Badmovies.org Forum

which actors managed to be on the brink of becoming world famous/hollywood a-list standard in throughout their career but somehow never quite got there?

Emilio Estevez springs to mind for me...

Ray Liotta - Goodfellas should/could have propelled him into the big time but he's been in weirdly low-key films since, but they're not 'obscure' films


also Sean Penn maybe?

I think Emilio did OK, he had some good ones, , maybe not Tom Cruise money, but he didn't do too bad (intentionally ignoring the 'mighty ducks' franchise).

Hey, he was in 'Repo Man', it doesn't get much better than that.   :tongueout:

Judd Nelson has made quite a few films, but mostly garbage since he was a kid.

John Stockwell is a good example, I think.  Not quite an obvious one, but he had some major Hollywood roles as a young man in films like Christine, Eddie & The Cruisers, My Science Project, and most importantly his significant role as Cougar in Top Gun.  But then his acting career never went anywhere.

His story has a happy ending, though.  He's now a fairly successful director and occasional writer, having made films like Breast Men, Turistas, and Middle of Nowhere. 

Candace Hilligoss (CARNIVAL OF SOULS) retired to raise a family after making only two movies.  She had a strange sort of otherwordly beuty and could act, and I think she could have been an iconic figure in the horror world (on the level of Barbara Steele) if she'd stuck around.

Xander Berkeley

I guanteed eveyone here has seen this guy...but he never seems to get any roles as a leading man.

Type his name into the imdb and see what comes up.
This guy has been in loads of stuff all different genres.


Kinda feel sorry for him.

I'd slightly argue Paul Reubens outisde from his Pee Wee gig.  He honestly is a great performer but it seems as soon as he tries on something different, some scandal arrives about him then its back to Pee Wee land. 

(http://bitcast-a.v1.iad1.bitgravity.com/gawker/assets/images/commenter/240000/246568_300.jpg)
joe spinell

C. Thomas Howell- He still gets a lot of work, but he hasn't been in very many major productions in ages.

Kirk Cameron- Religious films aside, he doesn't have much of a film resume.  Hell, one could argue that being the case even with the religious films...

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio- Sure, you see her every now and then, but I just don't hear her name as often as I did before Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves came out. 

 :thumbup:  He was on the verge of doing great things at the time of his death.

Don Johnson
Craig Sheffer
Adrian Pasdar
Dan Hedaya

Paula E Sheppard. She was the Lesbian that sang like she was retarded in 'Liquid Sky', and hasn't done anything since. Bummer though because all in all she was pretty good looking. I read on some fansite that Hollywood just plainly wasn't for her and she now has completely different career, family, etc. Anne Carlisle from the same movie is another.

there's a good documentary on his life on the Maniac DVD. apparently he was good friends with Sly Stallone but they fell out and never spoke again. maybe that couldve affected his career within the industry. I think it also said he was the highest paid actor on The Godfather!

Brad Davis. He played Billy Hayes,the poor shmuck who is busted with dope and sent to a Turkish prison in MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978). He was excellent in that film....then he seemed to fade into minor roles in TV.... :bluesad:

Eric Roberts - He was always on the fringe of stardom and turned in some fine performances in movies like THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE, STAR 80, and RUNAWAY TRAIN.  Then he seemed to slip into a lot of made-for-cable and direct-to-video movies.  I was glad to see him in THE DARK KNIGHT, though . . .

Also, Gary Oldman and Christian Slater never reached the heights I expected of them.

Higher than Brando?????????????

Ill dig it out and watch it again, Im sure that's what it said though...something to do with his contract before the film was made

Charles Napier

You might remember him as Murdock in Rambo: First Blood Part 2

(http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2376/126541559082d8a59.jpg) (http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=126541559082d8a59.jpg)

He's been in tons of movies but has never seemed to go all the way to the top.
He even went on the Dr. Phil show several years ago because he was depressed that he was never a big movie star.
Check it out HERE (http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/1239/?id=1239&slide=5&showID=169&preview=&versionID=)

I always remember him in Russ Meyers BEYOND the VALLY of the DOLLS....and as an alien hippy on Star Trek...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRewcZXEMb8

 I dig the deviled eggs pinned to their far out threads!  :bouncegiggle:

A relative newcomer here, but I'd say Ray Stevenson is about to fall into this category. 

If you're one of the few people who saw HBO's Rome, like I did, then you know that he's really good at both action and acting.  Unfortunately, he had to star in that piece of crap, Punisher: War Zone, and now everyone's gonna think he's a bad actor because of it. 

It's really a shame.

If you're mentioning Ray Liotta, you have to mention Tom Hulce as well --

They are both simply wonderful in "Dominick and Eugene"(1988), with Jamie Lee Curtis, and Hulce was very good as Mozart in "Amadeus", but have you seen him in anything at all in say, the last 10 years?  Anyone have any idea what happened? He should have been a HUGE star!

peter johnson/denny crane

Stevenson was very good in OUTPOST ...a low budget,but well made  4-D Nazi/Zombie/ghost movie.

The last time I recall Hulce being on the public's radar was when he voiced Quasimodo in Disney's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

Whenever I see Liotta the MST3K line "Ray Liotta smells like apples!" pops into my mind.  :smile:

Pee Wee sez-"Crack is wrong!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agT2GVNQjao

Don't know if these 'qualify' but my list includes:
Cuba Gooding Jr.- Good performances in Boyz N Tha Hood and Jerry Maguire.  Then he's just like, around, not doing much.
Steve Buscemi- Had some hits with great performances Reservoir Dogs and Fargo, but now just sticks to Indie flicks and the occasional oddball character in Adam Sandler movies.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman- Dude should be more known, and while he still has a great career, most people are like, "Who's that guy?"

Billy Zane.  Maybe not the best actor but not the worst either. He had a couple decent roles in the 90's and then nothing except a cameo in Zoolander.


Also Thomas Ian Griffith. The over-the-top bad guy in Karate Kid 3 and the head vampire in John Carpenter's Vampires he also had a short string of action movies in the 90's. Another actor who was not exactly at the top of his craft but who had a decent screen presence and who could have probably stuck around longer.

Cary Elwes

The guy's been around giving excellent performances since 1979.  However, nobody knows him for anything besides his role in The Princess Bride.

My take on Buschemi is that he's exactly where he wants to be, sort of like Parker Posey.  Neither of them are as interested in being big stars as they are in doing things that interest them.  Sometimes that's a choice an actor makes.

peter johnson/denny crane

I like Ryan Reynolds. I think he deserves better gigs than what he gets. Dude needs to find a better agent.

Tim Roth: Underrated actor, yet most people only know him as Mr. Orange from Reservoir Dogs.

For years I knew him as that dude from Robin Hood: Men in Tights.  I'm sure there's a younger audience that knows him as the doctor from Saw 1.  I agree though, he's done a lot of great things nobody really knows.

Madeleine Stowe.

Seems like she (and Julianne Moore) was in every movie I rented throughout the 90s. Haven't seen Madeleine Stowe in anything since The General's Daughter back in 1999.

I'm gonna say it... Bruce Campbell!!! I know he is the B-movie king and all but he should have made it bigger. I guess that is his charm but still...

I'm going to throw Darwin Joston into the mix a.k.a. Napoleon Wilson from Assault On Precinct 13. He had great potential as a star but somehow never quite made it.

Nathan Phillips- Maybe it's just not his time, but I remember hearing a few people speculate that he was likely to go somewhere.  After he did Snakes on a Plane and Redline, I haven't seen him.  It seems he's become more B-level, especially with one of his movies being released on Horrorfest 3.

Steve Guttenberg- He still acts, but when's the last time we've actually seen him in a theatrical film?  It Takes Two?  Even though he did a good number of 80's comedies outside Police Academy, he'll forever be known as Mahoney. 

Sadly, I think Guttenberg wishes that It Takes Two was his last theatrical film.  I believe he had one more out in theaters, called Zeus and Roxanne.  It was about him, his son, a woman, her daughter, and they ended up dating because Guttenberg's dog, Zeus, became friends with the woman's dolphin, Roxanne.

There's no way that doesn't turn out to be a crapfest. Well, at least Hollywood was trying to be original, , I'm sure nobody came up with THAT idea before. . .

It was pretty bad.  I have the VHS laying around my apartment somewhere. :teddyr:

Why wasnt he more famous outside the B/cult movie genre? He's so talented it just shames me that he's not better well known.

One more name comes to mind:Warren Oates. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia is the only movie where he had a real chance to shine, but he never got all the credit he really deserved.

Jeffrey Combs is another actor like Bruce Campbell famous for his B-movie cult status, that aside from them, and a number of guest appearances on the various Star Trek shows, hasn't become a familar name in many homes.

Seriously, the guy is an awesome actor. I first was introduced to him in The Re-Animator and seen him in a number of other 80s/90s horror films. Glad he's still willing to go back to stuff like he did with that Re-Animator sequel a few years back.

Another actor I feel should have become more famous, also was in the first two Re-Animator movies alongside Jeffrey Combs. The actor is Bruce Abbott. Seriously, the scene he did in the movie Bad Dreams where he imagines killing his jerk of a boss with his car has to be seen by all.

Markie Post: She got famous on TV, but went into movies (kinda), and never made it near the top. bummer though, she was a bit of a hottie.

(http://www.superficialgallery.com/Celebs/albums/albums/MarkiePost/normal_Markie-Post-0021.jpg)

hmm, noice...

Well this is probally an odd addition to the list but I would have to say Ryan Bollman. He was a very talented kid in the Children of the Corn sequel. His other films were lesser known but still interesting. He deserves a chance at better fame. Also, hes not too bad looking nowadays... :tongueout:

I watched Dead Heat the other day and I realized that Treat Williams has never really "made it".  He's had a good career as a character actor and b-movie staple, but he deserved much more.  He had the big star looks, real acting talent, and charisma to spare.

Duane Jones

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Duane_Jones_as_Ben_in_Night_of_the_Living_Dead_bw.jpg)

He was a huge part of what made NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD so memorable.  But he couldn't parlay it into major roles, even after NIGHT became a cult hit. 

Yeah, an I thought he was brilliant in Prince Of The City. You don't really hear of him these days.  :question:

I did see him yesterday on an infomercial for the Total Gym but I am not sure how old the ad was.

Thora Birch (American Beauty,Ghost World) comes to mind.

(http://file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/us/Desktop/Thora-Birch-Ghost-World_l.jpg)

Also,what the hell has Michael Keaton been up to?! I've always loved him in his comedies, and did pretty damn well when playing it straight (Clean & Sober,Live From Baghdad). What, good 80's actors can't get work unless Quentin's making a movie?

The wife & I just watched Guttenberg in a very odd, possibly German, but with everyone speaking English film called "Fatal Rescue"(2008) because we liked the box art.  Guttenberg's IMDB page shows 6 more projects after that one, and I haven't heard of any of them.  It looks as if he's just doing European TV & film projects, but seems constantly working -- Good for him!

"Fatal Rescue" is one of those films where the supernatural element is dumbed down to the point where you're aware of it, but everything could have happened naturally anyway.  It's about fear and panic and psychological misbehaviour, but has a very made-for-TV feel to it.  Really, you won't be missing anything if you don't see it, but we found it enjoyable enough to waste an evening with.

peter johnson/denny crane