09-13T16:47:34Z")
I think the first time most of us noticed **Rutger Hauer** was in _Blade Runner_ (a charismatic performance topped off with that magnificent soliloquy). He was in a lot of films after that but rarely rated much higher than a B list action staple. ---
**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, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/80 "2021-09-13T16:47:53Z")
Fwiw, Hamm has been repeatedly _asked_ to be the big star in a bunch of stuff, but he’s always said no. It’s one thing if you’re trying to break through and fail, it’s another thing if you’re apparently not interested. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=5)