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"One-Hit Wonder" Actors/Actors who never made it


ArtVanderlay

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Re: Linda Fiorentino, I'm pretty sure Barry Sonnenfeld had some not-so-nice things to say about her after MIB.  I think the combination of being a huge ass-pain and the sin of getting older effectively black-balled her.

 

4 pages in and no one has brought up Sarah Holcombe?

I have watched the Dogma commentary once or twice, and Kevin Smith doesn't out right insult her, but makes it pretty clear he hated working with her. In the early scene in the abortion clinic, he openly wonders if he made a mistake not giving the lead role to Janeane Garofalo (who played her co-worker) instead.

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This thread doesn't bode well for women in Hollywood in general, IMO. Might be must-reading for young actresses.

 

"Hey, what happened to _____?" "Well, she was hot for a few years, but then her looks faded and she disappeared."

 

Talk about LA being the fucking meat grinder for women...

It is kinda fascinating to watch films from the 80s/90s/early part of this decade, even five years ago and you go "Oh yeah, remember when Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio/Marty Stuart Masterson/Fairuza Balk/Hilary Duff/Katherien Heigl was in EVERY movie that came out?" and then you jump a few years and they're just not around, or not as high profile.  It seems like to be a woman and have a lengthy career you have to either be an exceedingly good actress (Meryl Streep), be really, really attractive and stay attractive for a long time (Can you believe Jennifer Lopez is 46 years old and her acting career has been going for 20 years now?!), be a really big star (Like, say Jennifer Aniston, though I don't think she's a bad actress) or carve out a certain niche (We need a sarcastic girl: get Jaenen Garafalo! We need an Asian girl: Lucy Liu! We need someone who's not skinny: Kathy Bates!).  It's sad, but it's fascinating.

 

Whereas, men can dick around in acting without any real notable qualities/quality films/defining characteristics for 23 years (Can you name one James Marsden role where you thought you he did really good/looked really good/defined his role in any way, shape, or form?  No.  Doesn't matter, he's been acting regularly in fairly high profile roles for 23 years now!)

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Can you name one James Marsden role where you thought you he did really good/looked really good/defined his role in any way, shape, or form?  No.

Yes, the prince in Enchanted. But I do take your point, for most of the rest of his career it's more like "well, Cyclops is supposed to be a boring cipher with no characteristics other than being slightly dickish, so I guess they nailed that bit of casting".

And there are some exceptions to the overall rule on the female side. Thandie Newton's everlasting career has mystified me for over two decades now; what, there was NOBODY more talented who could've filled all her parts? And sometimes you do get the rare Melissa Leo who somehow breaks out of character-actress-hell and manages to make a name for herself late in her career, despite being nobody's idea of a beauty queen. But in general, yeah of course, female actors are infamous for being treated much more like expendable pieces of meat with much sooner Best Used By dates than their masculine counterparts.

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Jingus mentioned Thandie Newton.  She's definitely not a "one hit wonder" or someone who "never made it" but she fits the expanded definition some of us are using here.  I remember when Mission Impossible 2 came out and she was being hailed everywhere as the new It Girl posided to take over and get all the big roles.  She certainly didn't live up to that.

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Jingus mentioned Thandie Newton.  She's definitely not a "one hit wonder" or someone who "never made it" but she fits the expanded definition some of us are using here.  I remember when Mission Impossible 2 came out and she was being hailed everywhere as the new It Girl posided to take over and get all the big roles.  She certainly didn't live up to that.

 

I call it the "We've Moved On" category with her being the black actress subcategory.

 

Times were much simpler when she was playing Hot, Big Tittied Prostitute About to Be Murdered #1 in Interview with the Vampire.

 

I mean Sanaa Lathan was suppose to be next It girl but then other actresses came out the woodwork. Then she got old so that greatly reduced the amount of roles she could get. You don't think Sanaa Lathan and Thandie Newton weren't chomping at the bit to play Coretta Scott King? Older Sanaa actually looks more like her than Carmen Ejogo, but Hollywood doesn't give a shit. They've moved on. Sanaa gets thrown a bone every now and then just because she is still hot.

 

Now, Sanaa is more famous for dating rappers and football players half her age than acting. She could be doing Sharknado movies like Vivica A. Foxx so there is that.

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And, yeah, Linda Fiorentino is probably the poster child for this thread.  A lot of these other names are people that get work fairly regularly but didn't break out like expected (Gretchen Mol).  Fiorentino seemed to be legit talented and had the presence for the big screen.  Went from getting large roles in at least one or two big budget pics a year..... to having two credits total since 2000.  Odd.

I vaguely recall her being rumored to be INCREDIBLY difficult and unpleasant to work with. Which would certainly explain why she'd go from her breakout role, way back in After Hours, to doing not-much for the decade after that. And then she managed to make a HUGE critical smash with The Last Seduction, follow it up in superstar roles as the leading lady in Men in Black and the protagonist in Dogma, and then fall BACK off the map again in pretty short order.

 

 

 

Oy, Dogma. That movie wasn't good or coherent to begin with. Her pulling a Dinklage in Destiny level performance did not help.

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Not that he hasn't worked steadily over the last 30 years, but I've always thought that Powers Boothe should have had more high profile roles.

 

He should have had the career that Michael Ironside has had, in that, specifically, he should have had a lot of the roles that Mike has had.

 

Dunno if it was an unwillingness to do sci-fi or what.

 

(The above should not be seen as a criticism of Michael Ironside, he's probably one of my five favorite actors ever.)

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Michael SchoefflingAKA Jake from Sixteen Candles, would be a good answer.  I know he did a few movies after that, but he seemed to be the kind of guy that would've had a rocket strapped to his back, but apparently, he was happy being out of the limelight and handcrafting furniture.

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Not that he hasn't worked steadily over the last 30 years, but I've always thought that Powers Boothe should have had more high profile roles.

 

He should have had the career that Michael Ironside has had, in that, specifically, he should have had a lot of the roles that Mike has had.

 

Dunno if it was an unwillingness to do sci-fi or what.

 

(The above should not be seen as a criticism of Michael Ironside, he's probably one of my five favorite actors ever.)

 

Boothe's problem may have been a decision he made more than three decades ago.

 

Back in 1980, Boothe was nominated for an Emmy for playing "Rev." Jim Jones in a CBS TV movie on the People Temple and Guyana.   He won, and showed up to the awards to collect his trophy.

 

Here's the problem.  There was a Screen Actors Guild strike during that year's awards, and SAG told union members to boycott the ceremonies.  Guess who was the only winner who crossed the picket lines that night?  Yup, Powers Boothe.

 

He mentioned years later that he still thinks about the decision he made that Emmy night, so even he has to wonder if that decision ultimately blacklisted him from bigger, leading roles.

 

 

JD

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Jingus mentioned Thandie Newton.  She's definitely not a "one hit wonder" or someone who "never made it" but she fits the expanded definition some of us are using here.  I remember when Mission Impossible 2 came out and she was being hailed everywhere as the new It Girl posided to take over and get all the big roles.  She certainly didn't live up to that.

 

I call it the "We've Moved On" category with her being the black actress subcategory.

 

Times were much simpler when she was playing Hot, Big Tittied Prostitute About to Be Murdered #1 in Interview with the Vampire.

 

I mean Sanaa Lathan was suppose to be next It girl but then other actresses came out the woodwork. Then she got old so that greatly reduced the amount of roles she could get. You don't think Sanaa Lathan and Thandie Newton weren't chomping at the bit to play Coretta Scott King? Older Sanaa actually looks more like her than Carmen Ejogo, but Hollywood doesn't give a shit. They've moved on. Sanaa gets thrown a bone every now and then just because she is still hot.

 

Now, Sanaa is more famous for dating rappers and football players half her age than acting. She could be doing Sharknado movies like Vivica A. Foxx so there is that.

 

 

I'd totally smash Carmen Ejongo.  Sanaa Lathan not so much.  She is still pretty bangin', but Lord is she cray-cray. 

 

She is in the same boat as Halle and Vivica.  The sheer number of men tired of their shit can be weighed by the metric ton..

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Jingus mentioned Thandie Newton.  She's definitely not a "one hit wonder" or someone who "never made it" but she fits the expanded definition some of us are using here.  I remember when Mission Impossible 2 came out and she was being hailed everywhere as the new It Girl posided to take over and get all the big roles.  She certainly didn't live up to that.

 

I call it the "We've Moved On" category with her being the black actress subcategory.

 

Times were much simpler when she was playing Hot, Big Tittied Prostitute About to Be Murdered #1 in Interview with the Vampire.

 

I mean Sanaa Lathan was suppose to be next It girl but then other actresses came out the woodwork. Then she got old so that greatly reduced the amount of roles she could get. You don't think Sanaa Lathan and Thandie Newton weren't chomping at the bit to play Coretta Scott King? Older Sanaa actually looks more like her than Carmen Ejogo, but Hollywood doesn't give a shit. They've moved on. Sanaa gets thrown a bone every now and then just because she is still hot.

 

Now, Sanaa is more famous for dating rappers and football players half her age than acting. She could be doing Sharknado movies like Vivica A. Foxx so there is that.

 

 

I'd totally smash Carmen Ejongo.  Sanaa Lathan not so much.  She is still pretty bangin', but Lord is she cray-cray. 

 

She is in the same boat as Halle and Vivica.  The sheer number of men tired of their shit can be weighed by the metric ton..

 

 

You see crazy, and I see now highly attainable. Once I get my bars up and get this semi-pro football career going, I'm in there!

 

Also, you and Jeffrey Wright can have Carmen Ejogo. I got her younger, hotter look-alike Hannah John-Kamen from Killjoys.

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Also, you and Jeffrey Wright can have Carmen Ejogo. I got her younger, hotter look-alike Hannah John-Kamen from Killjoys.

 

 

The only reason I watck Killjoys is for Dutch, homie.  I already have my eye on the new hotness.  Best thing to come out of the UK since tea, Doctor Who, and Layla Kayleigh.

 

 

You see crazy, and I see now highly attainable. Once I get my bars up and get this semi-pro football career going, I'm in there!

 

Anything that no one wants is highly attainable and that doesn't mean that it is a desirable thing to have.  I cannot wait for your hate tweets after she throws your shit out on the street from a second floor window because you left the toilet seat up.  The woman is a brat and an elder stateswoman brat at that.   Stay away from the lunacy, yo.

 

I'm your bro.  I am trying to warn you, homie.

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You a hater, J.T.

 

A hater.

 

I am a beacon of wisdom.  Bathe in the light of truth.  Ignore the real talk at your own peril.  Sanaa is out of her gourd.  There is a reason why she is single in her 40+ years and it isn't her own choice.

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Sanaa maybe needs to do what Vivica did:  tape an episode of Unsung Hollywood so she can try to humanize herself and get folks to see past the gossip columns.

 

I have a bad feeling that it would backfire and people would find out just how much of an asshole Sanaa really is.  The only people they could find to say good things about her would be Michael Ealy or Taye Diggs and that would be out of pure professionalism.

 

I want to hear what Omar Epps would have to say about her crazy ass.  That shit would be epic.

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For her OTT ways, Vivica has a relatable side to her.  She can be endearing at times.  She also found some niches for herself, namely self-aware B-movies, promoting a wig collection, and voice acting.  Ultimately, she'll be OK.

 

Sanaa can't even get that much going--the woman is out there in a bad way and she's not coming in.  So let her go.

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Obviously I'm stretching the terms of the discussion, but I'm surprised that Aisha Tyler never got a step higher on the celebrity ladder. Like, at least some slim supporting roles in big screen comedies or something.

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