Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast

AndyC · July 14, 2011, 12:41:34 PM

Quote from: Flick James on July 14, 2011, 12:32:43 PM
Quote from: The Burgomaster on July 14, 2011, 12:22:08 PM
ERIC ROBERTS comes to mind. Although, I was glad to see him in THE DARK KNIGHT.

HAH! Eric Roberts is one of those quintessential creepy/sleezy actors. I feel dirty every time I see him in something.

I love Eric Roberts. He adds a touch of cheesy, sleazy craziness to anything. The best thing about the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie was Roberts as the Master. I just about jumped for joy when I saw him in the trailer for Sharktopus, and he didn't disappoint. Maybe it's a good thing he's getting those kinds of roles, since it's where he really shines, at least for me.

Hammock Rider · July 15, 2011, 10:50:01 AM

Quote from: Flick James on July 14, 2011, 12:32:43 PM
Quote from: The Burgomaster on July 14, 2011, 12:22:08 PM
ERIC ROBERTS comes to mind. Although, I was glad to see him in THE DARK KNIGHT.

HAH! Eric Roberts is one of those quintessential creepy/sleezy actors. I feel dirty every time I see him in something.

Yeah he is, and he's really good at it. He's almost as creepy as Willem Dafoe without actually being...Wilem Dafoe. I saw him in an episode of King of Queens of all things! He played a crazed paint ball enthusiast. He's one of those actors you can plug into any movie, even a small role, and he makes it better.

peter johnson · July 15, 2011, 03:50:51 PM

Steve Gutenberg - Was in almost everything in the '80's & the beginning of the '90's, and then suddenly stopped showing up in films - maybe he's in real estate now -

peter j.

akiratubo · July 15, 2011, 05:12:45 PM

Quote from: peter johnson on July 15, 2011, 03:50:51 PM
Steve Gutenberg - Was in almost everything in the '80's & the beginning of the '90's, and then suddenly stopped showing up in films - maybe he's in real estate now -
peter j.

I've seen him guest star on a ton of TV shows. Lately, he's become something of a pitchman. I've seen him hawking a couple of exercise systems. Gotta say, either he's kept in good shape or he got in good shape just for those infomercials but the guy was sorta ripped last I saw of him.

RCMerchant · July 15, 2011, 07:34:12 PM

Whatever happened to Matt Dillion-you know- of RUMBLEFISH and the OUTSIDERS?

HappyGilmore · July 15, 2011, 08:14:34 PM

Quote from: AndyC on July 14, 2011, 09:21:34 AM
Funny, I just looked at his filmography, and Keaton was in more movies than I thought during the 90s/00s, some of which I did see and even enjoy. I think the problem was that the movies themselves weren't particularly memorable, and Keaton's roles got smaller.

Compare it to that stretch in the 80s to early 90s, starting with Night Shift, followed by real Keaton showcases like Johnny Dangerously, Mr. Mom, Gung Ho and Beetlejuice, a couple of acclaimed dramatic performances and Batman, and I have to wonder what happened. He was on the A-list 20 years ago, and I can't see an obvious reason for a decline. And he hasn't changed. Even in a relatively small role in The Other Guys, I thought Keaton played just about the best character in that movie.

That's something I find really interesting. There are actors who harm their own careers by screwing up professionally or publicly, like Costner, Gibson, Cruise or Travolta. Sometimes they recover and sometimes they don't. There are the flash-in-the-pans, who get lucky, end up famous for a couple of years and quietly fade, like Cuba Gooding, and probably Shia LaBeouf before too long. Then you have somebody like Keaton, who proved himself with a string of good movies, and seems just as good as ever, but just stopped getting prominent parts in memorable movies at some point. I have to wonder why.

Hammock Rider might be right, and he decided to scale back. It's not unheard of. Rick Moranis made several highly successful movies, earned enough money that he never had to work again, and retired in '97 to spend more time with his family. Maybe Keaton still wants to work, but doesn't want anything as demanding as Batman.

I think I remember reading an article, I think in Rolling Stone, back around 2000 or so. He mentioned something about having some kids who were teenagers at the time. I remember him briefly mentioning that he wanted to spend some time with them before college and that he had had a steady career in the '80s and '90s. Then a few years later once they started college he got back into film.

The Burgomaster · July 16, 2011, 08:44:23 AM

Quote from: RCMerchant on July 15, 2011, 07:34:12 PM
Whatever happened to Matt Dillion-you know- of RUMBLEFISH and the OUTSIDERS?

He still makes movies. I think the last one I saw him in was YOU, ME, AND DUPREE with Owen Wilson. He was also in CRASH (and didn't he get an Oscar nomination for that movie?)

Mr. DS · July 17, 2011, 07:29:19 AM

Dana Carvey who I always thought was capable of much more than Mike Myers.

RD · July 17, 2011, 12:09:44 PM

Quote from: peter johnson on July 15, 2011, 03:50:51 PM
Steve Gutenberg - Was in almost everything in the '80's & the beginning of the '90's, and then suddenly stopped showing up in films - maybe he's in real estate now -

peter j.

He had a hilarious, self depricating cameo playing himself on Party Down. It was a very funny and sometimes bittersweet show about dreams versus the responsibility of reality.

Flick James · July 18, 2011, 08:28:50 AM

Quote from: The DarkSider on July 17, 2011, 07:29:19 AM
Dana Carvey who I always thought was capable of much more than Mike Myers.

I like Dana Carvey as well. For whatever reason, his own movies are just atrocious. He's an incredible sketch guy and he's also hilarious at just riffing. They did a bit where he fictitiously subbed for Larry Sanders on The Larry Sanders Show and when I saw that I thought that was what Dana Carvey should do. It would give him the opportunity to do plenty of the two things he's best at, riffing and sketch comedy.

Nightowl · July 18, 2011, 07:31:30 PM

Rick Moranis?Steven Segal?

AndyC · July 18, 2011, 07:44:09 PM

Quote from: Nightowl on July 18, 2011, 07:31:30 PM
Rick Moranis?Steven Segal?

Mentioned Moranis earlier. He's officially retired since '97. His wife died in the early 90s, he was a single dad, and after trying to juggle a family and a film career for a few years, he just decided to get out of movies for a while and be with his kids. He'd made plenty of money and didn't have to work, and he discovered after a couple of years away from the business, he had no desire to go back.

Nightowl · July 18, 2011, 07:56:13 PM

Quote from: AndyC on July 18, 2011, 07:44:09 PM

Mentioned Moranis earlier. He's officially retired since '97. His wife died in the early 90s, he was a single dad, and after trying to juggle a family and a film career for a few years, he just decided to get out of movies for a while and be with his kids. He'd made plenty of money and didn't have to work, and he discovered after a couple of years away from the business, he had no desire to go back.

Shame. Wish he would at least make a cameo in the upcoming Ghostbusters film.

InformationGeek · July 18, 2011, 09:42:18 PM

Quote from: Derf on July 13, 2011, 04:59:08 PM
I don't know of anyone whose career fell faster than Lou Diamond Phillips. With La Bamba, he got critical acclaim and the movie got a Golden Globe nomination. And then came Young Guns, another critically acclaimed movie. Then, a string of low-budget films and softcore porn flicks and now, occasional tv appearances. Maybe he was never considered a "star," but he showed that he can act. I guess work is work, but his choices of roles killed an otherwise promising career.

I really like Lou Diamond Philips. I've enjoyed his work in the low budget campy films he's been in to the tv spots he has done (He was incredible in Law & Order: SVU and hilarous in Psych), but I've never seen any of his well known stuff. Shame he isn't doing anything big.

HappyGilmore · July 18, 2011, 09:45:37 PM

Quote from: AndyC on July 18, 2011, 07:44:09 PM
Quote from: Nightowl on July 18, 2011, 07:31:30 PM
Rick Moranis?Steven Segal?

Mentioned Moranis earlier. He's officially retired since '97. His wife died in the early 90s, he was a single dad, and after trying to juggle a family and a film career for a few years, he just decided to get out of movies for a while and be with his kids. He'd made plenty of money and didn't have to work, and he discovered after a couple of years away from the business, he had no desire to go back.

He's recorded two Country music cd's. I believe he did some voice work in that movie "Brother Bear" or some such. But I think that was a contractual thing he signed in the mid '90s before he retired. So, yeah. That's what he's up to.

Quote from: Nightowl on July 18, 2011, 07:56:13 PM
Quote from: AndyC on July 18, 2011, 07:44:09 PM

Mentioned Moranis earlier. He's officially retired since '97. His wife died in the early 90s, he was a single dad, and after trying to juggle a family and a film career for a few years, he just decided to get out of movies for a while and be with his kids. He'd made plenty of money and didn't have to work, and he discovered after a couple of years away from the business, he had no desire to go back.

Shame. Wish he would at least make a cameo in the upcoming Ghostbusters film.

I highly doubt Ghostbusters 3 will be made. There's been talk of it since like, 1996. As of this writing, I've yet to see a picture from the set. Only that "Talks are in progress, the script is great."

Which I think is bogus, cause people from The Office are writing it, and The Office sucks.