# Stars that bucked your expectations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975 "2014-10-30T04:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975/61 "2014-11-02T04:44:12Z")
Let’s see: [ol] [li] **Cuba Gooding Jr.** - After Jerry McGuire it looked like he had the world at his feet (at least he could have been the next Will Smith). Now he’s straight-to-DVD.[/li][li] **Dan Aykroyd** - Thought he was very funny in the original SNL and Doctor Detroit. His career as a leading comedic actor never seemed to pan out.[/li][li] **Jerry Orbach** - Always knew that he was extremely talented after I saw him singing on _ **The Mike Douglas Show** _ and after he starred briefly in the _ **Murder, She Wrote** _ spinoff _ **The Law and Harry McGraw** _. Had no idea that he would have been the best thing to happen to the _ **Law & Order** _ franchise during its entire run. [/li][li] **Richard Gere** - Thought he would have been an “elder statesman” in Hollywood by now. Now he’s a virtual recluse.[/li][li] **Dennis Quaid** - Thought he would have been the “go to” actor in the 2000s. Seems to have fizzled out and now he’s a character actor (when he can get work)[/li][li] **Jasmine Guy** - Much sexier and a much better actress than Halle Berry. Never hit it big.[/li][li] **John Lone** - Great actor who could have Hollywood’s top East Asian actor. Fell off the map and never came back.[/li][li] **Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson** - While he’s not a Shakespearean actor, he has more than proven that he can hold his own in comedies and dramas.Certainly the best wrestler-turned-actor in the business.[/li][li] **Kurt Russel** l - In Hollywood since he was a kid and a strong actor. After a series of bombs in the 1990s, he has virtually disappeared.[/li][li]And finally… **Robert Downey Jr.** - After his drug problems in the 1980s/1990s, I thought that he’d be dead. Now he is one the biggest stars in Hollywood and likely will be for at least the next decade.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975/62 "2014-11-02T06:35:18Z")
When I saw _American Pie_, I was convinced that [Shannon Elizabeth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_Elizabeth) had a huge career ahead of her. I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975/63 "2014-11-02T08:56:17Z")
Not especially pertinent to the OP specifically, but a look at the roster for the tv show _Freaks & Geeks_ is pretty amazing. All these unknown actors who later became stars. Also it’s a freaking amazing tv show. Only lasted 1 season… ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975/64 "2014-11-02T13:08:18Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > You could actually argue that Mcgill’s one of the most prolific character actors working today. [Eric Roberts](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000616/?ref_=nv_sr_1) would be amused by this. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975/65 "2014-11-02T14:02:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Brad Pitt. It’s not that I had low expectations to start with, I had none at all. Then after Se7en and 12 Monkeys I realized the guy was a real actor. I first saw him in that abomination “Cool World”. He was the most watchable thing in it & I was happy years later when I realized it was him in that movie & that he’d gone on to bigger & better things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-that-bucked-your-expectations/702975.md?page=3)