Should Have Been The Role Of A Lifetime...

[levcore]

Examples of actors who received absolutely amazing career opportunities that should have been the role/ part of a lifetime and set them on a sure fire path to movie stardom but actually led to nothing of worth and the general public have no idea who they are now.

This happens so often, unknown or up and coming actors get a killer role but either the movie ends up flopping or gets critically slated and their career never takes off.

A good example I think would be Brandon Routh in Superman Returns. That's the kind of role that would make an actor think "Wow I've made it!" only for nothing of merit to happen afterwards. Of course Routh has kept working in TV and smaller movies but i'm talking big movie careers that never came to pass after great opportunities.

Another example is Taylor Kitsch landing both Battleship and John Carter for 2012. That must have seemed like Christmas had come for him, leading roles in two mega budget studio movies in the same year, only for both to flop and Kitsch's career to stall straight after, with him returning to smaller roles and TV.

A final example for now, although perhaps it's a bit soon to call would be Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo in Solo. Again I bet he couldn't believe his lucky stars when he landed that (in retrospect thankless) role. Characters don't get much more famous than that, but we all know he ended up.

Any more good examples of this? Big roles but no substantial leading actor career afterwards.

[The Debts]

You figure Noomi Rapace would have hit it big after Prometheus hit screens but she never really did, which disappoints me.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by The Debts

You figure Noomi Rapace would have hit it big after Prometheus hit screens but she never really did, which disappoints me.

True, I love Noomi and Prometheus was certainly big exposure but yeah, no leading roles in a big movie since.

[DR Herbert West]

George Lazenby is the poster boy for this.

[Thomas Irwin]

A great example for me would be Priscilla Harris in Nights in White Satin (1987). This is one of my all-time favorite films, but remains bottom of the barrel obscure, remaining OOP since the days of VHS, despite having a 7.3 rating on IMDB. This appears to have been her only major acting role. I'm desperately hoping for this film to at least get a DVD release someday, however unlikely. The entire film is on YouTube, but in absolutely atrocious quality, and missing a great deal of sound. This is seemingly the only clip on the Internet, but arguably the finest scene and a very pivotal moment in the film.

Nights In White Satin 1987 Movie - YouTube

[bferr1972]

[DanTheMan]

Sam Worthington - Avatar

Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter franchise

Chloe Grace Moretz - Kick-Ass

[stvn1974]

I have a feeling Daisy Ridley will be an answer if the question is asked again in five years.

[D00mM4r1n3]

Peter Ostrum - Charlie in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. His one and only film credit. Seems a lot of child actors don't pursue acting no matter how large their first role is.

[filmbuffTX]

Originally Posted by D00mM4r1n3

Peter Ostrum - Charlie in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. His one and only film credit. Seems a lot of child actors don't pursue acting no matter how large their first role is.

Yeah, like Henry Thomas who played Elliot in E.T. or Aileen Quinn who played Annie, both in 1982.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by DanTheMan

Sam Worthington - Avatar

Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter franchise

Chloe Grace Moretz - Kick-Ass

Sam Worthington had several high profile roles after Avatar so I'm not sure if we can include him. He was the lead in two other mega budget studio movies as well as stuff like Man on a Ledge.

Chloe Moretz has also had a good number of high profile lead roles such as Carrie remake.

[Richard Graham]

Jussie Smollett: Empire.

Too soon?

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Tony Goldwyn from his performance in Ghost. I've always found it very strange that his career never really took off after his fantastic performance in that film.

Larenz Tate is another one from his absolutely smashing performance as the great O-Dog in Menace II Society and then even Dead Presidents.

[levcore]

Kellan Lutz has played Hercules, Tarzan and been an Expendable but it doesn't seem to have helped his career.

[AaronJ]

But a lot of the films mentioned were either failures (Superman Returns, really?) or the lead actor had very little to do with why people went to film (Avatar, for instance; I seriously doubt people were sitting there thinking, "OMG! Sam Worthington is in this! We HAVE TO go!").

And not to mention that just because you weren't in massive box office hits or major franchises afterward doesn't meant you haven't had a succsessful career. I mean, most actors of any stripe consider success to be working at all.

Take Radcliffe, for an example. Not only did absolutely NO ONE know who he was when HP started, but the guy has worked steadily ever since. He's been on film, on TV, on the theater. Heck, he was nominated (maybe even won, don't remember) for a Grammy! And while he was perfect for the role of Harry, especially younger Harry, that doesn't mean he's going to have the broad appeal as an adult. He's not going to be playing Iron Man, for example.

[Falaskan]

Why is Hayden as Anakin Skywalker not on here yet?

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

But a lot of the films mentioned were either failures (Superman Returns, really?) or the lead actor had very little to do with why people went to film (Avatar, for instance; I seriously doubt people were sitting there thinking, "OMG! Sam Worthington is in this! We HAVE TO go!").

The question isn't whether someone went to the movie to see an up and coming star, its asking which actor/actress had a massive opportunity after a big role and their career wasn't helped much. Sam Worthington fits the bill.

Noomi's career deserves better than goofy Netflix action movies I can't sit through. She's great in dramas.

[imsounoriginal]

I think it's too quick to say Ehrenreich's career has ended up the way Kitsch's and especially Routh's have.

[DragonOfTheBlackPool]

Landed the role of a lifetime (and was fantastic) in a successful blockbuster movie, but never really found superstardom.

[theEXORCIST]

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