Some actors actresses who were supposed to be big movie stars but never really lived up to their potential.

some actors actresses who were supposed to be big movie stars but never really lived up to their potential

Actors with failed potential:

Untimely deaths disqualified

We’ll refrain from using actors who suffered an untimely death, such as James Dean, because one cannot fail to “live” up to the hype if they weren’t living at all.

Self destruction disqualified

I did not consider actors whose personal demons sabotaged their careers, like the legal issues of Hugh Grant, the drug abuse of David Hasselhoff, or even both for the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes. None of these are necessarily tantamount to failed potential. It’s one thing to earnestly pursue a Hollywood career only to fail to meet expectations. It’s a completely different thing to self destruct, not even giving yourself a legitimate chance to develop. I’m looking for actors who fit the former, not the latter.

Voluntary exits disqualified

Actors who chose to walk away from Hollywood wouldn’t be unrealized potential, like A-lister Ally Sheedy who was a phenom in the ‘80s before abruptly quitting the business. I’m disqualifying these actors because they voluntarily chose not to live up to the hype.

Note

Judging by some of the comments I’ve received, apparently MANY of you didn’t realize that A-Lister Ally Sheedy actually quit Hollywood while she was still quite popular. Some of you seem to think that just because IMDB and Wikipedia list ongoing credits for Sheedy that she couldn’t have possibly quit. Think again. Read the following and you’ll understand.

Peter Wade's answer to Which celebrity seemed to disappear overnight?

Qualified

The best answer to this question would be actors who were projected to be stars with staying power, only to end up out of work by an unlucky combination of bad roles, box office flops, an unforeseeable lack of acting range, and fickle audiences. Some were great on television and never made the transition into film. Others were young actors who lost their appeal as they aged. The most surprising cases are actors who seemed to have gained critical acclaim in adulthood, only to be prematurely phased out of Hollywood for various reasons.

The method

I perused many online lists of actors who failed to maximize their Hollywood potential, narrowing down a massive pool to identify the 50 biggest busts in the film industry in no particular order. Then, I considered imperative factors while comprising the following list, calculating a mathematical average of projected fame ratings based on age, accolades, and critical reception versus actual success and staying power in films (but not television). All of these made logical sense, but #1 actually surprised me!

Here are my top 10:

10.) Mischa Barton

As the Teen Choice Awards Breakout female TV star of 2004 for her role on The O.C., many were convinced she would be a big deal. Instead, it’s been a long but unimpressive run in various films including utter flops.

9.) Lisa Bonet

If you watched The Cosby Show and A Different World in the 1980s, there was no question that Lisa Bonet possessed such charisma that she was destined for stardom. Her looks, that intoxicating voice, her comfort and confidence on camera. She was nominated for five Young Artist Awards and an Emmy among other accolades. Instead of becoming a Hollywood icon, the encore to her television success was a mere eight movies between 1987 and 2013. Some blame her hippy lifestyle - after marrying Lenny Kravitz - as being too Bohemian for mainstream audiences, losing her girl-next-door appearance that made her a television star. I think she’s still stunningly beautiful to this day, but sadly she never panned out in Hollywood.

8.) Elisha Cuthbert

Cuthbert was everywhere in 2004, from the popular TV series 24 to her breakout Hollywood role in The Girl Next Door. She followed that up with six movies in four years. But flop after flop left her without a significant career. Now, for the most part, Hollywood won’t cast her in fear another box office failure.

7.) Haley Joel Osment

In 1999, Osment was 11 when he garnered 16 awards and seven additional nominations for his role in The Sixth Sense, even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Many thought he was a shoo in for greatness, the most heralded youngster since Macaulay Culkin but with much more attention from the Academy. Alas, child actors are a gamble. Indeed, much like Culkin, his youthful cuteness faded with puberty, and his ongoing career hasn’t brought much critical acclaim since 2003.

6.) Jessica Biel

As a teenager on the television series 7th Heaven, the beautiful brunette was bound to make it big. But her film acting was widely criticized and her box office bombs were epic, including Total Recall that lost $200 million. She’s doing fine, though, because she’s found roles over the years and she’s married to Justin Timberlake, both financially well off. Biel has assembled a decent Hollywood resume, just not nearly to the extent we predicted, which landed her in sixth place.

5.) Dana Carvey

Without a doubt, Carvey is recognized as one of the greatest cast members in the 45-year history of Saturday Night Live. When he left in 1993, many anticipated a lucrative Hollywood career. The Wayne’s World movies were a good fit, a continuation of a legendary SNL skit. Carvey is still a household name to this day. But he amassed a string of horrendous films, found better success with voiceovers, and eventually retired. He doesn’t need the money. And you can’t fault him for taking time off during the height of his fame to raise his children and have multiple heart surgeries. It’s actually rather noble.

4.) Kate Bosworth

Smart enough to be accepted into Princeton, she grabbed six award nominations by the age of 21, and another three by 2008. But a slew of failures and iffy acting range sunk her prominent career, only appearing in lesser films now.

3.) Chevy Chase

Like Carvey, Chase was enormously popular on SNL. During his brief one-and-a-half seasons in the mid-‘70s, he won two Emmys and a Golden Globe. New York magazine dubbed him “the funniest man in America” and a legitimate successor to Johnny Carson. Despite such a short tenure on SNL, Rolling Stone listed Chase in 2015 among the top 10 cast members of all time. Would all this success translate into popularity on the big screen? Unlike other actors on this list, he actually DID have a Hollywood career, at first.

In the ‘80s, there was Caddyshack, Vacation, Fletch, European Vacation, Three Amigos, and Christmas Vacation among others. Since we’re focusing on unrealized potential, Chase was almost too successful to be placed on this list. But the mathematics allowed me to include him, because such early success should have been parlayed into a lifelong series of comedies, like an Eddie Murphy, a Will Ferrell, a Bill Murray, someone with staying power. But Chase became impossible to work with thanks to his arrogance, and his handful of ‘90s movies felt flat. Now, his infrequent appearances are only in bit parts and minor films.

2.) Adrien Brody

He filmed The Pianist at 28 and became the youngest winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor! But his antics didn’t help, including forcibly kissing Halle Berry as he received his Oscar in 2003, and his ban from SNL two months later after an impromptu and distasteful portrayal of a Jamaican man. Brody seemed to be making a comeback when he got rave reviews in 2011 playing Salvador Dali in Midnight in Paris, and again in 2014 in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Those successes kept him from landing at #1 on this list. His talent is unquestionable! But he never achieved the long-lasting high-profile career and plethora of Oscar nominations he should have. He’s all but disappeared now, only 47 years of age, while his contemporaries will work into their 60s and 70s.

1.) Kim Cattrall

During the ‘80s, she was unforgettable as a main character in Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, and Mannequin among other films. She was the next It Girl, or so we thought. In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Cattrall was nominated for five Emmys and four Golden Globes during her time on Sex and the City, recognition that might help promote a renewed film career. But after the series ended in 2004, there have only been five roles in lesser movie roles, outside of the two Sex and the City films, most of those with horrible box office numbers.

A popular TV series combined with an early stint on Hollywood’s A-list was thought to guarantee a long film career. But it never reached the heights once predicted, not even close, landing Cattrall mathematically as the #1 biggest bust. Maybe she’s just better on television.