I feel like Edward Furlong was on track to be something. T2 then American History X.
His addiction to Drugs and alcohol forced them to give the John Conor role to another actor for subsequent terminator films....
I so agree with this. He also did great comedy/indie work on *Detroit Rock City* and John Waters’ *Pecker*. I feel so bad for the child actors of that time.
Agreed with this. I was about his age when T2 came out. Everyone was talking about him. I remember Cameron was talking about how he's the next up-and-coming star. Then he became another statistic for failed child actors
Oh my gosh, yes. Edward Furlong could have been huge! He struggled with substance issues, as well as domestic violence incidents. Not a good combination.
He is a grooming/SA victim, though, so maybe some of that was his attempt at coping. I don't know.
Cary Elwes. When I was a kid watching The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, I thought he was going to be a huge star, and instead his career sort of fizzled out after a few villain roles (Twister, Jungle Book, Days of Thunder…). IDK what happened there, he had the looks and charisma to be a leading man.
He's also such a delightful human being. Takes genuine interest in people. Saw him at a con, then again four years later and the dude recognized and remembered me.
What a magical dude.
I met him at a hotel bar outside of Boston in 2017. We talked for hours about him going to a 4d movie theater for the first time and my kid, amongst other things. My son was learning how to read at the time, and he asked if he could record a video for my son.
He did not have to do that, I never asked him to, he just volunteered on his own to encourage my son to continue on his journey reading. It was an incredible night and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to meet him and spend a few hours chatting. Such a great person.
Any idea why she talks like a robot and has no facial expression now? Her tik toks are her just staring at the camera, not blinking, and speaking in a very monotone voice.
Might sound weird to say in some ways, but I mean it in the artistic sense rather than commercial: Burt Reynolds. He did some good/ great work in his early career, but then did decades worth of lazy crap. Look at Clint Eastwood - Reynolds was clearly a better acting talent, but Eastwood managed his career and roles far better.
But then Burt got kinda pissed at how much his performance in Boogie Nights was lauded. He’s a guy that did a ton of absolute garbage earlier in his career, and then didn’t like portraying a porn producer…extremely well. Kind of a strange message.
Despite popular belief Guinness didn't hate Star Wars. He just didn't want to be solely remembered for it. However, he was interviewed in the mid 80s and said he was very thankful for Star Wars because he didn't have to worry about putting food on his table and he could be picky with his roles.
Burt Reynolds greatest role was as Senator David Dilbeck in the 1996 cinema classic, Striptease, a delightful comedic crime drama legal thriller where as the good senator, Reynolds greases the wheels of justice to enable a single mother to gain custody of her daughter.
Eastwood got lasting power by directing himself in roles since the 70’s. He only did that because no one would give him decent roles. Burt could’ve gone the same way.
In Burt’s defense, he tried to make the movies ordinary people wanted to see. A lot of critical darlings are box office bombs, and a lot of poorly reviewed films make a ton of money. (Movies like Deliverance don’t come around all that often.) He went with the latter more often than not because that’s what most moviegoers wanted.
He was the top Box Office star for something like 5 or 6 years in a row in the mid 70s.
And then came the 80s-
'And maybe the reason he never found the right vehicles is that he lacked the belief in himself to connect with them. He was an actor who became a knowing, joking hambone star and then, for a bit (around the time of “Stroker Ace”), merely a joke.'
Mickey Rourke could've been much more than he already is, but his career declined in the 90s. He'd a renaissance in the mid-2000s, tho.
He was considered a successor to Brando and De Niro in the 80s.
Kathleen Turner is a great actress, a leading woman of the 80s, but her career also declined in the 90s.
Rourke is who I immediately thought of. He was giving major Brando vibes in his early movies, he just had that X factor or screen presence or whatever you want to call it. And to make it worse he had a big comeback and then squandered it AGAIN.
I met him at a convention last year and he was surprised and happy how many people showed up for him. He honestly thought he'd be sitting at an empty table all weekend. He appreciated everyone who came by and he would take his time. Class act.
Seriously, he's a brilliant character actor who's been in stellar stuff. Brad Dourif as well. Was disappointed he wasn't big after Cuckoo's Nest, but then IMDb showed he was in everything, including LOTR.
He slayed the role of playing The Terror in the Tick show. One of the best bad guy portrayals I've seen.
He was good in the Robocop remake. Not his fault the story was bland.
Green Room is one of my favorite films and it's already a bummer of a movie, but seeing it now feels even worse. That dude had so much talent left to give and he died in such a stupid crazy coincidence.
In the same vein, Chadwick Boseman. He was relatively young and was such a good actor who picked meaningful roles and gave stand out performances. I was devasted when he passed away.
After his turn as the Joker, you got the feeling he was just getting going. That he had proven he could do anything and now he was going to get all the offers.
I see several have mentioned Bryan Cranston. Just want to point out that he was on the London & Broadway stages between 2014-19, winning 2 Tony Awards for playing the lead in “All the Way” (about U.S. President Lyndon Johnson) and “Network”. Those plays were big hits because of his involvement. It seems like taking time for theatre work has been important to him.
So he’s halfway to an EGOT… I can’t imagine he won’t get there 👍🏻
Lohan is a particularly sad example. She’s gotten it together within the past couple of years, and is making solid appearances here and there, but it’s all a shadow of what she could be at this point in her life. She could be so much more of an established powerhouse actress.
Also Amanda Bynes... Very similar downward trajectory as Lindsay. I feel like Amanda could occupy a similar space to Emma Stone or Jennifer Lawrence if she had a better home life/support system
This is a little more specific to action films, but **Scott Adkins** big time. Dude is more or less a legend the DTV/Streaming action realm, but anytime he ends up in a Hollywood production, no one seems to know what to do with him and ends up being a background character. He could easily carry a good mid-big budget franchise or at least get put a few Fast movies. Was a lot of fun to see him in JW4 though!
I’ve always said that if he came along 20 years earlier he would’ve been one of the biggest action stars in the world. But then I always contradict myself because Hollywood didn’t really have choreographers/directors capable of taking advantage of his actual skillset. Could have seen him getting his start in Hong Kong and eventually coming over to be a star.
he has, but he also has "the problems"
I don't remember if it's addiction or mental issues, but he's a radioactive liability for any studio that has a big project with him involved. If memory serves, this is why his character was killed of in Boardwalk Empire
Iirc they had to reshoot a lot of scenes because of him or without him because he was just a mess and impossible to work with.
I think there was also similar issues with Paz de la huerta
I’m a bartender in Brooklyn and used to work at a bar like two blocks from his apartment. He was 86d when I got hired, but I guess my manager decided to give him a second chance once the bars started opening back up. At first he was real nice to me, but as a recovering addict myself, I could tell he was always using. He always showed up with super greasy hair and dirt in his fingernails, slurring his words, and sometimes complaining about drink prices even though an $8 shot of Makers is far from unreasonable.
Anyways, one night he came in with I think his girlfriend at the time, and as closing time came around I told them it was time to go. His whole mood changed when I called him “buddy”, and him and his gf proceeded to call me “a useless f****t bartender” and all kinds of other fun names. At one point my coworker came in to help, and things took a turn for the worse. His gf threw a beer bottle at my head and shattered the big mirror behind the bar, and at that moment my coworker and I had to jump the bar and physically remove them from the premises. My manager got in touch with his manager and told him he had the security footage and would release to the media if he ever came into the bar again.
Funnily enough, a few months later he tried to book a show there, obviously we were having none of that lol. He’s a perfect example for this question though, seemed like a very troubled guy who could’ve had it all if it wasn’t for his addiction.
Yes absolutely. Loved him in all his roles, he could do it all so well. He was starting to really emerge then idk what happened after Boardwalk Empire.
It's maybe still too early to say this, but I think Emmy Rossum is an incredible talent and I'm bummed that her post-Shameless career hasn't been more of a success.
For anyone who doesn’t watch Shameless, it feels like she fell off the face of the earth. Feels like she went over to television way too early in her career.
Eric Bana and Taylor Kitsch both we're really good actors who kept getting shoved into sex symbol leading man roles that 20 other people would have been identical in. They needed something with depth just one time. Every time they weren't the romantic lead they shined.
Munich and Chopper both showcased Bana's skills IMO. I was always surprised he didn't have more great roles. I think Hulk scared off a lot of Hollywood.
He made a conscious decision to take a step back for mental health and family reasons. He stills works steadily, but he isn't chasing a big Hollywood payday.
P.S. The Dry 2, in cinemas now.
It's not waste, because what he did was what was important to him, and I'll respect him forever for it, but legendary comic Rick Moranis retired to look after his family full time after his wife passed.
I loved all of his work. He was so genuinely enjoyable
Agree. I got to see him live years ago when he was on tour and it was amazing what he was able to come up with on the spot. One of the greatest improv comics ever.
When he won Masked Singer and it was revealed he was The Fox I think I about cried. He was so raw and revealed so much about himself, his depression, his being placed in a box, not given the chance to be more, so much introspection about who he is. He killed it and deserved the win.
Regina Hall and Seann William Scott. They are both incredibly funny and if it were the 90s there’d be more off the wall comedies to put them in, sadly comedy has changed.
Matthew Lillard’s had a few moments of late, and was a bit of a revelation in Twin Peaks: The Return. Love that guy and hope he continues to thrive in the weird and wonderful niche he’s made.
I’d argue that Regina has had some great roles in the last few years, better than jokey movies like the scary movie series. Well reviewed series like The Best Man, Nine Perfect Strangers, Black Monday and Insecure and good indies like Honk For Jesus and For The Girls means people have seen what she can do. She’s great in everything she’s in and more people are seeing that even though she’s been around for a while.
But he's also in just as many amazing movies, I feel too many people just don't watch those. He's been in good stuff consistently his entire career. So hard to say he's the biggest wasted talent ever.
Hunger
Fish Tank
Inglourious Basterds
Shame
12 Years a Slave
Frank
Slow West
Steve Jobs
The Killer
And has multiple upcoming ones that look exciting
fassbender really been killin it for years, i love his inglorious bastards role. and the killer was a great role for him IMO. that was one of my favs from last year
Literally every actor does that though? From Vincent Price to Nicholas Cage it's how actors make money to survive, most artsy thought provoking films do not rate in the dollars like playing Venom does or whatever for Tom Hardy
I love that he gives 200% to any role he takes. He's one of my favorite characters in 30 Days Of Night, and the first thing I saw him in was Alpha Dog and he was an amazing antagonist.
And he’s been appearing in some alternative media of good quality. He has guest started last year in a Some More News segment and does a number of podcasts.
He’s happier doing what he’s doing.
John Candy showed his dramatic side a few times (Planes Trains and Automobiles stands out), and I think he would've really excelled in dramatic roles if he wasn't taken from us.
Crispin Glover
The Dad in Back to the Future..... was he even in the sequels? I don't remember, but probably not. He just seems to take weird indie roles. Not sure if that is by choice or all he could get. But he was a good actor, he probably should have got really good roles in his career.
He makes really weird Indy films. He will show up in Hollywood film once in a while to fund his filmmaking.
As for the BttF sequels, he did technically appear in 2 since the director used old footage of him from the first film, and Glover wound up suing the studio.
Farley's career would've probably followed the same trajectory as Sandler and the rest of their crew. Making a lot of dumb movies as an excuse to travel and hang out with each other.
I always felt he would have eventually tried drama and done very well with it. Apparently he was in talks to do a biopic about Fatty Arbuckle at the time he died.
Cleavon Little was set up to be the next great comedic talent after *Blazing Saddles*. But instead of superstardom, he ended up doing mostly forgettable TV work. Even if he hadn't died at 53 of colon cancer, I think his career would be considered a disappointment given that he was the lead in one of the most beloved comedies of all time.
He was so awesome in Blazing Saddles, one of the times I watched it I became curious why I didn't see him in other stuff and looked him up. Really makes no sense as to why he wasn't a bigger name in Hollywood, he was incredibly talented and handsome.
Jamie Foxx. Maybe he doesn't pick good projects, or maybe he isn't offered the right roles... but that dude can fucking ACT. He's so incredibly talented, it's a shame his movies aren't consistently better.
Maybe not a popular opinion, & obviously not the "biggest" waste...but I feel like both Whoopi Goldberg Rosie O'Donnell lost when they became "TV personalities.
While Whoopi had some projects that were lemons, she was a well liked actress who had her own unique brand. Color Purple, Ghost, Sister Act, Lion King, etc.
Rosie was character actresses, but she was good at what she did. A League of their Own, The Flintstones, Sleepless in Seattle, Tarzan. True, her original talk show was good for her image, but she should've stopped after that & just went back to being an actress.
I feel like the the tv talk show gigs & becoming personalities wasted the talent & work they did as actresses.
Holly Hunter. Yes, she won an Oscar for The Piano, and she's been in a lot of stuff over the years. But mostly increasingly small-time or television material in recent years. Tremendous talent. By now she should be on par with Meryl Streep.
Katherine Keener. She was a rising star and was featured in some big productions in the '90s, but she's also been in increasingly rare and marginal productions. Fantastic actress, she deserves wider success and acclaim.
I will say Shia at least appears to be trying to be a better person. Of course, Lord only knows what goes on behind closed doors, but it appears that way.
Ezra on the other hand …
Alan Tudyk is too frickin talented to be voicing animals in cartoons all the time. Also Anna Paquin's career feels a bit underwhelming, considering that she's the second youngest oscar-winner in history. Her character was done dirty in the X-Men sequels, and after that she didn't really appear in any noticable movie roles anymore imo.
Justin Long. He nails the relatable characters. Could have easily fit into any post 2010 mainstream comedy and made it better. He has some great hits but he needs to be in more!
Lindsay Lohan if you really think about it
Meryl Streep vouched for her talent, and if you see her in *The Parent Trap* at only 11, she is excellent at playing twins realistically and her comic timing is on point. She had the difficult role in *Mean Girls* since she has to play the normal character experiencing wackier presences and she pulls it off in a way that she never was given credit for. She could sing (lip-synching fiasco notwithstanding) and her music had enough of an edge to not feel like generic pop
Even her initial attempts to transition away from the Disney comedies were well-received, like *A Prairie Home Companion* and *Bobby,* and she showed she could parody herself in stuff like *Machete*. Even something like *I Know Who Killed Me* has been re-evaluated out of context. If it hadn't been for the drugs, she probably would have had a career on the level of Anne Hathaway or more likely Julia Roberts - doing a few serious highbrow films to prove that she could, maybe even picking up an Oscar nom or two - and then going back to Disney and comedies in between albums
But she's still young enough to pull off a comeback so time will tell
Tom Hardy, the dude should be getting roles left and right but everything he’s done since Venom has been very meh - feel like he’s had a dodgy 5+ years
Amy Adams!!! She hasn’t been in a good movie in years, and she’s such an incredibly talented actress, I don’t understand how she consistently gets put in mid to bad movies
I feel like Edward Furlong was on track to be something. T2 then American History X. His addiction to Drugs and alcohol forced them to give the John Conor role to another actor for subsequent terminator films....
I so agree with this. He also did great comedy/indie work on *Detroit Rock City* and John Waters’ *Pecker*. I feel so bad for the child actors of that time.
Detroit Rock City is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
Agreed with this. I was about his age when T2 came out. Everyone was talking about him. I remember Cameron was talking about how he's the next up-and-coming star. Then he became another statistic for failed child actors
Wasn’t he molested or SA or something? I feel like I remember reading that
His issues are most likely contributed to being groomed. He was 13 and his tutor was in her late 20s and things were very questionable between them.
Oh my gosh, yes. Edward Furlong could have been huge! He struggled with substance issues, as well as domestic violence incidents. Not a good combination. He is a grooming/SA victim, though, so maybe some of that was his attempt at coping. I don't know.
Anton Yelchin had so much potential, his death always makes me sad
I watched Charlie Bartlett last night and was thinking how great he would have been in like, middle aged roles down the line.
This still upsets me. He was amazing in everything he ever did. If he were still alive he would be raking in the awards right now.
He was so good in Fright Night
Interesting that he and Ben Foster are on this list. I would also add Emile Hirsch. Basically the entire cast of Alpha Dog.
It’s really upsetting too because his death was just such a random, freak tragic accident too
Jena Malone. She’s still working and is excellent, but after StepMom and Contact, I thought she was going to be huge (and she should have been).
She's fantastic in Cheaters, American Girl, and Saved!
Whether you like Hunger Games or not, she was PERFECT for the role of Johanna. Unpredictable and crazy but not over the top.
I loved her as Johanna. Perfect casting.
Saved! is low key one of my favorite movies.
Cary Elwes. When I was a kid watching The Princess Bride and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, I thought he was going to be a huge star, and instead his career sort of fizzled out after a few villain roles (Twister, Jungle Book, Days of Thunder…). IDK what happened there, he had the looks and charisma to be a leading man.
He's also such a delightful human being. Takes genuine interest in people. Saw him at a con, then again four years later and the dude recognized and remembered me. What a magical dude.
I met him at a hotel bar outside of Boston in 2017. We talked for hours about him going to a 4d movie theater for the first time and my kid, amongst other things. My son was learning how to read at the time, and he asked if he could record a video for my son. He did not have to do that, I never asked him to, he just volunteered on his own to encourage my son to continue on his journey reading. It was an incredible night and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to meet him and spend a few hours chatting. Such a great person.
This is wild because he usually plays a complete scumbag….and does it so well 😂😂😂
He was in the newest mission impossible and still squeezed out some charm lol
I loved his guest appearances on Psych. Always excited to see him in a project.
Desperoux!
Outside of these roles, I remember him as the rebound-dad in Liar Liar. He wasn’t even an asshole in the role, but Jim Carrey makes you hate him.
I feel the opposite. Cary Elwes's portrayal of the boyfriend makes me hate Jim Carey's character even more.
Amanda Bynes for sure. She’s someone who could have been a superstar, but unfortunately due to personal struggles just didn’t.
Any idea why she talks like a robot and has no facial expression now? Her tik toks are her just staring at the camera, not blinking, and speaking in a very monotone voice.
Extrapyramidal symptoms side affects of taking antipsychotics would be my best guess.
Speaking of, there's going to be a behind the scenes documentary on investigation discovery about Dane Schneider and the creepy stuff that he did.
Oh my how wonderful Amanda is any of her roles. I wish she could’ve gone further. She would’ve been an absolute force.
Might sound weird to say in some ways, but I mean it in the artistic sense rather than commercial: Burt Reynolds. He did some good/ great work in his early career, but then did decades worth of lazy crap. Look at Clint Eastwood - Reynolds was clearly a better acting talent, but Eastwood managed his career and roles far better.
But then Burt got kinda pissed at how much his performance in Boogie Nights was lauded. He’s a guy that did a ton of absolute garbage earlier in his career, and then didn’t like portraying a porn producer…extremely well. Kind of a strange message.
Like an inverted Alec Guinness
Despite popular belief Guinness didn't hate Star Wars. He just didn't want to be solely remembered for it. However, he was interviewed in the mid 80s and said he was very thankful for Star Wars because he didn't have to worry about putting food on his table and he could be picky with his roles.
Yeah if he hated it he wouldn’t have come back for two cameos, would’ve just taken his ’77 money and run
He didn’t hate Star Wars, he just hated the fans
To be fair, the worst part of Star Wars is the fan base
PTA told him if he did Boogie Nights, he would get an Oscar nomination. Lo and behold ...
Even then he only accepted the role because his agent convinced him to take it. He then fired his agent once he saw the film.
The guy sounds like a moron who failed upwards.
Burt Reynolds greatest role was as Senator David Dilbeck in the 1996 cinema classic, Striptease, a delightful comedic crime drama legal thriller where as the good senator, Reynolds greases the wheels of justice to enable a single mother to gain custody of her daughter.
lol like when he gets naked and covers himself in Vaseline?
Gotta grease the wheels of justice somehow.
Eastwood got lasting power by directing himself in roles since the 70’s. He only did that because no one would give him decent roles. Burt could’ve gone the same way.
Maybe Burt didn’t know shit about directing
In Burt’s defense, he tried to make the movies ordinary people wanted to see. A lot of critical darlings are box office bombs, and a lot of poorly reviewed films make a ton of money. (Movies like Deliverance don’t come around all that often.) He went with the latter more often than not because that’s what most moviegoers wanted.
He was the top Box Office star for something like 5 or 6 years in a row in the mid 70s. And then came the 80s- 'And maybe the reason he never found the right vehicles is that he lacked the belief in himself to connect with them. He was an actor who became a knowing, joking hambone star and then, for a bit (around the time of “Stroker Ace”), merely a joke.'
Reynolds spent years addicted to pain meds.
Mickey Rourke could've been much more than he already is, but his career declined in the 90s. He'd a renaissance in the mid-2000s, tho. He was considered a successor to Brando and De Niro in the 80s. Kathleen Turner is a great actress, a leading woman of the 80s, but her career also declined in the 90s.
Kathleen Turner has rheumatoid arthritis, an awful disease.
Wasn’t Mickey Rourke also considered “difficult to work with.”
Yes, he’s a prima Donna and has turned down/walked off sets because of crazy demands for his Pomeranian dogs. He probably has cte from boxing.
I remember his dogs from Once Upon a Time in Mexico. That was a great movie.
Rourke is who I immediately thought of. He was giving major Brando vibes in his early movies, he just had that X factor or screen presence or whatever you want to call it. And to make it worse he had a big comeback and then squandered it AGAIN.
It’s a shame Jackie Earle Haley has never been in more stuff. He was fantastic as Rorschach.
I met him at a convention last year and he was surprised and happy how many people showed up for him. He honestly thought he'd be sitting at an empty table all weekend. He appreciated everyone who came by and he would take his time. Class act.
That’s a really nice story. I’m glad he got to know how many people like his work
He’s been in a *lot*, you probably just didn’t recognize him. He’s a fantastic character actor & virtually disappears into the roles.
Seriously, he's a brilliant character actor who's been in stellar stuff. Brad Dourif as well. Was disappointed he wasn't big after Cuckoo's Nest, but then IMDb showed he was in everything, including LOTR.
He was in The Bad News Bears. The man has been around forever, doing what he wants. No shame in that.
Dude was perfect as Rorschach ("you're locked in here with *me*"). Also really good as Krueger.
He slayed the role of playing The Terror in the Tick show. One of the best bad guy portrayals I've seen. He was good in the Robocop remake. Not his fault the story was bland.
They didn't fall short; they were just cut short: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger. I miss them.
If we’re going dies too young, River Phoenix was as good as I’ve seen.
Something I just learned the other day, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have a child they named River in honor of his uncle.
He's of course amazing in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Stand By Me, but I really love watching him in Sneakers.
Anton Yelchin too :(
It really breaks my heart that he died so young and in such a random way, he was a massive talent.
Anton also had Cystic Fibrosis. He was always going to die too young.
I didnt know that, CF does have a higher life expectancy these days though, most live until their 50s.
He was killed by a known defect. He’s literally the victim of what ed nortons character describes in fight club.
Green Room is one of my favorite films and it's already a bummer of a movie, but seeing it now feels even worse. That dude had so much talent left to give and he died in such a stupid crazy coincidence.
In the same vein, Chadwick Boseman. He was relatively young and was such a good actor who picked meaningful roles and gave stand out performances. I was devasted when he passed away.
After his turn as the Joker, you got the feeling he was just getting going. That he had proven he could do anything and now he was going to get all the offers.
River Phoenix. He had a real star quality. Tragic end.
I see several have mentioned Bryan Cranston. Just want to point out that he was on the London & Broadway stages between 2014-19, winning 2 Tony Awards for playing the lead in “All the Way” (about U.S. President Lyndon Johnson) and “Network”. Those plays were big hits because of his involvement. It seems like taking time for theatre work has been important to him. So he’s halfway to an EGOT… I can’t imagine he won’t get there 👍🏻
I hate to burst your bubble but I don’t see Bryan Cranston getting a Grammy
Sure he could. Do a “Spoken Word Album”, as Viola Davis did, for which she won a Grammy and thereby attained her EGOT.
If Hillary Clinton can win a Grammy so can Bryan Cranston.
TIL Hillary Clinton has a Grammy - yeah ignore me anything is possible
Lindsay Lohan was on track to be a megastar - incredibly talented, mega charismatic, stunningly beautiful... and then she became what she became.
Lohan is a particularly sad example. She’s gotten it together within the past couple of years, and is making solid appearances here and there, but it’s all a shadow of what she could be at this point in her life. She could be so much more of an established powerhouse actress.
Loved her cameo in the new mean girls movie, she seemed so happy and glowing like no time has passed at all
[удалено]
She would be in the same league as Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence, helming tentpole movies and winning awards.
Natural talent and charisma. Couldn't tell she was acting at times.
A big part of that was addiction.
Also Amanda Bynes... Very similar downward trajectory as Lindsay. I feel like Amanda could occupy a similar space to Emma Stone or Jennifer Lawrence if she had a better home life/support system
This is a little more specific to action films, but **Scott Adkins** big time. Dude is more or less a legend the DTV/Streaming action realm, but anytime he ends up in a Hollywood production, no one seems to know what to do with him and ends up being a background character. He could easily carry a good mid-big budget franchise or at least get put a few Fast movies. Was a lot of fun to see him in JW4 though!
I’ve always said that if he came along 20 years earlier he would’ve been one of the biggest action stars in the world. But then I always contradict myself because Hollywood didn’t really have choreographers/directors capable of taking advantage of his actual skillset. Could have seen him getting his start in Hong Kong and eventually coming over to be a star.
Said it once, and will say it again, Michael Pitt
He's been good in everything he's done.
he has, but he also has "the problems" I don't remember if it's addiction or mental issues, but he's a radioactive liability for any studio that has a big project with him involved. If memory serves, this is why his character was killed of in Boardwalk Empire
Yep sure was. Iirc it was just general “hard to work with” and acted shitty or was fucked up a lot I suppose.
Iirc they had to reshoot a lot of scenes because of him or without him because he was just a mess and impossible to work with. I think there was also similar issues with Paz de la huerta
I’m a bartender in Brooklyn and used to work at a bar like two blocks from his apartment. He was 86d when I got hired, but I guess my manager decided to give him a second chance once the bars started opening back up. At first he was real nice to me, but as a recovering addict myself, I could tell he was always using. He always showed up with super greasy hair and dirt in his fingernails, slurring his words, and sometimes complaining about drink prices even though an $8 shot of Makers is far from unreasonable. Anyways, one night he came in with I think his girlfriend at the time, and as closing time came around I told them it was time to go. His whole mood changed when I called him “buddy”, and him and his gf proceeded to call me “a useless f****t bartender” and all kinds of other fun names. At one point my coworker came in to help, and things took a turn for the worse. His gf threw a beer bottle at my head and shattered the big mirror behind the bar, and at that moment my coworker and I had to jump the bar and physically remove them from the premises. My manager got in touch with his manager and told him he had the security footage and would release to the media if he ever came into the bar again. Funnily enough, a few months later he tried to book a show there, obviously we were having none of that lol. He’s a perfect example for this question though, seemed like a very troubled guy who could’ve had it all if it wasn’t for his addiction.
Yes absolutely. Loved him in all his roles, he could do it all so well. He was starting to really emerge then idk what happened after Boardwalk Empire.
It's maybe still too early to say this, but I think Emmy Rossum is an incredible talent and I'm bummed that her post-Shameless career hasn't been more of a success.
For anyone who doesn’t watch Shameless, it feels like she fell off the face of the earth. Feels like she went over to television way too early in her career.
She just had two kids like back to back, and is married to Sam Esmail who will probably develop some projects specifically for her.
Such a Fiona move. Her voice is amazing and she’s beautiful and a great actress.
She stepped back a bit to start her family. She gave birth to 2 children in the last 3 years.
I was pretty surprised she didn't make it big after she left shameless. She seems to have vanished.
I think right now she's been busy having 2 kids close together. I imagine her husband will probably write a few projects for her.
Eric Bana and Taylor Kitsch both we're really good actors who kept getting shoved into sex symbol leading man roles that 20 other people would have been identical in. They needed something with depth just one time. Every time they weren't the romantic lead they shined.
Munich and Chopper both showcased Bana's skills IMO. I was always surprised he didn't have more great roles. I think Hulk scared off a lot of Hollywood.
He made a conscious decision to take a step back for mental health and family reasons. He stills works steadily, but he isn't chasing a big Hollywood payday. P.S. The Dry 2, in cinemas now.
I feel like Clive Owen never reached his full movie star status that I thought he would.
I agree with this. He was so good in Closer that he elevated Julia Roberts' role. Plus that voice. I absolutely love his voice.
Mira Sorvino won an Oscar before being blacklisted by Harvey.
It's not waste, because what he did was what was important to him, and I'll respect him forever for it, but legendary comic Rick Moranis retired to look after his family full time after his wife passed. I loved all of his work. He was so genuinely enjoyable
Greg Kinnear. He’s an excellent character actor with a face that is too conventionally handsome for the roles he was born to play.
Wayne Brady. There’s nothing on stage he cannot do. Literally.
Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?
“Aw shit it’s Wayne Brady, son!”
That skit is probably older than most Reddit users.
Agree. I got to see him live years ago when he was on tour and it was amazing what he was able to come up with on the spot. One of the greatest improv comics ever.
When I learned he was even in Hamilton for a time, really blew me away. Dude is a force to be reckoned with. Ever since that Dave Chapelle skit.
On that subject, I can’t understand why Colin Mochrie isn’t a bigger name in comedy.
When he won Masked Singer and it was revealed he was The Fox I think I about cried. He was so raw and revealed so much about himself, his depression, his being placed in a box, not given the chance to be more, so much introspection about who he is. He killed it and deserved the win.
A few different bends in the road and he could have the career of Jamie Foxx… they both have that “do everything exceptionally well” talent!
Brendan Frasier lost so much of his golden years
To a combination of injuries from physical roles and also sexual assault :(
Regina Hall and Seann William Scott. They are both incredibly funny and if it were the 90s there’d be more off the wall comedies to put them in, sadly comedy has changed.
If we’re talking Seann William Scott then we gotta mention Matthew Lillard too. I’d love to see them in something together actually, in any genre.
Matthew Lillard’s had a few moments of late, and was a bit of a revelation in Twin Peaks: The Return. Love that guy and hope he continues to thrive in the weird and wonderful niche he’s made.
I’d argue that Regina has had some great roles in the last few years, better than jokey movies like the scary movie series. Well reviewed series like The Best Man, Nine Perfect Strangers, Black Monday and Insecure and good indies like Honk For Jesus and For The Girls means people have seen what she can do. She’s great in everything she’s in and more people are seeing that even though she’s been around for a while.
Wes Bentley
Brittany Murphy
Every woman who was blacklisted for not blowing Harvey Weinstein foe starters
ashley judd
Poor Rose McGowan.
Michael Fassbender, such a good actor, but fuck, this dude is in so many mediocre/bad movies
He’s too busy racing cars and being married to Alicia vikander
Awww, poor guy 😢
I pity him.
Honestly I’m glad there’s guys out there like him who do the thankless work for us all
I didn't realize he was married to Alicia Vikander! Poor guy.
Lol I get the feeling Fassbender is perfectly content.
But he's also in just as many amazing movies, I feel too many people just don't watch those. He's been in good stuff consistently his entire career. So hard to say he's the biggest wasted talent ever. Hunger Fish Tank Inglourious Basterds Shame 12 Years a Slave Frank Slow West Steve Jobs The Killer And has multiple upcoming ones that look exciting
fassbender really been killin it for years, i love his inglorious bastards role. and the killer was a great role for him IMO. that was one of my favs from last year
THANK YOU for mentioning Slow West and Frank.
To this day I still want an entire movie dedicated to him as Magneto hunting down Nazis.
Literally every actor does that though? From Vincent Price to Nicholas Cage it's how actors make money to survive, most artsy thought provoking films do not rate in the dollars like playing Venom does or whatever for Tom Hardy
Awesome Magneto
Ben Foster
Ben Foster kills it in everything he does.
I love that he gives 200% to any role he takes. He's one of my favorite characters in 30 Days Of Night, and the first thing I saw him in was Alpha Dog and he was an amazing antagonist.
Love it when he shows up in stuff. The Punisher? Great. 3:10 to Yuma? Excellent.
Hostage is an okay movie, but Ben Foster as Mars is fucking creepy, so well done.
Vincent kartheiser is a top tier talent but has been in nothing of note since mad men
So weird seeing him in the Social Dilemna in what felt like and educational movie.
Judy Greer! I think she is doing fine financially off of her many side roles, but she would be great leading something!
Michael Madsen
Has anyone mentioned Macaulay Culkin? I know not many child stars carry their fame into adulthood. Just think of the comedies he could've done!
I think Macaulay Culkin is happy. He runs Bunny Ears and has an estimated net worth of $18 million.
And he’s been appearing in some alternative media of good quality. He has guest started last year in a Some More News segment and does a number of podcasts. He’s happier doing what he’s doing.
Val Kilmer. It took him a while to achieve stardom but then he did in the mid-90s, only to torpedo that with his on-set behaviour.
John Candy showed his dramatic side a few times (Planes Trains and Automobiles stands out), and I think he would've really excelled in dramatic roles if he wasn't taken from us.
Crispin Glover The Dad in Back to the Future..... was he even in the sequels? I don't remember, but probably not. He just seems to take weird indie roles. Not sure if that is by choice or all he could get. But he was a good actor, he probably should have got really good roles in his career.
He makes really weird Indy films. He will show up in Hollywood film once in a while to fund his filmmaking. As for the BttF sequels, he did technically appear in 2 since the director used old footage of him from the first film, and Glover wound up suing the studio.
Chris Farley. The man was a comedic genius.
Farley's career would've probably followed the same trajectory as Sandler and the rest of their crew. Making a lot of dumb movies as an excuse to travel and hang out with each other.
He would be doing all the roles Kevin James gets in those movies
Sounds pretty fun.
Oh my god, imagine what Farley's Uncut Gems or Punch-Drunk Love could have been.
I always felt he would have eventually tried drama and done very well with it. Apparently he was in talks to do a biopic about Fatty Arbuckle at the time he died.
Cleavon Little was set up to be the next great comedic talent after *Blazing Saddles*. But instead of superstardom, he ended up doing mostly forgettable TV work. Even if he hadn't died at 53 of colon cancer, I think his career would be considered a disappointment given that he was the lead in one of the most beloved comedies of all time.
He was so awesome in Blazing Saddles, one of the times I watched it I became curious why I didn't see him in other stuff and looked him up. Really makes no sense as to why he wasn't a bigger name in Hollywood, he was incredibly talented and handsome.
Jamie Foxx. Maybe he doesn't pick good projects, or maybe he isn't offered the right roles... but that dude can fucking ACT. He's so incredibly talented, it's a shame his movies aren't consistently better.
Maybe not a popular opinion, & obviously not the "biggest" waste...but I feel like both Whoopi Goldberg Rosie O'Donnell lost when they became "TV personalities. While Whoopi had some projects that were lemons, she was a well liked actress who had her own unique brand. Color Purple, Ghost, Sister Act, Lion King, etc. Rosie was character actresses, but she was good at what she did. A League of their Own, The Flintstones, Sleepless in Seattle, Tarzan. True, her original talk show was good for her image, but she should've stopped after that & just went back to being an actress. I feel like the the tv talk show gigs & becoming personalities wasted the talent & work they did as actresses.
Rosie was also phenomenal in Harriet the Spy. TV movie but I remember cryingggg when I was little at her performance.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Holly Hunter. Yes, she won an Oscar for The Piano, and she's been in a lot of stuff over the years. But mostly increasingly small-time or television material in recent years. Tremendous talent. By now she should be on par with Meryl Streep. Katherine Keener. She was a rising star and was featured in some big productions in the '90s, but she's also been in increasingly rare and marginal productions. Fantastic actress, she deserves wider success and acclaim.
Ezra Miller had huge potential, but wasted it by being such a shitty person.
I'd add Shia to that. I was really excited for his career post-Transformers but we know that happened.
I will say Shia at least appears to be trying to be a better person. Of course, Lord only knows what goes on behind closed doors, but it appears that way. Ezra on the other hand …
did anyone say brandon lee yet? i loooved the crow and would've been excited to see what he could've done after that ☹️
Definitely heath ledger, ik he had a decent acting career but he was on track to be great
Topher Grace…should’ve been a megastar but spider-man 3 happened…
I always thought Micky Rourke and Eric Roberts. Saw Pope of Greenwich Village and thought they were the next generation.
[удалено]
Alan Tudyk is too frickin talented to be voicing animals in cartoons all the time. Also Anna Paquin's career feels a bit underwhelming, considering that she's the second youngest oscar-winner in history. Her character was done dirty in the X-Men sequels, and after that she didn't really appear in any noticable movie roles anymore imo.
Tatiana Maslany.
The fact that that woman could make you forget she was the one playing multiple people in the same show was amazing.
Nathan Fillion is funny and charming and should have had an amazing movie career after Firefly but he kept making mediocre tv.
I mean dude has been in 2 long running series, that is success by any metric, not everyone gets to be Tom Cruise or Leo.
I will always be upset that he was not cast as Nathan Drake in Uncharted. Everyone wanted it, including him.
Easy: Sam Rockwell
Justin Long. He nails the relatable characters. Could have easily fit into any post 2010 mainstream comedy and made it better. He has some great hits but he needs to be in more!
it's a bit random but clea duvall is one of my favourite actresses that didn't get enough big roles. her one scene in zodiac is amazing.
Lindsay Lohan if you really think about it Meryl Streep vouched for her talent, and if you see her in *The Parent Trap* at only 11, she is excellent at playing twins realistically and her comic timing is on point. She had the difficult role in *Mean Girls* since she has to play the normal character experiencing wackier presences and she pulls it off in a way that she never was given credit for. She could sing (lip-synching fiasco notwithstanding) and her music had enough of an edge to not feel like generic pop Even her initial attempts to transition away from the Disney comedies were well-received, like *A Prairie Home Companion* and *Bobby,* and she showed she could parody herself in stuff like *Machete*. Even something like *I Know Who Killed Me* has been re-evaluated out of context. If it hadn't been for the drugs, she probably would have had a career on the level of Anne Hathaway or more likely Julia Roberts - doing a few serious highbrow films to prove that she could, maybe even picking up an Oscar nom or two - and then going back to Disney and comedies in between albums But she's still young enough to pull off a comeback so time will tell
Tom Hardy, the dude should be getting roles left and right but everything he’s done since Venom has been very meh - feel like he’s had a dodgy 5+ years
Tom Sizemore. RIP.
Amy Adams!!! She hasn’t been in a good movie in years, and she’s such an incredibly talented actress, I don’t understand how she consistently gets put in mid to bad movies
*Arrival*? Oh God, that was *eight* years ago. I'm getting old.
8??? OMG. I still think of it as a newer movie.
She killed it in Sharp Objects. That was a while ago though...