GEORGE CLOONEY
Another surprise on the list? It could be.
Clooney is a well-loved and well-known actor in the industry. He’s on the list for a completely different reason compared to others on this list. Clooney starred in Syriana, which was to some degree, one of the biggest movies of his career.
With this geopolitical thriller, Clooney won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA. However, it did come at a cost. Clooney suffered a traumatic brain injury during filming and it led to severe headaches and neurological side effects. Since then, the actor’s been able to recover but continues to undergo therapy for its long-lasting effects.
ORLANDO BLOOM
Orlando Bloom’s career was launched into fame with his role as the handsome and strong elf warrior, Legolas, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His deep blue eyes and curly hair made him attractive to the ladies, earning him the leading man status as well as roles in big-budget films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Troy.
However, his track record took a hit when he signed up for Elizabethtown. Despite the promising cast, it simply lacked electricity between the leads and coherence to its plotline. Since then, Bloom hasn’t been in any movies as big as The Lord of the Rings.
SEAN CONNERY
The original James Bond has had a wonderful and eventful career. For almost three decades, he was the face and the soul of the entire franchise. He was voted by People magazine as the “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1989 and as the “Sexiest Man of the Century” in 1999.
However, as everyone does in Hollywood, Connery has had his share of flops but nothing worse than The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It received mixed reviews and he hasn’t been on the screen since then. It wasn’t any skin off his back though as Connery still lives the life with a great credit score from his $350 million net worth.
WARREN BEATTY
Warren Beatty took Hollywood by storm with his performance as Clyde in the iconic Bonnie and Clyde 1967 film. He is considered as a true modern renaissance man with his talent in acting, directing, and writing. His other notable works are Heaven Can Wait, Bulworth, and Dick Tracy.
Still, no one’s immune to some flops and box office bombs. This came in the form of the film Town & Country for Beatty. In the 2001 film, Beatty played the character of Porter Stoddard, a successful architect for insurance-covered lavish New York homes, with marital problems.
GEORGE REEVES
Larger than life roles provide great opportunities but at the same time, it also puts a lot of pressure and limitations on actors. George Reeves is a prime example of this. His run as the Man of Steel in The Adventures of Superman television series was largely successful. It ran for six seasons in the 1950s.
However, Reeves did not get to capitalize on his popularity and instead was, to some degree, paralyzed by it. His contract prevented him from taking roles that didn’t fit the shooting schedule of the show, and whenever he appeared in movies, people had a hard time disentangling him from his Superman role, which led to some of his scenes for one movie getting cut from the final product.
KEVIN COSTNER
Kevin Costner was a major movie star from the late 1980s and mid-1990s with films like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Field of Dreams, and Dances With Wolves. Dances With Wolves won him an Oscar for directing and acting.
With his talent, it’s understandable why he jumped into producing. He put in a lot of investment money in Waterworld, the most expensive film made at that time – back in 1995. It did not perform well in the box office and didn’t turn in much profit. Since then, Costner hasn’t had a big break again.
CUBA GOODING, JR.
Cuba Gooding, Jr. achieved only what few actors do – the elusive Oscar. He won it with his role in Jerry Maguire, where he played the role of Rod Tidwell, a football player who was fighting to get a huge contract to pay off a loan and escape bankruptcy to take care of his family.
Gooding started his upward trajectory in Boyz in the Hood. After his Oscar win, he had several well-received follow-ups but when he ventured into comedy with Snow Dogs and Boat Trip, things took a downward turn. Both films were flops.
MARIA SCHNEIDER
Maria Schneider’s fade from the spotlight came in the most painful way possible. She starred alongside Marlon Brandon in the film Last Tango in Paris. An unscripted scene was introduced without her knowledge and was included in the final cut of the film. It was the infamous “butter scene” wherein her character was raped by Brando’s character, using butter as a lubricant.
It was abusive and humiliating for the actress that she revealed that she would’ve called a lawyer right then and there.
BEN AFFLECK
Similar to Jennifer Lopez’s career, Ben Affleck’s career went through a long dry spell after their film, Gigli. The film was a bad attempt at a romantic comedy even with his and Lopez’s real-life romance. Instead of moaning the loss of his acting projects, Affleck tried his hand at directing. Since then, he’s directed many films including Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Live By Night. He also starred as a lawyer in the film, Changing Lanes, across Samuel L. Jackson.
MEG RYAN
Meg Ryan was the queen of romantic comedies in the 90s. She starred in films like You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle, all of which are always included in must-watch rom-com list.
Her career ran out of gas after she starred in Proof of Life across Russell Crowe, back in 2000. It wasn’t the film itself that affected her career negatively but rather it was her affair with Russell Crowe when her own marriage was on the rocks.