# Surprising Career Arcs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958 "2012-07-02T02:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/81 "2012-07-06T17:57:54Z")
I vote for top posh 60s thespian totty and two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson, who made an abrupt career volte-face in 1992 - not just a volte-face, but also an _about turn_ - and became a Labour MP. Her political career has so far been modest, but she has integrity, and she remains an MP to this day, twenty years later. Which makes her probably the only MP to (a) appear naked in a Ken Russell film (b) [guest-star as Cleopatra](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtHNrRk3lQM) with Morcambe and Wise and (c) appear on The Muppet Show as a [mad pirate](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSHPQA6ZR3o). Dennis Skinner has done none of those things. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/82 "2012-07-07T21:41:42Z")
Peter Weller - Stage Actor, member of The Actors Studio, became known initially for playing villains (various television roles, the film _Firstborn_), moved on to become a favorite in science fiction (_Buckaroo Banzai_, _Robocop_, _Screamers_, TV’s “Odyssey 5” and “Enterprise”), went back to villainous roles on TV (“Dexter”, “24”), meanwhile picking up his Masters in Roman and Renaissance Art at Syracuse, where he is an associate professor. He balanced all of this out by banging Ali MacGraw, Barbara Streisand, and Sela Ward. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/83 "2012-07-07T23:02:15Z")
Peter Weller’s title at Syracuse University isn’t associate professor, since he isn’t even a regular professor. His title is probably adjunct instructor. He doesn’t have a Ph.D. and it appears that he doesn’t even live around there most of the year. He got a master’s from Syracuse in 2004 and is finally getting a doctorate at UCLA this year: > **[Peter Weller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Weller)** > > Peter Weller (born June 24, 1947) is an American actor and television director. > He has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including RoboCop (1987) and its sequel RoboCop 2 (1990), in which he played the title character; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984); and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). He appeared in such films as Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995), the Oliver Stone-produced The New Age (1994), and David Cronenberg's adaptation of William... > **[English News Magazine in Florence | The Florentine](https://www.theflorentine.net)** > > The Florentine: English News Magazine in Florence. The news magazine for Florence lovers: Art, Culture, Food & Wine, Things to do and Classifieds. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/84 "2012-07-07T23:48:42Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Peter Weller’s title at Syracuse University isn’t associate professor, since he isn’t even a regular professor. His title is probably adjunct instructor. He doesn’t have a Ph.D. and it appears that he doesn’t even live around there most of the year. He got a master’s from Syracuse in 2004 and is finally getting a doctorate at UCLA this year: > > [Peter Weller - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Weller) > > [http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=2576&browse-by=Up-Close-Personal](http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=2576&browse-by=Up-Close-Personal) That may well be, but if he actually “got at” Sela Ward, I would say that he can safely claim his title of “One Hell Of A Lucky S.O.B.” without any serious dissent. (That said, Barbara Streisand?!? Oi…) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/85 "2012-07-08T00:15:30Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > The person who immediately came to mind to me is Scarlett Johansson. She had the supporting role in _Ghost World_ which starred Thora Birch, but we all know whose career took off from there. Thora Birch’s career nosedive has a hell of a lot more to do with [her dad](http://www.avclub.com/articles/thora-birchs-creepy-exporn-star-dad-gets-her-fired,49037/) than her talent. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/86 "2012-07-08T00:28:09Z")
How about construction worker/dance instructor/cab driver/nightclub singer/professional boxer Charles Durning, who made ends meet as a bartender and a security guard before leaving it all behind to earn nine Emmy nominations and counting, years after hitting Omaha Beach on D-Day, years after working in a burlesque house? ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/87 "2012-07-08T00:33:36Z")
And who can forget craggy-faced supporting actor Lance Henriksen - famous for his appearances in _The Terminator_, _Aliens_, and _Millennium_, plus dozens upon dozens of others - who has or had a sideline as [a master potter](http://web.archive.org/web/20010419222857/http://www.bylancehenriksen.com/)? I don’t know if he still makes pots (the website is long gone). What nightmares did he see as the clay span around on the potter’s wheel? Spinning, forever spinning. I tell you, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be unwilling to drink from it and wary of storing food in it. In fact, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be tempted to give it back. I would place it on his doorstep in the middle of the night and leave quietly. And when I woke up the next morning it would be as if I had been reborn. That sunrise would be the most vivid sunrise. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/88 "2012-07-08T00:53:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I wouldn’t have pegged Shakespearean veteran and supporting actor on _I, Claudius_ Patrick Stewart to become a starship captain on a sci-fi series, let alone a cartoon voice actor playing such an obvious parody of himself on _Family Guy_. And as, Avery Bullock, the amoral, possibly psychopathic Deputy Director of the CIA in American Dad. **"Do you have any Gatorade? I seem to have left all my electrolytes with your daughter**" ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/89 "2012-07-08T03:38:34Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > I tell you, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be unwilling to drink from it and wary of storing food in it. In fact, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be tempted to give it back. I would place it on his doorstep in the middle of the night and leave quietly. And when I woke up the next morning it would be as if I had been reborn. That sunrise would be the most vivid sunrise. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/90 "2012-07-08T05:48:17Z")
Mark Hamill. He did some voices for a few animated shows, and some live-action TV, before he did Star Wars. And afterwards, the part that took off was… the voice work. He’s one of the premiere voice artists in the world now; his version of the Joker from the Batman animated universe is legendary. He’s occasionally shown up in live-action footage for video games, most infamously the Wing Commander series, but Hamill turns up in the voice credits for so many things you start to wonder if he ever sleeps. I sincerely hope he likes having legions of nerd fans, because he’s never going to get rid of them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/91 "2012-07-08T22:49:06Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > I tell you, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be unwilling to drink from it and wary of storing food in it. In fact, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be tempted to give it back. I would place it on his doorstep in the middle of the night and leave quietly. And when I woke up the next morning it would be as if I had been reborn. That sunrise would be the most vivid sunrise. On a further reflection I think I’ve come up with a new television horror anthology series. I call it _Lance Henriksen: Kiln In the Name Of_. At the beginning of each episode Lance Henriksen shows us one of his pots, and tells us - the audience - about the horrible fate that befell the original owner of the pot. And at the end he delivers a spooky send-off line, and we see that he’s _making another pot_. He keeps souls inside the pots. _Fresh souls_. And then we get a half-hour story in which some poor sap takes delivery of one of Lance’s pots, and then things go from bad to worse. There are numerous sinister ways that pottery can hurt people. Bullying, for example. You ever been bullied by pottery? The constant abusive remarks and general unhelpfulness. It just mounts up. And if you fight back, the pottery just sits there with an innocent expression on its face. “Me?”, it says. “I’m just a pot. I have pencils in my head, or possibly cinnamon. Do you want to try some of my cinnamon? Do you want to try _the cinnamon challenge_? Go on.” Remember that film, _The Abominable Dr Phibes_? With the shrinking frog mask, and the impaling flying unicorn head? I suggest you see it immediately. Those two things could easily have been made out of pottery. Also, pottery can (a) get very hot (b) fall on top of your head (c) shatter (d) emit noxious fumes. And that’s without covering the horrible possibilities of liquid clay. Yeah, imagine if Lance Henriksen could literally conjure a monster out of clay, and have it go around town potterising his enemies, or people he just doesn’t like. It would be like _House of Wax_, but with clay. “_Lance Henriksen: Glaze Into the Face of Fear_” ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/92 "2012-07-09T04:41:32Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > And of course he was Norman Bates in the remake of Psycho (which I’ve never seen). Wow, I had to look it up to believe it, but for some reason I had convinced myself that was Liev Schreiber. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/93 "2012-07-09T17:00:47Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Wow, I had to look it up to believe it, but for some reason I had convinced myself that was Liev Schreiber. Liev was in the _Manchurian Candidate_ remake. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/94 "2012-07-09T17:36:45Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Liam Neeson’s new side career as grizzled action badass is an eyebrow-raiser. Who knew he’d be so suited to the task? Everyone who saw _Darkman?_ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/95 "2012-07-09T19:26:48Z")
Jeremy Irons’ career began with this [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6GF6ouF0AXg/hqdefault.jpg "BBC TV Play Away Jokes & Theme Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GF6ouF0AXg) Orson Welles had a surprising career arc. He started with Citizen Kane, and ended with beer commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/96 "2012-07-09T20:42:42Z")
> [@MyFactCheckBounced](#): > > The Fonz now sells reverse mortgages. > > That is all. He really jumped the shark. Ryan Reynolds started off playing goofy characters in classics such as “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” and “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” and has moved on to super-hunk roles in X-Men and Green Lantern. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/97 "2012-07-09T20:54:20Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Jeremy Irons’ career began with this > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GF6ouF0AXg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GF6ouF0AXg) > Orson Welles had a surprising career arc. He started with Citizen Kane, and ended with beer commercials. That doesn’t do justice to Mr. Welles. He started long before Citizen Kane – he did intriguing Shakespeare productions, went on to Mercury Theater on the Air (of which War of the Worlds was only one part), and was the voice of _The Shadow_. He produced, directed, and starred i n some great films, but had problems with the Hollywood establishment and other things, so many of them got buried or weren’t released. What we did see – things like _Touch of Evil_ or _MacBeth_ – were great. In the meantime, we supported himself with some wonderfully atrocious roloes (_Casino Royale_\*), read Shakespeare on _The Dean Martin Show_, fer cryin’ out loud, caught a lot of grief for messing up a magic trick on _The Tonight Show_, appeared in some good stuff ( **The Muppet Movie** ) and some odd stuff ( **F for Fake** ), announced Heavy Metal bands, and shilled for wine (not beer) – “We will drink no wine before its time.” One hell of a career, and still underappreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/98 "2012-07-09T21:49:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Orson Welles had a surprising career arc. He started with Citizen Kane, and ended with beer commercials. Actually, he ended his career by playing this guy in the 80s **Transformers Movie** : [![](http://images.wikia.com/hasbroheroes/images/f/f2/Unicron1.jpg) ](http://images.wikia.com/hasbroheroes/images/f/f2/Unicron1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![jehan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jehan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jehan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/99 "2012-07-09T21:58:21Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > If we’re going historical, it’s probably hard to beat [Eric of Pomerania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_of_Pomerania), who was king of the Kalmar Union but was deposed and promptly embarked upon a new career as a pirate. Well going in the other direction, there’s Catherine 1 of Russia (NOT Catherine the Great who was Catherine ll), a Lithuanian peasant and camp follower who was the mistress of several Russian soldiers until she ended up with Peter the Great. After his death she succeeded him was declared Empress in her own right. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958/100 "2012-07-10T02:27:37Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > I tell you, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be unwilling to drink from it and wary of storing food in it. In fact, if I had one of Lance Henrikson’s pots I would be tempted to give it back. I would place it on his doorstep in the middle of the night and leave quietly. And when I woke up the next morning it would be as if I had been reborn. That sunrise would be the most vivid sunrise. When you woke up the next morning,\* the pot would be back in your house!!!\* :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-career-arcs/626958.md?page=6)