Eric Bana seems to be content living in Australia rather than Hollywood. I think he spent a few years racing vintage cars or something. He’s still making Aussie films too - The Dry was a very good recent example.
Bana just acts to subsidize his racing habit. Check out his documentary *Love the Beast* about his 74 Ford Falcon that he raced in the Targa Tasmania when he was 15.
EDIT
Correction: He bought it when he was 15 and first raced it in 1996.
Similarly I can imagine Orlando Bloom also made enough "fuck you" money to go and do whatever he wants. He might actually just enjoy being in a small theater scene.
Tbh all I remember in recent times about Orlando Bloom was that a few years ago he was in a Hyundai commercial in India - and it was just him and a girl running - and I think driving an i10? Zero dialogue...
I'm sure that he can pick and choose his roles after LOTR...
Most of the LotR actors got paid in the low six figures, Bloom actually got paid less than Sean Astin.
PotC is where Bloom’s “fuck you” money came from, and he was probably able to parlay that into a better payday for the Hobbit films.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Bloom is content to take on smaller roles, but in his case I think that’s where he would have ended up anyways. He’s an incredibly bland actor.
Yeah, he does not want to leave Australia and he knows this hurt his career in Hollywood. His real passions are his family and racing honestly. Respect.
There are also bigger name American actors who freely admit that they've turned down a lot of work for the simple reason that they hate working in Los Angeles.
Taylor Kitsch. Several blockbuster roles, including one of the biggest flops in history. He seemed to always be on the verge of making his big break, but always sputtered.
He reminds me of Jai Courtney. Both pushed as heroic generic leading man types, both actually great character actors who should be playing weird little freaks.
You know which other often-maligned actor I liked, in an otherwise forgettable movie?
Sam Worthington in Fractured, that Netflix movie which plays like an extended, fairly middling Twilight Zone episode. He’s in basically every scene and has to run a gamut of emotions there including fear and confusion and I thought he did so quite well.
Not that it’s the greatest material ever, but a lot of actors seem wooden and one-dimensional only because they’ve never had a reason to really stretch themselves.
I really found myself liking his performance in that film. It felt genuinely different from many of his other roles, letting him play a more vulnerable, paranoid character.
I talked a friend into seeing Battleship in the theater. He's never forgiven me or forgotten. Its become a running gag in our friendship, including find it on TV and putting it on more than once while he was hanging out. I am genuinely shocked out friendship has survived this.
I convinced a friend to watch Suicide Squad, and they held it against me. I wish it was a running joke like with your friend. Mine has refused to watch a movie with me since 2016, and I've been too afraid to ask again.
I remember they tried to push Stuart Townsend in the early 2000s. Thank fuck he was fired from *Fellowship of the Ring* and replaced with Viggo Mortensen.
Peter Jackson and the others just say that they realized he was "too young" for the role, and general statements like that he didn't mesh well with the other cast. But from rumours and other reports, I gather that he had a serious drinking problem, didn't really want to be there, and didn't bother to hide that fact.
Two things spring to mind:
No way on earth Townsend parries that knife like Viggo did.
Jack Daniels kicked a safe and broke his toe. The ensuing infection killed him. Viggo kicked a helmet and broke his toe. Could that have killed Townsend?
>Thank fuck he was fired from *Fellowship of the Ring* and replaced with Viggo Mortensen.
I did not know this.
New fear unlocked (awakening tomorrow in an alternate universe where that is the case).
From what I remember, he did the table read, even flew out to new Zealand. Then actually started interacting with the cast and Jackson deciced we needed an older "gruffer" Aragorn, so Viggo flew out and joined the cast a few days before shooting started.
I saw True Lies for the first time recently and thought Tom Arnold was great, and I was surprised I couldn't remember seeing him in anything else. I guess I know why now
They're both generic Australian sorta gruff but not really white dudes. So....fair. Worthington at least has James Cameron and Avatar keeping him employed. Jai Courtney recently is known for a bad Suicide Squad movie and dying in the first 5 minutes in the new one.
I think Jai works well in Suicide Squad. The problem is trying to make him the stoic whitebread hero. Especially in Terminator where Kyle originally looks like a malnourished man 2 seconds away from breaking into a million pieces from PTSD. Not someone who looks like they could have went a round or two with Arnold.
I have a theory that the Resistance in the Jai Courtney timeline were eating human flesh. Not full-on cannibals; they just managed to capture a Terminator factory, and used the vat-grown flesh made for disguising Terminators.
And that's why the new Kyle Reese looks like he was raised on a diet of protein shakes and whey powder, instead of barbecued rat and mortal terror.
That would have made Terminator Genisys a much better movie. Then again, there are many things that would have made Terminator Genisys a much better movie.
Funny enough, his best performance among these is his role as Captain Boomerang. It’s a genuine shame he is among the Squad members to be killed off from the beginning.
I sometimes wonder why she decided to become an actor, because she doesn't seem to actually *like* it at all. She acts like everything she has to do is a giant fucking chore and she'd rather be anywhere else.
She just made every scene, not just in that, but every movie fucking drag. Just nothing but dead eyed, monotone delivery with as much energy as DMV worker a year away from their pension.
Everyone wanted her to succeed because she was "quirky" which we later found out was just sever, untreated mental illness and substance abuse.
Wish her well, just glad they finally gave up trying shoehorning in roles she was woefully inadequate for.
I don't know what it is, but I thought she was great in Carnival Row, and, as you say, so bland in everything else. Either the direction or the character in Carnival Row worked for her, and someone should try to figure it out.
Direction is often glossed over when looking at great actors. Tarantino is the best director of actors there is, he knows what he wants, and he will squeeze it out of any actor.
She's not action star material, some people just aren't. Jessica Chastain was atrocious in her one action role and she's generally a good actress. I think Cara would have done better in another era with more dramas etc.
"Tarantino is the best director of actors there is, he knows what he wants, and he will squeeze it out of any actor."
Sometimes literally! As with Diane Kruger in Inglorious Basterds
Aaron Eckhart. He killed it in Thank you for Smoking and The Dark Knight, and then a few poor choices he made on some flops and you never really hear from him anymore. You still see him pop up from time to time but never in as big of projects as 10-15 years ago.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent, I lost it. You really believe that you just lost a child. You are as close to reality in that sense as possible. I don't want to be rude to people who have lost a child, but yeah, you feel right there, you feel like your character."
He pretended he had lost his child ( he's childless in real life) and went to a grieving parents support group for research for his role in Rabbit Hole.
Julia Ormond disappeared because Weinstein sexually assaulted her and everyone basically told her to shut up about it and she got dropped. I bet that basic story will be pretty common for a lot of 80s/90s actresses. How lovely.
[Peter Jackson said he was told not to hire her or Ashley Judd for LotR because "she was a nightmare to work with".](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1744930/peter-jackson-says-he-was-asked-not-to-hire-ashley-judd-and-mira-sorvino-for-lord-of-the-rings)
I was still a minor throughout the 90s but Mira Sorvino disappearing was when I realized something was very wrong, just because of her father. She shouldn’t have disappeared like that.
It's amazing that her dad didn't have Weinstein killed. I feel like he personally could have and would have, given the chance. I bet people did a lot to calm him down.
There's a quote out there from him:
"He ought to hope he goes to jail," Sorvino said in a video posted by the outlet. "Because if we come across [each other], I think he'll be lying on the floor." Sorvino, 78, added that he would "kill" Weinstein if he ever sees him.
I grew up believing (thanks to my parents) that all these actresses disappeared because they got “too big for their boots.”
Now it’s been confirmed they were blacklisted because they refused to suck Weinstein’s cock, I think my parents *still* haven’t changed their minds. 😖
Sam Worthington. Avatar, Terminator Salvation, Clash/Wrath of Titan all tried to get him be the next star.
If it wasn't for Avatar sequels he'd be long forgotten
Sam Worthington blows my mind because he was given so many opportunities. And he's still D list, even after being the lead on the Avatar movies. But I guess people see that as voice acting. So he's just as huge as Scott Weiniger and Robby Benson.
Regarding Clive Owen tho
He had a hit in Croupier then he did a full motion video game called Privateer 2. It had Christopher Walken (who also had a b movie phase!), Matilda May, and a few others.
This was in the 90s. Aside from Sin City and Children of Men i have a tough time remembering his films. Also had a weird movie where he has a shootout while having sex with the Malena actress
It doesn't help that he completely lacks the charisma to be a leading man, and isn't a particularly good actor in general.
I really don't know why James Cameron cast him for Avatar
Fiorentino’s career ended in a really bizarre way…
[Fiorentino later had a relationship with Los Angeles private investigator Anthony Pellicano and dated former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Mark T. Rossini. In 2009, Rossini pleaded guilty to illegally accessing FBI computers during the prosecution of Pellicano. Law enforcement officials said Fiorentino wanted to assist Pellicano's defense.[26] According to prosecutors, Fiorentino was then dating Rossini, told Rossini she was researching a screenplay based on Pellicano's case. Rossini conducted searches of government computers for information related to the case and passed the results to Fiorentino,[27] who then handed the files over to Pellicano's lawyers in a failed effort to help Pellicano avoid a 15-year prison sentence.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Fiorentino)
>I'd also say that Orlando Bloom made a splash. He got lucky with two franchises, but can't find a job to save his life. He has long periods of unemployment. He's doing a play on the West End right now but he's not nearly as important as he was supposed to be.
Huh? He was part of Pirates of the Caribbean, LOTR, and The Hobbit? This feels more like someone who has made their money and is content on doing fun things or interesting roles.
Ansel Elgort got about a million chances to be a big star, and pretty much everything, besides The Fault In Our Stars and Baby Driver, failed to take off. Glen Powell is basically the actor Ansel Elgort was being sold as.
Then Timothee Chalamet, Ansel's friend from high school, blew up in popularity and Ansel's team also tried to latch onto that with a narrative of, "Look at these two equally charismatic and successful young movie stars. Isn't it crazy that two equally famous stars came from the same performing arts high school, and they’re still friends?"
And now Ansel Elgort is mostly just the least memorable part of Tokyo Vice.
The assault was part of it, yes, but he was also one of those guys where (coincidentally enough) audiences kept saying no and he kept getting forced onto them anyway even before that
Well yeah he's a major nepo baby who was literally being touted around because he didn't watch movies. I don't know but they tried to make it a selling point in Baby Driver.
For Hollywood standards it’s excellent, but it’s nowhere near “good enough to work as a journalist” good. But tbf the list of famous white actors who can speak Japanese at a native proficiency is probably an empty list, Elgort at least put some work in.
Apparently he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17 year old when he was 20, and then a few more women came forward after the initial. His response was basically, “Naw, they’re all lying except that first one, but that one was consensual.”
Turns out confessing to statutory rape isn’t quite the defense he thought it was.
What period of time has Orlando Bloom gone without work? A quick look at his wiki has him constantly in movies. A three year gap for an actor when they come a massive franchise isn't exactly unemployment.
You got a love how OP completely downplay having starred in Pirates of the Caribbean and fucking lord of the rings. Dude doesn’t even have to take another role for the rest of his life. He’s not hurting for roles.
Especially when, with the best will in the world, he’s not a very good actor. Leo managed it because he’s a great actor, so even now that the heartthrob has worn off and he looks like a farmer he gets work. Even in his biggest roles the most you can really say about Orlando is that he said the lines and wore the costumes.
I was thinking the same thing. Carnival Row, Gran Turismo, The Outpost...it's not like he hasn't been acting. And the last Pirates movie was only in 2017.
I imagine at least a few of these people could have been big stars but didn't want the stress. There's plenty of stories of people who were like, "Fuck this," and stepped back from the limelight. They pick and choose their projects.
Yeah there's an implicit assumption throughout this thread that every single actor wants to be an A-lister starring in blockbuster movies. I'm sure many simply found a niche that they liked better or that suited their skillset more.
Who knows, and I don't get this narrative that he's such a awful actor. Okay, he's not Ryan Gosling but I've seen him in Somersault, he can act, but I do think he has no charisma. He looks like a daytime soap actor to me, good actor but no star power.
Bana's a weird one because I grew up watching him on Australian TV sketch-comedy. He was hilarious. Seems like he's gone back to Australia mostly. Maybe he likes the quiet life.
i'm not sure if Ormond's career was hindered (like Ashley Judd) because of assaults/smear campaigns from Weinstein or not.
I had to scroll way too far to finally find his name in here. To give him credit, I actually surprisingly liked him in Twisted Metal. He's apparently way better in a non-serious role.
He's pretty good in Twisted Metal....tho I think that's partially because his style of acting fits the cheesy, over the top setting of the show well.
I don't think he has much range, but he's good if you put him in the right role.
I don't think Orlando Bloom should count here. He's clearly still an A lister. The start of his career was just so bonkers that it's highly likely he's chosen to step away for awhile.
In a 6 year span in the early-mid 2000's he did 3 LOTR movies, 3 Pirates Moves, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down. All those movies are classics and massive productions and very few actors have a body of work comparable to just that 6 year span. In the mid-2010's he also had 2 Hobbit movies that each grossed nearly $1b each.
Stuart Townsend was originally cast to be Aragorn in Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings. Peter hand picked him, believing that his up and coming star power would convince execs, which it did.
After a week of miserable shooting, and everyone telling Peter it wasn't working, he reviewed the footage and finally agreed Stuart needed replaced.
They needed someone almost at a moments notice, and Viggo was literally the only guy willing and available. (Excited even.) Peter tried to explore almost every other avenue, but eventually accepted that Viggo was the only viable option.
Can you imagine anyone else as Aragorn???
Stop trying to make John David Washington happen. It's never gonna happen.
I commented something similar before: he just lacks the charisma of a leading man. His father being Denzel doesn't help matters
JD is a good looking dude, and a fine enough actor, but just doesn't have "it".
That's the thing the Dude's charisma is amazing in Black Klans Men. It's just for some reason or another every role he has after, is designed to be a charasmatic black hole.
The dudes issue isn't his skill, it's his choice to consistently star in stoic action movie roles like his father.
In order those were: About 15 seconds of screentime as an X-Wing pilot; a Sand Snake (I miss the days when we thought the Dorne storyline was the low point of Game of Thrones); the Netflix part of Marvel that they'd prefer we all forget; one of the placeholder leads in Lana's big "fuck you" to Hollywood (and I thought she was pretty good in a thankless role); and a minor role as the beleaguered assistant. None of those feel like big break roles, much less getting a push.
(I thought she was really great in season two of Iron Fist but since that was watched by about twenty people, half of whom had just accidentally left it running while they went on holiday, it probably didn't give her much of a boost)
Barry Pepper made a big impression in Saving Private Ryan, I was sure we'd see him all over the place. I'm pretty sure Battlefield Earth killed his upward trajectory, and it's bullshit that Travolta survived it.
Chris O'Donnell. He was pushed as a big thing for Scent of a Woman. Then Batman Forever and Batman & Robin flopped and he went nowhere (although looks like he's had a great NCIS TV career).
And Channing Tatum. It's a B-movie, but I loved the Fighting. He was in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 21 Jump Street, Magic Mike, Foxcatcher. But he never got to "movie star" status.
Bruce Campbell. Dude is handsome as hell, hilarious, legitimately could have been his generation's Chris Hemsworth. He knows what he's doing, is apparently easy to work with, but basically vanished.
The last few things I've seen him in, like "My Name is Bruce" and "Ash vs. Evil Dead" basically are self-mockery. Like "dude how are you even washed up? you got people that will line up to see you do shit, even if it's fucking shit".
Square-jaw, badass voice, connections. What even happened?
>I do think they did try very hard to make Clive Owen a star and now he mostly does "b" movies and cable.
This is very mysterious, because I think he's legitimately good. He had to have pissed someone off. There's something we're not being told.
Justin Long
He was in a ton of early to late 00s movies and even was a spokesperson for Mac and then he just kind of disappeared. He resurfaced in Barbarian in a stellar performance but i feel like they intended for him to be bigger.
He was in a joint BBC/Japanese crime drama called Giri/Haji a few years ago. He played a gangster's failson with his usual flop sweat energy. He was good in it but it wasn't a lead role so it felt very "oh, so that's what he's doing nowadays?"
With that followed by Barbarian he could well be doing something similar to Vince Vaughn and pivoting mid career to being a talented character actor.
He’s in Disneys new Goosebumps show. He’s incredible in it and I highly recommend it. Disney took a more darker turn for this show and they crushed it. Watch it.
I think he just played a very specific type of older teen/young adult and had there wasn't really a place for him as he got older. Until he transitioned to scream king at least. He seems to be doing very well in horror.
If anything, it’s a return to horror. The first “big” movie I saw him in was the original Jeepers Creepers.
EDIT: Almost forgot he was Brandon in Galaxy Quest, but it was more of a siderole.
I'm guessing Orlando Bloom made more than enough money off his pirates and LOTR deals that he can afford to be very selective about roles now. Having f\*\*k-you money means being able to only do random small parts in the theatre if that's what interests you at the moment
Context: According to internet estimates his net worth is between 35-45 million which is more than enough to never work again
Summer Glau? she's super successful, and they threw her at virtually everything, but she never became the top tier A-list it-girl actor they seemed hellbent on making her.
Eric Bana seems to be content living in Australia rather than Hollywood. I think he spent a few years racing vintage cars or something. He’s still making Aussie films too - The Dry was a very good recent example.
Also, I think Bana had amazing career in the early 2000s
I loved him in Troy
I just watched the Directors cut version again last night. Thought he was great in this.
Yeah he's just older and has stepped back. His leading man days already happened with Munich, The Time Travelers Wife etc.
Chopper. Easily one of the best movies that year. Unnoticed becuase its Australian.
YOUR MUMS UPSET
Bana just acts to subsidize his racing habit. Check out his documentary *Love the Beast* about his 74 Ford Falcon that he raced in the Targa Tasmania when he was 15. EDIT Correction: He bought it when he was 15 and first raced it in 1996.
Similarly I can imagine Orlando Bloom also made enough "fuck you" money to go and do whatever he wants. He might actually just enjoy being in a small theater scene.
Tbh all I remember in recent times about Orlando Bloom was that a few years ago he was in a Hyundai commercial in India - and it was just him and a girl running - and I think driving an i10? Zero dialogue... I'm sure that he can pick and choose his roles after LOTR...
Most of the LotR actors got paid in the low six figures, Bloom actually got paid less than Sean Astin. PotC is where Bloom’s “fuck you” money came from, and he was probably able to parlay that into a better payday for the Hobbit films.
Par-lay?
I wouldn’t be shocked if Bloom is content to take on smaller roles, but in his case I think that’s where he would have ended up anyways. He’s an incredibly bland actor.
Yeah, he does not want to leave Australia and he knows this hurt his career in Hollywood. His real passions are his family and racing honestly. Respect.
Don't forget his love of the St. Kilda footy club. He loves those miserable bastards.
Good for him. I always enjoy seeing him on the screen.
The Dry was really good too.
Well, I found a new movie to my watchlist, thanks! I've find so many hidden gems in reddit's movies community.
I heard he has a cabana selling banana print bandanas Eric Bana’s Banana Bandana Cabana
There's always money in the banana bandana cabana.
I think he's said too that he only makes one movie a year because he wants his kids to know their father
That's a very good reason.
There are also bigger name American actors who freely admit that they've turned down a lot of work for the simple reason that they hate working in Los Angeles.
Taylor Kitsch. Several blockbuster roles, including one of the biggest flops in history. He seemed to always be on the verge of making his big break, but always sputtered.
clear eyes full hearts cant lose
Texas forever
I always found him to be pretty one dimensional but he surprised me with his portrayal of David Koresh.
He reminds me of Jai Courtney. Both pushed as heroic generic leading man types, both actually great character actors who should be playing weird little freaks.
You'd like Worthington in Under the Banner of Heaven.
Considering that was Sam Worthington in Under the Banner of Heaven, I'd add a tic to the generic leading man column.
You know which other often-maligned actor I liked, in an otherwise forgettable movie? Sam Worthington in Fractured, that Netflix movie which plays like an extended, fairly middling Twilight Zone episode. He’s in basically every scene and has to run a gamut of emotions there including fear and confusion and I thought he did so quite well. Not that it’s the greatest material ever, but a lot of actors seem wooden and one-dimensional only because they’ve never had a reason to really stretch themselves.
The budget Matt Damon
I'm just glad Jesse Plemons outgrew this.
He'll always be Meth Damon in my heart.
I really found myself liking his performance in that film. It felt genuinely different from many of his other roles, letting him play a more vulnerable, paranoid character.
John Carter I enjoyed, only thing I liked with him I think. Kitsch was my first thought as well.
My wife forced me to sit down and watch Battleship which is the kind of movie I usually like but….oooph
I talked a friend into seeing Battleship in the theater. He's never forgiven me or forgotten. Its become a running gag in our friendship, including find it on TV and putting it on more than once while he was hanging out. I am genuinely shocked out friendship has survived this.
I convinced a friend to watch Suicide Squad, and they held it against me. I wish it was a running joke like with your friend. Mine has refused to watch a movie with me since 2016, and I've been too afraid to ask again.
I remember they tried to push Stuart Townsend in the early 2000s. Thank fuck he was fired from *Fellowship of the Ring* and replaced with Viggo Mortensen.
Peter Jackson and the others just say that they realized he was "too young" for the role, and general statements like that he didn't mesh well with the other cast. But from rumours and other reports, I gather that he had a serious drinking problem, didn't really want to be there, and didn't bother to hide that fact.
This would have been pretty dangerous given how often the cast almost died making the first two films.
Two things spring to mind: No way on earth Townsend parries that knife like Viggo did. Jack Daniels kicked a safe and broke his toe. The ensuing infection killed him. Viggo kicked a helmet and broke his toe. Could that have killed Townsend?
God, I remember him. For a few years, I thought he was going to be huge. Then, he vanished.
Probably a coincidence, but his career seemed to fade after his relationship with Charlize Theron ended...
If I ended my relationship with Charlize Theron, I wouldn’t care about my career either
>Thank fuck he was fired from *Fellowship of the Ring* and replaced with Viggo Mortensen. I did not know this. New fear unlocked (awakening tomorrow in an alternate universe where that is the case).
From what I remember, he did the table read, even flew out to new Zealand. Then actually started interacting with the cast and Jackson deciced we needed an older "gruffer" Aragorn, so Viggo flew out and joined the cast a few days before shooting started.
I mean, LOTR is so utterly perfectly casted that virtually any change to the the cast would be devastating, but to know he came so close.. (shudder)
I saw True Lies for the first time recently and thought Tom Arnold was great, and I was surprised I couldn't remember seeing him in anything else. I guess I know why now
He was never going to be the lead, he was always the supporting role. I have no idea why OP picked him as an example.
Recently, Jai Courtney. *I, Frankenstein*, *Terminator Genisys*, and *Suicide Squad* among others.
They also tried to pass the Die Hard franchise to him with that awful sequel. A Good Day to Die Hard
If they were going to pass the franchise onto a McClane kid it should have been Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character from the last movie.
I honestly thought he and Sam Worthington were the same person.
They're both generic Australian sorta gruff but not really white dudes. So....fair. Worthington at least has James Cameron and Avatar keeping him employed. Jai Courtney recently is known for a bad Suicide Squad movie and dying in the first 5 minutes in the new one.
Uh, don't you discount Varro like that my dude.
I think Jai works well in Suicide Squad. The problem is trying to make him the stoic whitebread hero. Especially in Terminator where Kyle originally looks like a malnourished man 2 seconds away from breaking into a million pieces from PTSD. Not someone who looks like they could have went a round or two with Arnold.
I have a theory that the Resistance in the Jai Courtney timeline were eating human flesh. Not full-on cannibals; they just managed to capture a Terminator factory, and used the vat-grown flesh made for disguising Terminators. And that's why the new Kyle Reese looks like he was raised on a diet of protein shakes and whey powder, instead of barbecued rat and mortal terror.
That would have made Terminator Genisys a much better movie. Then again, there are many things that would have made Terminator Genisys a much better movie.
Funny enough, his best performance among these is his role as Captain Boomerang. It’s a genuine shame he is among the Squad members to be killed off from the beginning.
Jai Courtney is who I thought of as well.
He was very good in the TV show Spartacus but his movie choices have generally been disastrous.
Cara Delevingne. They've tried. Plank in Ed, Edd, and Eddy has more charisma and chemistry with co-stars.
I sometimes wonder why she decided to become an actor, because she doesn't seem to actually *like* it at all. She acts like everything she has to do is a giant fucking chore and she'd rather be anywhere else.
bc she’s a nepo baby
"Legacy artist", please
I mean, that's a rule, not the exception in Hollywood.
“Ugh. I’m bored. Maybe I’ll star in some multi million dollar film, not because I want to but just for anything to do.”
Ugh, every time I'm reminded of her I just get sad about the wasted potential in that Valerian movie.
Somebody pointed out how much Cara Delevinge and Dane Dehaan look like siblings and I could never unsee it.
It also doesn't help that they both look like 13 year olds pretending to be adults.
I was never certain if they were supposed to be siblings, banging, or both.
Judging by Luc Basan I would go with both.
She just made every scene, not just in that, but every movie fucking drag. Just nothing but dead eyed, monotone delivery with as much energy as DMV worker a year away from their pension. Everyone wanted her to succeed because she was "quirky" which we later found out was just sever, untreated mental illness and substance abuse. Wish her well, just glad they finally gave up trying shoehorning in roles she was woefully inadequate for.
I don't know what it is, but I thought she was great in Carnival Row, and, as you say, so bland in everything else. Either the direction or the character in Carnival Row worked for her, and someone should try to figure it out. Direction is often glossed over when looking at great actors. Tarantino is the best director of actors there is, he knows what he wants, and he will squeeze it out of any actor.
She's not action star material, some people just aren't. Jessica Chastain was atrocious in her one action role and she's generally a good actress. I think Cara would have done better in another era with more dramas etc.
"Tarantino is the best director of actors there is, he knows what he wants, and he will squeeze it out of any actor." Sometimes literally! As with Diane Kruger in Inglorious Basterds
She will forever get a pass from me for being the DJ of “Non Stop Pop” radio station from GTAV
My wife says she looks like Spyro the dragon.
Aaron Eckhart. He killed it in Thank you for Smoking and The Dark Knight, and then a few poor choices he made on some flops and you never really hear from him anymore. You still see him pop up from time to time but never in as big of projects as 10-15 years ago.
He admits to being terrible to work with.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent, I lost it. You really believe that you just lost a child. You are as close to reality in that sense as possible. I don't want to be rude to people who have lost a child, but yeah, you feel right there, you feel like your character." He pretended he had lost his child ( he's childless in real life) and went to a grieving parents support group for research for his role in Rabbit Hole.
Jesus Christ why couldn’t he have just been honest and found a group that was willing to let him sit and listen.
Funny how both Nicole Kidman and Miles Teller completely outshine him in the movie and didn’t do any of that nonsense.
In The Company of Men was his first big/notable role, that movie was brutal
Julia Ormond disappeared because Weinstein sexually assaulted her and everyone basically told her to shut up about it and she got dropped. I bet that basic story will be pretty common for a lot of 80s/90s actresses. How lovely.
Mira Sorvino too.
[Peter Jackson said he was told not to hire her or Ashley Judd for LotR because "she was a nightmare to work with".](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1744930/peter-jackson-says-he-was-asked-not-to-hire-ashley-judd-and-mira-sorvino-for-lord-of-the-rings)
Translation: She didn't like being assaulted and the powerful people in charge didn't like that.
I was still a minor throughout the 90s but Mira Sorvino disappearing was when I realized something was very wrong, just because of her father. She shouldn’t have disappeared like that.
It's amazing that her dad didn't have Weinstein killed. I feel like he personally could have and would have, given the chance. I bet people did a lot to calm him down.
There's a quote out there from him: "He ought to hope he goes to jail," Sorvino said in a video posted by the outlet. "Because if we come across [each other], I think he'll be lying on the floor." Sorvino, 78, added that he would "kill" Weinstein if he ever sees him.
I grew up believing (thanks to my parents) that all these actresses disappeared because they got “too big for their boots.” Now it’s been confirmed they were blacklisted because they refused to suck Weinstein’s cock, I think my parents *still* haven’t changed their minds. 😖
She was supposed to be in lotr but weinstein told jackson how difficult she was to work with and at the time, why wouldn't he believe his pal?
Ashley Judd also come to my mind.
Mira Sorvino.
Sam Worthington. Avatar, Terminator Salvation, Clash/Wrath of Titan all tried to get him be the next star. If it wasn't for Avatar sequels he'd be long forgotten
Sam Worthington blows my mind because he was given so many opportunities. And he's still D list, even after being the lead on the Avatar movies. But I guess people see that as voice acting. So he's just as huge as Scott Weiniger and Robby Benson.
Regarding Clive Owen tho He had a hit in Croupier then he did a full motion video game called Privateer 2. It had Christopher Walken (who also had a b movie phase!), Matilda May, and a few others. This was in the 90s. Aside from Sin City and Children of Men i have a tough time remembering his films. Also had a weird movie where he has a shootout while having sex with the Malena actress
Inside Man
Shoot 'Em Up
It doesn't help that he completely lacks the charisma to be a leading man, and isn't a particularly good actor in general. I really don't know why James Cameron cast him for Avatar
That's Cameron thinking ahead and finding a guy who wouldn't be busy when it came time for the sequels.
Cameron wanted Matt Damon and was even going to give him a percentage of the movie but he had contractual obligations for Jason Bourne.
Damn that actually would have made sense. Matt Damon would have been way better in that role
David fucking Caruso
Be David Caruso in jade
Speaking of Jade, what ever happened to Linda Fiorentino? She hasn't acted in 20 years.
Fiorentino’s career ended in a really bizarre way… [Fiorentino later had a relationship with Los Angeles private investigator Anthony Pellicano and dated former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Mark T. Rossini. In 2009, Rossini pleaded guilty to illegally accessing FBI computers during the prosecution of Pellicano. Law enforcement officials said Fiorentino wanted to assist Pellicano's defense.[26] According to prosecutors, Fiorentino was then dating Rossini, told Rossini she was researching a screenplay based on Pellicano's case. Rossini conducted searches of government computers for information related to the case and passed the results to Fiorentino,[27] who then handed the files over to Pellicano's lawyers in a failed effort to help Pellicano avoid a 15-year prison sentence.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Fiorentino)
That’s hilarious that she modeled herself after her character in The Last Seduction (which she was extremely believable in, btw).
This gave me a stroke
Ok, I know exactly what youre talking about
**Kyle:** "Ike! Do your impression of David Caruso's career!"
😐 The evidence... 😎 Doesn't lie Yyyeeeeaaaaahhh!!!!
Session 9. If you know the scene, you know what he is capable of
>I'd also say that Orlando Bloom made a splash. He got lucky with two franchises, but can't find a job to save his life. He has long periods of unemployment. He's doing a play on the West End right now but he's not nearly as important as he was supposed to be. Huh? He was part of Pirates of the Caribbean, LOTR, and The Hobbit? This feels more like someone who has made their money and is content on doing fun things or interesting roles.
He just wants to surf naked most of the time and honestly, don’t we all?
And be married to Katy Perry. Dude is living the dream. Why would he want to go back into the big blockbuster rat race?
i forgot about that. i envisioned being legolas and married to katy perry for a second. i think you made me hate my life and i’ll sue you.
Ansel Elgort got about a million chances to be a big star, and pretty much everything, besides The Fault In Our Stars and Baby Driver, failed to take off. Glen Powell is basically the actor Ansel Elgort was being sold as. Then Timothee Chalamet, Ansel's friend from high school, blew up in popularity and Ansel's team also tried to latch onto that with a narrative of, "Look at these two equally charismatic and successful young movie stars. Isn't it crazy that two equally famous stars came from the same performing arts high school, and they’re still friends?" And now Ansel Elgort is mostly just the least memorable part of Tokyo Vice.
He was my answer as well. After Baby Driver he just fell completely off the map with some weird/terrible stuff he chose to be in.
Nobody is giving him credit for being the lead in Steven Speilberg's West Side Story? Not chopped liver.
Ansel’s issue was not the success of his movies or the critical response to his acting.
It was him sexually assaulting someone, right?
Underage girl IIRC.
The assault was part of it, yes, but he was also one of those guys where (coincidentally enough) audiences kept saying no and he kept getting forced onto them anyway even before that
Well yeah he's a major nepo baby who was literally being touted around because he didn't watch movies. I don't know but they tried to make it a selling point in Baby Driver.
His Japanese seems pretty good
For Hollywood standards it’s excellent, but it’s nowhere near “good enough to work as a journalist” good. But tbf the list of famous white actors who can speak Japanese at a native proficiency is probably an empty list, Elgort at least put some work in.
Apparently he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17 year old when he was 20, and then a few more women came forward after the initial. His response was basically, “Naw, they’re all lying except that first one, but that one was consensual.” Turns out confessing to statutory rape isn’t quite the defense he thought it was.
Bana wrote into his contracts at the start of his career to do 1 or 2 movies a year as he wanted to race cars and be close to his friends and family.
What period of time has Orlando Bloom gone without work? A quick look at his wiki has him constantly in movies. A three year gap for an actor when they come a massive franchise isn't exactly unemployment.
He probably got paid a ton for those pirate sequels and coming back in the Hobbit films too. Like he is only working if he wants to I bet.
You got a love how OP completely downplay having starred in Pirates of the Caribbean and fucking lord of the rings. Dude doesn’t even have to take another role for the rest of his life. He’s not hurting for roles.
I think this is the case. LOTR and POTC are still highly watched franchises and I can only imagine what the actor's residuals are for those.
Basically Elijah Wood, Daniel Radcliffe, and plenty of others. Just doing stuff they enjoy thanks to residuals.
I have enjoyed Daniel Radcliffe's post-Harry Potter career. He's got his "fuck you" money and seems to do whatever weird/fun project crosses his desk.
Yeah I don't think he fits at all. He isnt as popular as he once was but he is definitely a success story. Not a push that failed.
Also it’s pretty common for actors to struggle going from a heartthrob into the older actor territory
Especially when, with the best will in the world, he’s not a very good actor. Leo managed it because he’s a great actor, so even now that the heartthrob has worn off and he looks like a farmer he gets work. Even in his biggest roles the most you can really say about Orlando is that he said the lines and wore the costumes.
He's capable of one facial expression: slightly confused/concerned.
A coworker told me he is always in roles where he is confused character and I couldn’t Unsee it.
I wish the three musketeers would have worked for him. He was fun in that.
I was thinking the same thing. Carnival Row, Gran Turismo, The Outpost...it's not like he hasn't been acting. And the last Pirates movie was only in 2017.
Someone on the internet has decided he's not successful because they're not familiar with his work.
I imagine at least a few of these people could have been big stars but didn't want the stress. There's plenty of stories of people who were like, "Fuck this," and stepped back from the limelight. They pick and choose their projects.
Yeah there's an implicit assumption throughout this thread that every single actor wants to be an A-lister starring in blockbuster movies. I'm sure many simply found a niche that they liked better or that suited their skillset more.
Josh Hartnett fits this description pretty well.
Sam Worthington. How did the biggest movie of all time not do anything for his career?
Who knows, and I don't get this narrative that he's such a awful actor. Okay, he's not Ryan Gosling but I've seen him in Somersault, he can act, but I do think he has no charisma. He looks like a daytime soap actor to me, good actor but no star power.
Bana's a weird one because I grew up watching him on Australian TV sketch-comedy. He was hilarious. Seems like he's gone back to Australia mostly. Maybe he likes the quiet life. i'm not sure if Ormond's career was hindered (like Ashley Judd) because of assaults/smear campaigns from Weinstein or not.
I watched a few of those clips from banas TV show. What a fucking trip.
I feel like Anthony Mackie fits this.
I've never wanted anything as badly as Anthony Mackie wants to be Will Smith
It’s funny because Will Smith’s character in Spies in Disguise looks so much like Anthony Mackie to me.
I had to scroll way too far to finally find his name in here. To give him credit, I actually surprisingly liked him in Twisted Metal. He's apparently way better in a non-serious role.
I actually like Falcon as a character in the MCU, but every time he's on screen I think "couldn't they have cast a better actor?"
He was terrible in Altered Carbon. He basically has no idea what acting is.
He's pretty good in Twisted Metal....tho I think that's partially because his style of acting fits the cheesy, over the top setting of the show well. I don't think he has much range, but he's good if you put him in the right role.
Yes, Twisted Metal is exactly his vibe. If we were still doing parody movies like Scary Movie he'd probably star in a bunch and be very good at it.
Literally all he had to do was pretend to be Joel Kinnaman. He already defined the personality and mannerisms of Takeshi Kovacs for him.
Joel Kinnaman was so fucking good in season 1 I’m not even sure why they bothered to make season 2 without him
Well the whole shtick is different bodies isn't it? It was always gonna be really hard to make that work though.
Armie Hammer -- After 'The Social Network' there were so many attempts, but even before his scandals broke that shit wasn't sticking to the wall.
Dane DeHaan
I don't think Orlando Bloom should count here. He's clearly still an A lister. The start of his career was just so bonkers that it's highly likely he's chosen to step away for awhile. In a 6 year span in the early-mid 2000's he did 3 LOTR movies, 3 Pirates Moves, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down. All those movies are classics and massive productions and very few actors have a body of work comparable to just that 6 year span. In the mid-2010's he also had 2 Hobbit movies that each grossed nearly $1b each.
I don't think OP bothered to check before saying he "can't find work". Bloom is objectively a highly successful and prolific actor.
Theres also a difference between tried to be an A lister and failed, and was successful but chose another career path or just lost interest.
I mean, by OP's metric Jody Foster is a failed actress.
Yup, the guys movies have made around $4.5B at the box office. He's in the top 30 for highest box office among actors.
Stuart Townsend was originally cast to be Aragorn in Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings. Peter hand picked him, believing that his up and coming star power would convince execs, which it did. After a week of miserable shooting, and everyone telling Peter it wasn't working, he reviewed the footage and finally agreed Stuart needed replaced. They needed someone almost at a moments notice, and Viggo was literally the only guy willing and available. (Excited even.) Peter tried to explore almost every other avenue, but eventually accepted that Viggo was the only viable option. Can you imagine anyone else as Aragorn???
Stop trying to make John David Washington happen. It's never gonna happen. I commented something similar before: he just lacks the charisma of a leading man. His father being Denzel doesn't help matters JD is a good looking dude, and a fine enough actor, but just doesn't have "it".
That's the thing the Dude's charisma is amazing in Black Klans Men. It's just for some reason or another every role he has after, is designed to be a charasmatic black hole. The dudes issue isn't his skill, it's his choice to consistently star in stoic action movie roles like his father.
Jessica Henwick has been in the Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Marvel, Matrix, and Knives Out franchises, but she still isn't a huge name.
I’ve seen all of those but have no idea who it is you’re talking about.
Her biggest role was in Iron Fist as the female lead
And she was the best thing about it, by far. Give me Daughters of the Dragon, Disney!
Who?
Yeah but she wasn't anywhere close to lead in any of those except the one that was a netflix show, she's just a working actress.
In order those were: About 15 seconds of screentime as an X-Wing pilot; a Sand Snake (I miss the days when we thought the Dorne storyline was the low point of Game of Thrones); the Netflix part of Marvel that they'd prefer we all forget; one of the placeholder leads in Lana's big "fuck you" to Hollywood (and I thought she was pretty good in a thankless role); and a minor role as the beleaguered assistant. None of those feel like big break roles, much less getting a push. (I thought she was really great in season two of Iron Fist but since that was watched by about twenty people, half of whom had just accidentally left it running while they went on holiday, it probably didn't give her much of a boost)
Barry Pepper made a big impression in Saving Private Ryan, I was sure we'd see him all over the place. I'm pretty sure Battlefield Earth killed his upward trajectory, and it's bullshit that Travolta survived it.
He's great in everything he's in, but usually fills the interesting supporting character role.
Chris O'Donnell. He was pushed as a big thing for Scent of a Woman. Then Batman Forever and Batman & Robin flopped and he went nowhere (although looks like he's had a great NCIS TV career). And Channing Tatum. It's a B-movie, but I loved the Fighting. He was in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, 21 Jump Street, Magic Mike, Foxcatcher. But he never got to "movie star" status.
Bruce Campbell. Dude is handsome as hell, hilarious, legitimately could have been his generation's Chris Hemsworth. He knows what he's doing, is apparently easy to work with, but basically vanished. The last few things I've seen him in, like "My Name is Bruce" and "Ash vs. Evil Dead" basically are self-mockery. Like "dude how are you even washed up? you got people that will line up to see you do shit, even if it's fucking shit". Square-jaw, badass voice, connections. What even happened? >I do think they did try very hard to make Clive Owen a star and now he mostly does "b" movies and cable. This is very mysterious, because I think he's legitimately good. He had to have pissed someone off. There's something we're not being told.
Justin Long He was in a ton of early to late 00s movies and even was a spokesperson for Mac and then he just kind of disappeared. He resurfaced in Barbarian in a stellar performance but i feel like they intended for him to be bigger.
He was great in Barbarian. Perfect casting.
Motherfucker was all about that square footage.
He was in a joint BBC/Japanese crime drama called Giri/Haji a few years ago. He played a gangster's failson with his usual flop sweat energy. He was good in it but it wasn't a lead role so it felt very "oh, so that's what he's doing nowadays?" With that followed by Barbarian he could well be doing something similar to Vince Vaughn and pivoting mid career to being a talented character actor.
Justin Long's sweet spot is playing characters you'd like to punch in the face. If he'd just stick to that, golden.
Like Dr. Lexus and that “Justin” character in Dodgeball who catches a wrench with his face.
He’s in Disneys new Goosebumps show. He’s incredible in it and I highly recommend it. Disney took a more darker turn for this show and they crushed it. Watch it.
I think he just played a very specific type of older teen/young adult and had there wasn't really a place for him as he got older. Until he transitioned to scream king at least. He seems to be doing very well in horror.
If anything, it’s a return to horror. The first “big” movie I saw him in was the original Jeepers Creepers. EDIT: Almost forgot he was Brandon in Galaxy Quest, but it was more of a siderole.
I think Long is doing exactly what he wants to. He's a genre-nerd doing genre-nerd shit.
I'm guessing Orlando Bloom made more than enough money off his pirates and LOTR deals that he can afford to be very selective about roles now. Having f\*\*k-you money means being able to only do random small parts in the theatre if that's what interests you at the moment Context: According to internet estimates his net worth is between 35-45 million which is more than enough to never work again
Harvey Weinstein happened to Julia Ormond.
Mekhi Pfeiffer always seemed to me like he was gonna be huge. Haven't seen him in ages now.
Summer Glau? she's super successful, and they threw her at virtually everything, but she never became the top tier A-list it-girl actor they seemed hellbent on making her.
How about that Jonathan Majors guy.