Hollywood careers that just ended abruptly

MfMan

We've never seen overmuch of him anyway, but will we see DDL again ever?

One of our best, Gerard McSorley, has had his demons, wonder if he will reappear again? Hopefully...

Did you smash it

Damien Lewis has kind of disappeared from film.

He’s in Billions which I know nothing about.

Zaney

Whatever happened to Meg Ryan? Did Hollywood fall out of love or did she quit?

pixelburp

Zaney wrote: »

Whatever happened to Meg Ryan? Did Hollywood fall out of love or did she quit?

I think, and this is without Googling so may be bullshít, she was a bad case of going overboard with plastic surgery, and ruined her face. Ryan kinda traded a lot on her "wholesome" girl next door beauty, so could see how it might have torpedoed her career.

yabadabado

Did you smash it wrote: »

Damien Lewis has kind of disappeared from film.

He’s in Billions which I know nothing about.

He wasn't really a film star more tv but he was in Once apon atime in Hollywood and Dream Alliance within the last 2 years.

Afaik Billions is one of the biggest TV shows in the US ,the last number of years.

Beechwoodspark

MfMan wrote: »

We've never seen overmuch of him anyway, but will we see DDL again ever?

One of our best, Gerard McSorley, has had his demons, wonder if he will reappear again? Hopefully...

DDL announced his retirement after phantom thread. Personally I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a come back.

Jimbob1977

Ralph Macchio was on hiatus for about 28 years.

Cobra Kai has given him a new lease of life. He looks great for almost 60.

Unfortunately some actors become typecast, e.g. Mark Hamill, Elijah Wood (for the most part), Daniel Radcliffe, etc.

Poor Kelly McGillis too.

Harrison Ford escaped and had a superb career with Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, Witness, The Fugitive, etc.

pixelburp

There's rumours he may appear in the newest Spider-Man film, but Tobey Maguires career stalled after his own stint as the web slinger. Not a barren CV but not a lot of note since the Great Gatsby fadó. IIRC he kinda retired to focus on poker of all things, apparently the inspiration behind Michael Ceras character in Molly's Game (with also the tattle he was a bit of an arse onset anyway; Hollywood seems very choosey on how much àsshole it can allow from its leads)

tayto lover

~Rebel~ wrote: »

He's in an awful lot more than you'd think! Nothing big, but he's a reasonably regularly working actor. Death In Paradise is his current thing.

He’s terrible in it.

Itssoeasy

Itssoeasy wrote: »

Jennifer grey from dirty dancing seemed to more or less vanish after that film. Didn’t she get a nose job ?

I ain't googling it, but I remember some show on VH1 or MTV in the 00s which explained 'What happened to Jennifer Grey'. Apparently she didn't like her nose at all and had work done on it after Dirty Dancing. The thing is though, she no longer looked like Baby and therefore no studio could really market her off of her fame/look from Dirty Dancing.

Itssoeasy

Is the hoff still making stuff ? I mean since bay watch ended I couldn’t tell you one thing he’s been in. Now bay watch is nothing to sniff at. Ah Nicole Eggert aka summer was the best thing about that show. Certainly brightened up my Saturdays.

CastorTroy

pixelburp wrote: »

I think, and this is without Googling so may be bullshít, she was a bad case of going overboard with plastic surgery, and ruined her face. Ryan kinda traded a lot on her "wholesome" girl next door beauty, so could see how it might have torpedoed her career.

Not sure about Meg but I know that was definitely the case for Melanie Griffith. Ruined her face.

fluke

Mischa Barton felt like she was being tipped to be the next big thing after The OC. Then she kind of fell off the radar save for a few direct to dvd movies.

CastorTroy

Deleted User wrote: »

I ain't googling it, but I remember some show on VH1 or MTV in the 00s which explained 'What happened to Jennifer Grey'. Apparently she didn't like her nose at all and had work done on it after Dirty Dancing. The thing is though, she no longer looked like Baby and therefore no studio could really market her off of her fame/look from Dirty Dancing.

Saw a fairly recent film one day with the description saying Jennifer Grey was in it. So watched a bit waiting to see what she looks like. About 15 mins into it I looked up imdb to see which character she was playing. Turned out to be the main character that I had been watching. Didn't recognise her

Strumms

flazio wrote: »

Steve Guttenberg is an interesting one because you could almost claim that Adam Samberg's Peralta character on Brooklyn 99 is an updated Mahoney.
Jennifer Grey is married to Clark Gregg, best known as Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Hollywood does tend to be more cruel to its ageing leading ladies then to its men. Think of Michelle Monaghan, Katherine Heigl, Kirsten Dunst and Hayley Attwell to name a few. Even the likes of Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence and Anna Kendrick have fallen off the radar lately.

Guttenberg is an actor I haven’t seen or thought about in donkeys..is in his 60’s.. recently got married to a news anchor , Emily Smith I’m reading...



Guttenberg always seemed like a nice guy off camera too.. strange that he hasn’t been doing much film work the last decade... he was watchable.

Itssoeasy

CastorTroy wrote: »

Saw a fairly recent film one day with the description saying Jennifer Grey was in it. So watched a bit waiting to see what she looks like. About 15 mins into it I looked up imdb to see which character she was playing. Turned out to be the main character that I had been watching. Didn't recognise her

And then you see some actors who had big success years ago and they look the same and haven’t aged a day.

Another name who could have been on this list was Mayim bialik who if she hadn’t been in the Big Bang theory would have been known for one show.

bnt

There doesn't seem to be all that many actors who actively chose to leave the industry, as opposed to those who left by default when they started families or got old, or whose star faded but kept on working. Greta Garbo was the famous example, quitting at 35 and becoming a recluse.

Family still seems to be a factor, though: it seems that if you can afford to stop working to raise a family, then that's prefeable. Rick Moranis has already been mentioned, while Cary Grant stopped acting at 62 when he became a father for the first time, and turned down many offers to focus on his family instead. The story I heard about Phoebe Cates was that she started a family with husband Kevin Kline, and they agreed to alternate acting and family duties, but every time she could have worked, she decided that family life was better.

Sanjuro

marklazarcovic wrote: »

brendan fraser... huge,then nothing.

Fraser's been cast as the lead in Darren Aronofsky's next film, The Whale.

Brief_Lives

glasso wrote: »

Irish actor Stuart Townsend

Packed it in pretty much and shacked up with a local bird in Costa Rica

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/the-forgotten-story-of-irish-actor-stuart-townsend-being-fired-from-lord-of-the-rings-37667090.html

Resurrection Man, haunted me for years... an amazing movie. he was brilliant in it.

Ish66

brendan fraser... huge,then nothing.

Ditto Colin Farrell

pixelburp

Colin Farrell's career is hardly over. He still stars in many indie and Hollywood productions, not least Artemis Fowl just this year, and is currently shooting the next Batman film, playing the Penguin.

johnny_ultimate

Wha... Colin Farrell? He’s a busy active actor that still pops up in indie films and blockbusters alike.

loyatemu

Ish66 wrote: »

brendan fraser... huge,then nothing.

Ditto Colin Farrell

Farrell's in the new Batman film, eh, "The Batman"
He's playing the Penguin, but from the publicity shots he's practically unrecognisable. Apart from that he's been in quite a few smaller movies.

Ardent

John Cusack.

He was huge - and I mean HUGE - from the late 80s through to the early 00s. Outstanding actor and starred in some of the biggest movies of that time (including many of my all-time favourites).

And then he just disappeared off the face of the earth. Except he's not gone - every thing he has done in recent times has been straight-to-DVD.

Hard to know where or why it all went wrong for him.

pixelburp

Ardent wrote: »

John Cusack.

He was huge - and I mean HUGE - from the late 80s through to the early 00s. Outstanding actor and starred in some of the biggest movies of that time (including many of my all-time favourites).

And then he just disappeared off the face of the earth. Except he's not gone - every thing he has done in recent times has been straight-to-DVD.

Hard to know where or why it all went wrong for him.

With stuff like this, my guesses usually centre around: substance or alcohol abuse, massive debts, or just being too much an arsehole relative to box office profitability. Or a combination of them all lol

I mean, conventionally speaking Nicholas Cage dropped off the radar, but the man still "stars" in dozens of drek films a year (to service apparent debts he owes) ala Cusack. Main difference is Cage seems to have leant into his Z List status, cultivating a bit of a fan club

crazylady1

Brief_Lives wrote: »

Resurrection Man, haunted me for years... an amazing movie. he was brilliant in it.

Agree. That movie is very disturbing. That scene in the pub and in the bathroom afterwards really disturbed me. It was horrifying.

crazylady1

Brief_Lives wrote: »

Resurrection Man, haunted me for years... an amazing movie. he was brilliant in it.

Agree. That movie is very disturbing. That scene in the pub and in the bathroom afterwards really disturbed me. It was horrifying.

Agent Coulson

Does moving to TV & Straight to DVD/Streaming mean your career is ended?

Hollywood encompasses a lot of areas.

Many actors move behind the camera.

Ardent

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Does moving to TV & Straight to DVD/Streaming mean your career is ended?

Moving to TV these days is not only acceptable but is desirable for many Holywood stars.

Agent Coulson

Ardent wrote: »

Moving to TV these days is not only acceptable but is desirable for many Holywood stars.

Indeed it is.

Samsonsmasher

Michael Fassbender starred in a string of box office failures such as Prometheus and Assassin's Creed. His performances were critically acclaimed but he never became a true star. He's was reduced to starring in Kung Fury 2.

The pandemic has destroyed the entertainment industry and it could be all over for Hollywood.

Hollywood itself ended abruptly in 2020

QikBax

Guttenberg memorably plays/lampoons himself in an episode of Party Down.

Strumms

Ardent wrote: »

John Cusack.

He was huge - and I mean HUGE - from the late 80s through to the early 00s. Outstanding actor and starred in some of the biggest movies of that time (including many of my all-time favourites).

And then he just disappeared off the face of the earth. Except he's not gone - every thing he has done in recent times has been straight-to-DVD.

Hard to know where or why it all went wrong for him.

He had a good screen presence, a good actor.... I liked him, came across well when being interviewed..

Done not too much aside from straight to DVD stuff last 15 or so years. A strange one.

bnt

John Cusack has not only been working regularly, a couple of years ago he was here in Ireland shooting a Western with Emile Hirsch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIDpnUWcFTo

He's been quoted as saying he's not keen on being a celebrity, and enjoys other interests such as snowboarding and kickboxing. He would do movies like 2012 to make money, but is a bit cynical about the business:

John Cusack wrote:

Sometimes I'm think I'm in control, but more and more I realize that it's just a complete farce. It used to be that if you did a big, big movie then you could leverage it and make some smaller, cooler ones. And I got away with that for a few years. But now they just want you to put on tights. If you don't put on the tights they just want to get rid of you. And I'm not putting on the tights. So you know...

saabsaab

Adam Sandler. Nothing from him for a while now.

Strumms

Samsonsmasher wrote: »

Michael Fassbender starred in a string of box office failures such as Prometheus and Assassin's Creed. His performances were critically acclaimed but he never became a true star. He's was reduced to starring in Kung Fury 2.

The pandemic has destroyed the entertainment industry and it could be all over for Hollywood.

Well the money won’t be there to pay the big stars what they are accustomed to.

A percentage who love what they do will keep doing it... I’d say a lot of 50 year old plus heads might just say ‘nahhh, not too pushed doing much’... might give more opportunities to up and coming talent... not necessarily young talent but actors who haven’t quite had the opportunity.

berocca2016

Itssoeasy wrote: »

And then you see some actors who had big success years ago and they look the same and haven’t aged a day.

Another name who could have been on this list was Mayim bialik who if she hadn’t been in the Big Bang theory would have been known for one show.

To be fair Mayim Bialik kept herself busy doing college, then a PHD then post doc research till the big bang theory rolled along with a whopper pay packet!

santana75

I think Phoebe cates was very smart in how she played her career. She prioritised raising her kids and family life over nurturing stardom. When her kids were old enough she opened a boutique in New York called Blue tree. It's very successful and she seems to have escaped the whole fame game without a scratch. I mean the fact that her and kevin Kline are still married after over 30 years is a testament to good decisions being made by both her and Kline.

Hootanany

You missed the boys from Brasil

Full_Circle_81

The John Cusak, Nic Cage, Bruce Willis, John Travolta thing is something else entirely. They are all still working away, but seemingly quite happy to make endless straight-to-video type releases, with a big movie sprinkled in there every now and then.

Just at the mention of Meg Ryan, there is that terribly sad stereotype of actresses having a lot of work done and then being almost unrecognizable.

I saw Melanie Griffith in The Path (tv show) not that long ago and got a shock when she popped up. Looked so odd. And Kathleen Turner also appeared in the show and looked a bit of a mess, but I think she's had various troubles and side effects of pain meds/steroids.

And Demi Moore appeared in the recent Brave New World tv show and I honestly had no idea it was her till the credits rolled and her name popped up.

I know that's all a bit off topic, but it's a such a sad thing to see, that these talented actresses felt compelled to contort their looks in order to keep getting hired.
Just to say that all the women I mentioned were great in what I saw them in recently, it was just unsettling seeing what plastic surgery had done to them.

Agent Coulson

saabsaab wrote: »

Adam Sandler. Nothing from him for a while now.

Except for the 2 movies a year he releases on Netflix for the last few years making himself 100's of millions.

S.M.B.

santana75 wrote: »

I think Phoebe cates was very smart in how she played her career. She prioritised raising her kids and family life over nurturing stardom. When her kids were old enough she opened a boutique in New York called Blue tree. It's very successful and she seems to have escaped the whole fame game without a scratch. I mean the fact that her and kevin Kline are still married after over 30 years is a testament to good decisions being made by both her and Kline.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jnr have taken a very similar approach. To be honest it's considered the norm in most other professions so not sure why in the Film industry its often seen as some enforced exile.

CastorTroy

CastorTroy wrote: »

Saw a fairly recent film one day with the description saying Jennifer Grey was in it. So watched a bit waiting to see what she looks like. About 15 mins into it I looked up imdb to see which character she was playing. Turned out to be the main character that I had been watching. Didn't recognise her

Yeah, her appearance was night and day after the nose job, unrecognisable.

While we're talking about her, it was her who was in that fatal car accident with Matthew Broderick in Enniskillen back in the 80s. Their relationship was a secret up until that accident.

pixelburp

Here's a controversial one to throw into the mix, given we're circling the drain with the world of shovelware digital, "straight to DVD" productions ... ...

Bruce Willis.

One of the Big Three action stars of the 90s, and aside from that has a generally respectable CV of other work from iconic thrillers like 6th Sense to the occasional indie appearance such as Moonrise Kingdom.

But nowadays you're most likely to find him looking utterly bored and half checked-out (both onscreen and heck, even on the posters) in utter dross that fills out the very back of Amazon Prime categories. At least Nicholas CAge never gives less than 100% (crazy). And the few times he does appear on the publicity circuit, he has often cut a very surly, anti-social figure. Supposedly he can be a little hard to deal with these days, so while not "ended" I wonder if he race is run a little - specifically in the upper echelons of Hollywood.

the_pen_turner

yer man that played andy difrain in shawshank redemption

the_pen_turner

cuba gudding jr . havnt seen him in a while

jonski

Matthew Fox - Last role in 2015 and nothing on the horizon on IMDB .

Agent Coulson

jonski wrote: »

Matthew Fox - Last role in 2015 and nothing on the horizon on IMDB .

There is a reason for that.

Lots of allegations

santana75

Agent Coulson wrote: »

There is a reason for that.

Lots of allegations

Really? Do tell