History HollywoodHypeMachine / ExamplesThatDidntHoldUp

* After a slew of minor film roles in the 90's, Creator/JackBlack exploded onto the scene starring opposite Creator/JohnCusack in ''Film/HighFidelity'', which became a huge critical hit despite moderate box office intake. He would follow the success of that role throughout the decade with roles in ''Film/ShallowHal'', ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'', ''Film/SchoolOfRock'', the ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}'' remake (in a [[PlayingAgainstType major turn against comedy]]), ''Film/NachoLibre'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' and ''Film/TropicThunder'', all of which scored critical and commercial success and cemented Black as one of Hollywood's biggest comedy stars. He further gained popularity as one-half of the comedy rock act Music/TenaciousD. Unfortunately, audiences soon began to notice that, like Michael Cera, [[TypeCasting Black was playing the same screwball, hammy character in most of the films he had appeared in]]. This problem became apparent with the release of ''Film/YearOne'', which incidentally paired Black with Cera and exposed just how stale their humor had become. Its critical and commercial thrashing sent both men's careers in a downward spiral, with Black's decline culminating with the massive flop that was ''Film/{{Gullivers Travels|2010}}'', an InNameOnly adaptation of the classic [[Literature/GulliversTravels book]] that bombed with both critics and audiences, becoming one of 2010's biggest box office failures. His brand recognition faded almost immediately, as more box office bombs stymied an attempted comeback the following year with ''Film/{{Bernie}}'', which wasn't picked up for a wide release despite rave reviews. While Black still has the good fortunes of continuing his role as Po in the ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' films, along with his association with Tenacious D and positive signs with ''Film/{{Goosebumps}}'' and ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', it will take a long time for Black to experience a true resurgence of popularity.

* Myers' old costar, Creator/DanaCarvey, had it even worse. After a few minor roles, he got his big break in 1986 with ''Tough Guys'', where he managed to hold his own alongside Creator/KirkDouglas and Creator/BurtLancaster. Shortly thereafter, he joined ''SNL'', and was one of the people to help reverse its declining popularity and make it "must-see TV" once again. After his success in the ''Wayne's World'' movies, it seemed like he was destined for great things.\\\

* Creator/ColinFarrell, starting with ''Film/HartsWar'', had a big push in the early to mid-00's, starring in or having large supporting roles in blockbusters like ''Film/MinorityReport'', ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', ''Film/TheNewWorld'' and most infamously, Creator/OliverStone's ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' and Creator/MichaelMann's ''Film/MiamiVice''. With the exception of ''Minority Report'', all of these films flopped or under-performed, and Colin went under the radar for a few years, starring in smaller budget/indie films. While he's had some small hits like ''Film/InBruges'' and ''Film/FrightNight2011'', he's still made flops like the ''Film/TotalRecall2012'' remake, and regardless his career is nowhere near the A-List status it once was. Then, he's one of the main cast in the second season of ''Series/TrueDetective'' as one of the main leads. He was praised for his performance on the show if it wasn't bogged by the convoluted plot, making the second season a ToughActToFollow. In 2016 he appeared in the ''Film/HarryPotter'' spin-off ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' [[spoiler:as the lead villain]], but it's too soon to tell.

* Creator/ShiaLaBeouf - who ironically ''didn't'' get the hype machine from Disney like his contemporaries, has had the most post-Disney success. While being featured in several big blockbusters in a supporting role (such as ''Film/IRobot'' and ''Film/{{Constantine}}'') helped to establish his cred, it was his relationship with Creator/StevenSpielberg that pushed him over the edge. Through Spielberg, [=La=]Beouf got cast as the lead in the ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' franchise and one of the leads of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''. Overtime though, [=La=]Beouf developed a negative reputation when he started to [[CreatorBacklash publically slam the movies he was part of.]] Though unlike most, [=La=]Beouf's falling off ended up being his own decision [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/shia-labeouf-abandoning-big-budget-movies-361943 after revealing he hates the studio system.]] Then he was found to be plagiarizing a Daniel Clowes comic for a short film that he premiered at a festival and was reviled for months (to the point where he wore a paper bag over his head), though the backlash eventually died down. He later got a supporting role in Creator/DavidAyer's UsefulNotes/{{W|orldWarII}}W2 film ''Film/{{Fury 2014}}'' and has worked steadily since, though he doesn't appear to be eager to get back up to his former heights of fame. If anything, he moved onto a niche role as a performance artist starring in bizarro stage acts and public one-man theater shows.
* Creator/MartinLawrence was one of the fastest rising comedic stars of [[TheNineties the '90s]]. His sitcom, ''Series/{{Martin}}'', was incredibly popular, and then in 1995 he starred along with Creator/WillSmith in ''Film/BadBoys'', which was the StarMakingRole for both actors.[[note]]For more emphasis on how far he's fallen, he was billed '''ahead''' of Will Smith.[[/note]] Unfortunately, real life drug issues and a sexual harassment suit would stain his career. On the film side, while Smith went on to star in other [[Film/MenInBlack smash]] [[Film/IndependenceDay hits]], Lawrence stuck with acting in comedies that only produced lukewarm responses (the first ''Film/BigMommasHouse'' and ''Film/WildHogs'' arguably being exceptions).

* Back in the early [[TheNineties '90s]], Creator/LukePerry was given a huge PR push to be the next big movie star. After his [[BreakoutCharacter breakout]] [[StarMakingRole role]] on ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'', Perry appeared in films such as ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''8 Seconds'', and ''Film/TheFifthElement''. With his [[BroodingBoyGentleGirl brooding]] intensity, Perry was hyped up as the [[SecondComing second coming]] of Creator/JamesDean. But soon after ''90210'' ended in 2000, he fell off the radar. Come the [[TheNewTens 2010s]] however, Perry would enjoy a [[CareerResurrection resurgence]] with his role as [[Characters/RiverdaleResidents Fred Andrews]] on ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' until his untimely death in 2019.

* Creator/StevenSeagal is a classic story of an actor who worked his way up the ladder, had a brief time as a big star, overreached himself, and sunk into obscurity, becoming a punchline to countless jokes about washed-up celebrities. He started work in movies as a stunt coordinator and martial arts instructor (including on ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'', where he infamously broke Creator/SeanConnery's wrist during a spar), but made the transition to actor when one of his aikido students, superstar talent agent Michael Ovitz, arranged for him to demonstrate his martial arts skills on the Creator/WarnerBros lot. Warner Bros. decided to take a chance on him, and in 1988, he wrote and starred in ''Film/AboveTheLaw'', which was a commercial success despite mixed reviews. His next two movies, ''Film/HardToKill'' and ''Film/MarkedForDeath'', both opened at #1 at the box office, and while the former was a critical flop, the latter received good reviews. 1991 saw the release of ''Film/OutForJustice'', his third straight number one box office opening. To promote the movie, he hosted an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''... and is still widely considered to be the worst host in the show's history, which many consider in retrospect to be a portent of things to come. While he was a niche actor up to this point, his appearance in the critically acclaimed blockbuster ''Film/UnderSiege'' allowed him to break out to general audiences and compete with A-list action heroes. Seagal used his newfound clout to make an [[GreenAesop environmentally conscious]] movie called ''Film/OnDeadlyGround'', which was his directorial debut. The movie was a critical and commercial flop, and the following year's ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'' was a box office disappointment and received poor reviews. While 1996's ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' was a success, it didn't do much for his career. Still, he would continue to appear in high-budget action movies, but after ''Film/TheGlimmerMan'' and ''Film/FireDownBelow'' both flopped and his original multi-picture contract with Warner Bros. ended, his next major role was in a 1998 direct-to-video movie titled ''The Patriot'' (not to be confused with [[Film/ThePatriot the Revolutionary War movie of the same name]]). In 2001, he seemed slated for a comeback after ''Film/ExitWounds'', but the disappointing performance of ''Film/HalfPastDead'' would push him off the big screen for good. Aside from ''Film/{{Machete}}'', he's been stuck in direct-to-DVD movies and Reality TV. It doesn't help that he's since been OvershadowedByControversy, due to allegations of sexual misconduct and his apologia for authoritarian leaders like UsefulNotes/FidelCastro and UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin.

His newfound success, however, did not last long. While he tried to look for main roles in films, he still was degraded to the supporting role he had played in many of his works, and his works after ''City Slickers'' suffered heavily as a result. ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'' ended up grossing less than its predecessor, ''Film/RookieOfTheYear'' (which he also directed) wasn't much of a hit, and ''[[Film/CitySlickersIITheLegendOfCurlysGold City Slickers II]]'' nearly flopped[[note]]it was presumably made because main star, producer, and writer Creator/BillyCrystal suffered a severe SmallNameBigEgo case after the first film was released[[/note]]. After these snags, he was finally given a starring role in the two comedy movies ''Film/{{Bushwhacked}}'' and ''Film/CelticPride'' (which he intended to be {{Star Making Role}}s for him), both of which fared so badly with critics that they were massive box office flops that [[StarDerailingRole literally obliterated all the hype]] Stern had built for his entire career. Since then, he's only made television appearances and direct-to-video movies, including turning down offers to reprise his role in the third and fourth ''Home Alone'' movies, and his comeback attempt in ''Film/WhipIt'' was a box office disaster, despite being applauded for his role.

* Anne Heche made a big splash in 1997 for two reasons: her critically-acclaimed supporting roles in box-office hits ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' and ''Film/WagTheDog'', and her coming out of the closet and becoming one-half of what was then Hollywood's biggest gay power couple alongside Creator/EllenDeGeneres. Both of these reasons made up for the fact that her first leading role in a Hollywood film, ''Film/{{Volcano}}'', flopped at the box-office. Nevertheless, the studios decided to parlay her newfound fame into an A-List acting career, but the resulting films were ''Film/SixDaysSevenNights'', ''Return to Paradise'' and Creator/GusVanSant's infamous ''[[Film/{{Psycho|1998}} Psycho]]'' remake. The former film was a modest success and the latter were money-losers. The fact that America was still too homophobic to accept an LGBT woman as a female lead may have played a part in her losing more jobs, and her increasing mental instability (the product of a very broken home), which led to her crashing at a random person's house, didn't help either. And on top of that, [=DeGeneres=] and Heche broke off their engagement after a three-year relationship. She still acts in indie films and on TV, but her career has been low-key ever since and is probably solely known for being Ellen [=DeGeneres=]' ex-girlfriend than anything else.

* Lauren Holly first gained notice on the critically-acclaimed series ''Series/PicketFences'' and gained even more notice as Linda Lee in ''Film/DragonTheBruceLeeStory'' and as Mary in ''Film/DumbAndDumber'', [[RomanceOnTheSet where she met, and later married,]] Creator/JimCarrey. It was assumed that Holly would successfully make the transition to movies, but she unfortunately wound up in a string of high-profile flops, including ''Film/DownPeriscope'', ''Film/{{Turbulence}}'', and ''A Smile Like Yours''. Ultimately, Holly was destined to become only known for being Jim Carrey's wife, but their marriage was short-lived. Nowadays, she's been stuck doing B-movies and supporting roles on TV, including a recent turn on the third (and last) season of ''Series/DesignatedSurvivor''.

* Creator/ElisabethShue had a solid career as a child/teen actress, with prominent roles in ''Film/{{The Karate Kid|1984}}'', ''Film/AdventuresInBabysitting'', ''Film/{{Cocktail}}'' and ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' and ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII III]]'', but really hit the big time with a critically acclaimed performance alongside Creator/NicolasCage in ''Film/LeavingLasVegas'', going against her previously established, girl-next-door image. Big things were expected, but a few high-profile critical and commercial flops (such as ''Film/TheSaint1997'' with Creator/ValKilmer and ''Film/HollowMan'' with Creator/KevinBacon) didn't really hit the heights that were anticipated, and she had a more-or-less solid but unremarkable career since then. She parodied this with a starring role in ''Film/{{Hamlet 2}}'', where she played a [[AsHimself fictionalized version of herself]] who quits acting in disillusionment to become a nurse. She may be on the verge of... something... replacing Marg Helgenberger on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' in 2012.

* Creator/MaraWilson was a self-inflicted example. A child star in the 90s, she received lots of fame for her memorable turn in ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', and was enough to convince John Hughes to cast her in the planned [[GenderFlip male role]] in the remake of ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet''. The film was a massive success, and her next was probably her most iconic - the title character in ''{{Film/Matilda}}''. During ''Matilda'''s production, her mother passed away and led to several years of her struggling with the grief for that while also trying to keep working (even though she was only eight) - as well as struggling with body image issues as she entered puberty. [[ContractualPurity Her father's refusal to let her do films and TV work that would potentially destroy her family-friendly image]] led to her passing on scripts such as ''{{Film/Thirteen}}'' and ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. Her final film was ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'', after which she decided to quit acting to focus on schoolwork. She never went back, and instead found more success in voice acting and as a writer - to the extent that some people know her more for her writing than ''Matilda''.

* When Vanessa Marcil was still on ''Series/GeneralHospital'', she got the role as the female lead in ''Film/TheRock''. According to her, she then had to turn down several subsequent film roles because of her ''General Hospital'' contract. She eventually left for ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'', which forced her to turn down a role on ''Series/AllyMcBeal''. Then she was supposed to be a regular on ''Series/NYPDBlue'' but was replaced after only one episode. After one more primetime stint on the totally forgettable ''Series/LasVegas''. she ultimately just ended up back on ''General Hospital''.

* The cast of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' all enjoyed a big push, particularly Creator/KristenStewart, Creator/RobertPattinson, and Creator/AnnaKendrick. Stewart's first big post-''Twilight'' role was Music/JoanJett in the {{biopic}} ''Film/TheRunaways'', and while her stone-faced performance of Bella became a running pop culture gag, at least seems to get regular work and even some critical acclaim (albeit often in a "wow, she actually ''can'' act" sense) in fairly low-budget indie movies; Pattinson had the romantic dramas ''Remember Me'' (which seems to be more famous for [[TooSoon/SeptemberEleventh its controversial ending]] than anything else) and ''Literature/WaterForElephants'' and the complicated Creator/DavidCronenberg dramas ''Film/{{Cosmopolis}}'' and ''Film/MapsToTheStars''; and Kendrick went for indie and Oscar cred with her performance in ''Film/UpInTheAir'', not to mention mainstream success in ''Film/PitchPerfect''. She even got a top ten chart hit in "Cups", a track from the aforementioned film's soundtrack. If anything, Kendrick (who has a sarcastic and self-depreciating demeanor in real life) has maintained stardom following the end of the franchise, and appears to be the most ready of the three to hit the next level. Other cast members don't seem to have the same luck as them, however:

* Nancy Valen could be regarded as a starlet who unfortunately never got any traction in her career. After a couple of bit parts in movies (such as ''Film/{{Porkys}} Revenge'' and ''Loverboy'' as Creator/PatrickDempsey's love interest) and TV (such as ''Series/MiamiVice'' and ''Series/CharlesInCharge''), she got the cover of ''Magazine/TVGuide'' as one of the stars of an ill-fated attempt at a TV musical drama series on Creator/{{NBC}} called ''Hull High''. Like Creator/StevenBochco's similar show ''Cop Rock'' on Creator/{{ABC}}, it failed after only a few episodes. After that, she went back to occasional guest-starring roles on TV (like ''Series/MurderSheWrote'', ''Series/FullHouse'', ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', ''Series/{{Friends}}'', ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' and perhaps most notably, in the second season of ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' as the [[HospitalHottie sexy new school nurse]] in a role that was originally meant for swimsuit model Creator/KathyIreland) and appearing in small {{B Movie}} roles. Oddly enough, at least twice she seemed poised to get a long-term role which suddenly evaporated. The first occurred on the late-night Creator/USANetwork series ''Silk Stalkings''. After appearing as an IRS auditor in Season 3, she returned in Season 4 to play the role of Dr. Jillian Michaels, who became the love interest of Detective Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes), one of the show's two main characters. But the storyline was never continued. Two years later, she got her gig on ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' as the new lieutenant, Samantha 'Sam' Thomas (which is pretty much, her best known acting role), who was brought in to replace the long-running character Lt. Stephanie Holden, played by Alexandra Paul. That particular season ended with Sam in bed with none other than David Hasslehoff himself with the two of them discussing how to break the news of their relationship to Hasslehoff's on-screen son, Hobie. So everything seemed set for her to return the next year with an expanded role as Mitch Buchanan's girlfriend and partner in command. Alas, that didn't happen. ''Baywatch'' instead returned with even more former ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' Playmates, including Carmen Electra and Angelica Bridges as the newer lieutenant, and Nancy Valen's character Samantha had disappeared with no explanation. After guest appearing during the final season of ''Series/SpinCity'', Valen seemed to go into semi-retirement from acting. She only had two more roles (last appearing in the 2007 Christian drama film ''The Wager'') only to resurface as an {{infomercial}} host.

* Creator/KristenBell has been pushed heavily by Hollywood in the past few years, but it was her ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' co-stars Creator/MilaKunis and Creator/RussellBrand (himself in danger of this trope) who became bigger stars out of the deal. So far, she's decently well-known, but is nowhere near what Hollywood was hoping. While she had a lead role in Disney's box office juggernaut ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', voice-over success tends to not translate back into live-action (ask ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'s'' Music/MandyMoore) and the majority of the hype that did come out of ''Frozen'' seems to have gone to Creator/IdinaMenzel (or even Josh Gad). She's only been in a few live-action films that grossed more than $40 million (''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'', ''Film/CouplesRetreat'', ''Film/TheBoss''', ''Film/BadMoms'' and the latter's sequel) and she was part of an ensemble with all of them; with the ''Film/VeronicaMars'' film having a simultaneous launch on video-on-demand, her cold live-action streak on the big screen will live on; as far as she's concerned, television is indeed ''Series/TheGoodPlace''.

* Creator/{{ABC}} threw Eddie Cibrian in every single "beefcake [[LatinLover Latin Lothario]]" role they could think of for a three-year period, including ''Series/UglyBetty'' and the failed ''Football Wives'' pilot, even though nobody was interested in him and the ''Ugly Betty'' fan reaction when he was paired up with Betty's sister was 'anyone but him'. ABC eventually gave up and after the mess of his personal life involving his affair and eventual tabloid-ready marriage with Music/LeAnnRimes was dredged up (we also have him to blame for his ex-wife and mistress becoming ''Real Housewives'' regulars) and a quick season of ''Series/CSIMiami'' where he did nothing memorable, he was poison, and his derided role in ''Series/ThePlayboyClub'' assured his star burned out quickly; everything he's done since then has been C-level cable network work, and his 2014 Creator/VH1 reality series with his wife saw substandard ratings which should make sure he never sees a major television role again.

* Creator/StevenSeagal is a classic story of an actor who worked his way up the ladder, had a brief time as a big star, overreached himself, and sunk into obscurity, becoming a punchline to countless jokes about washed-up celebrities. He started work in movies as a stunt coordinator and martial arts instructor (including on ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'', where he infamously broke Creator/SeanConnery's wrist during a spar), but made the transition to actor when one of his aikido students, superstar talent agent Michael Ovitz, arranged for him to demonstrate his martial arts skills on the Creator/WarnerBros lot. Warner Bros. decided to take a chance on him, and in 1988, he wrote and starred in ''Film/AboveTheLaw'', which was a commercial success despite mixed reviews. His next two movies, ''Film/HardToKill'' and ''Film/MarkedForDeath'', both opened at #1 at the box office, and while the former was a critical flop, the latter received good reviews. 1991 saw the release of ''Film/OutForJustice'', his third straight number one box office opening. To promote the movie, he hosted an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''... and is still widely considered to be the worst host in the show's history, which many consider in retrospect to be a portent of things to come. While he was a niche actor up to this point, his appearance in the critically acclaimed blockbuster ''Film/UnderSiege'' allowed him to break out to general audiences and compete with A-list action heroes. Seagal used his newfound clout to make an [[GreenAesop environmentally conscious]] movie called ''Film/OnDeadlyGround'', which was his directorial debut. The movie was a critical and commercial flop, and the following year's ''Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'' was a box office disappointment and received poor reviews. While 1996's ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' was a success, it didn't do much for his career. Still, he would continue to appear in high-budget action movies, but after ''Film/TheGlimmerMan'' and ''Film/FireDownBelow'' both flopped and his original multi-picture contract with Warner Bros. ended, his next major role was in a 1998 direct-to-video movie titled ''The Patriot'' (not to be confused with [[Film/ThePatriot the Revolutionary War movie of the same name]]). In 2001, he seemed slated for a comeback after ''Film/ExitWounds'', but the disappointing performance of ''Film/HalfPastDead'' would push him off the big screen for good. Aside from ''Film/{{Machete}}'', he's been stuck in direct-to-DVD movies and Reality TV. It doesn't help that he's since been OvershadowedByControversy, due to allegations of sexual misconduct and his apologia for authoritarian leaders like UsefulNotes/FidelCastro and UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin.

* ''Film/TheSixthSense'' got the then-eleven-year-old Creator/HaleyJoelOsment an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1999, making him the hottest child actor since Creator/MacaulayCulkin. Unfortunately, his first film role afterward was as the saintly hero of ''Film/PayItForward'', a failed piece of OscarBait that became SnarkBait instead. He had one more chance to prove himself as a star with ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' the following summer, but that film proved to be a divisive box-office underperformer. Afterward he did several films' worth of voiceover work for Disney and ''Film/SecondhandLions''; his highest-profile gigs since then have been voicing Sora in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' video game franchise.

* Sam J. Jones. His is kind of a similar story to "[[OnHerMajestysSecretService one and done]] James Bond" Creator/GeorgeLazenby's - he had the opportunity of the lifetime with ''Film/FlashGordon1980'' but his own attitude undermined his chance at success, but both have been able to find career success elsewhere while still occasionally taking on acting jobs.

** Routh is only one of several actors who are believed to fall victim to the second version of [[TheProductionCurse the "Superman Curse"]]. Namely that the role is so iconic, any actor who plays him is inevitably doomed to type casting and is unable to shake it. Routh is but one example, with Creator/TomWelling and Creator/DeanCain also seen as examples of it. People are already telling Creator/HenryCavill to be careful because of it.

* Sadie Frost is an actress who was getting lots of buzz in the early 90s thanks to notable appearances in the music videos for Spandau Ballet (she was married to member Gary Kemp) and indie films in her native UK. She was poised to become a star when Francis Ford Coppola selected her to play Lucy Westenra in ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' after being impressed with her performance in ''Diamond Skulls''. There was a lot of buzz around her and she recalls being given all these offers - as well as told she should move to Los Angeles at once - but she chose to take a part in the small British film ''Shopping'' and opted to focus on indie films and raising her children. She found more success as a producer and fashion designer in the 2000s.

* Creator/KeishaCastleHughes is regarded as the next big thing back in 2004 after many critics and viewers praised her role in ''Film/WhaleRider'' where she's nominated for Best Lead Actress at the Oscars, making her the youngest Best Lead Actress nominee at the age of 13 (until 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis beat the record in 2013). Then, she appeared in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' and had another lead role in ''Film/TheNativityStory''. But after that, she didn't seemed to get much impressive roles as she got pregnant too early. She did get a guest role in ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' and eventually got in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' Season 5 as Obara Sand, the oldest Sand Snake daughter of fan favorite Oberyn Martell. Unfortunately, viewers and critics hated [[TheScrappy the Sand Snakes]] due to the {{Narm}}y lines, flimsy characterization and horrible acting. Though this didn't seemed to put a dent on Keisha's career as she still got more TV roles, it's a long way for her to get back on the A-list. Unlike that of nearly every other actor involved in the show, her role on ''Game of Thrones'' has not been able to supplant that of ''Whale Rider'' as her best known, and she is widely considered a OneHitWonder for it.

* Creator/MaraWilson was a self-inflicted example. A child star in the 90s, she received lots of fame for her memorable turn in ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', and was enough to convince John Hughes to cast her in the planned [[GenderFlip male role]] in the remake of ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet''. The film was a massive success, and her next was probably her most iconic - the title character in ''{{Film/Matilda}}''. During ''Matilda'''s production, her mother passed away and led to several years of her struggling with the grief for that while also trying to keep working (even though she was only eight) - as well as struggling with body image issues as she entered puberty. [[ContractualPuberty Her father's refusal to let her do films and TV work that would potentially destroy her family-friendly image]] led to her passing on scripts such as ''{{Film/Thirteen}}'' and ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. Her final film was ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'', after which she decided to quit acting to focus on schoolwork. She never went back, and instead found more success in voice acting and as a writer - to the extent that some people know her more for her writing than ''Matilda''.

* Creator/TimAllen. With his pre-teenage life marred by the loss of his father, and his adult years disfigured by drug use, Allen managed to make a name of himself in the stand-up circuit, both on television and record, so that his life can go on the right track. He never conceived himself to be an actor, having stated at one point that he could only act based on "personal experience," but he eventually found his big break when he became star of the ABC sitcom ''Series/HomeImprovement'', which became one of the highest-rated sitcoms of the 1990's. A chart-topping book from him soon followed, his first major film role, ''Film/TheSantaClause'', became the 4th highest-grossing domestic release of 1994, and then he voiced Buzz Lightyear in a little animated project known as ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', which became a pop-culture behemoth overnight. Hollywood soon began courting him for more film roles, but he turned down most of them due to his limited acting experience. Consequently, the only studio he received film roles from was Creator/{{Disney}}, who produced both ''The Santa Clause'' and ''Home Improvement'' and whom Allen had a close relationship with. During that time, he starred in the Disney films ''Film/Jungle2Jungle'' and ''Film/ForRicherOrPoorer'', whose theatrical runs were overshadowed by Allen's highly-publicized DUI arrest in Michigan, with his troubled past having caught up with him. After ''Home Improvement'' was cancelled in 1999, he seemed to be heading back on the road to stardom, starring in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' (his ''only'' non-Disney project during his hey day) and reprising his role as Buzz in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', but quickly fell back into recession after starring in a few more forgettable film roles after that. While he hasn't disappeared from the spotlight completely, thanks to another ABC sitcom, ''Series/LastManStanding'', running for an impressive six seasons before cancellation, and the continued success of the ''Toy Story'' franchise, his career heights from the 1990's have long passed.

** Birch had already established herself before the film, but had a StarDerailingRole in the form of ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons''. She later won acclaim for ''Comicbook/GhostWorld'', but threw any momentum away when she refused to part ways with her father, whose [[StageMom Stage Dad]] tendencies cost her several major roles.

* After a slew of minor film roles in the 90's, Creator/JackBlack exploded onto the scene starring opposite Creator/JohnCusack in ''Film/HighFidelity'', which became a huge critical hit despite moderate box office intake. He would follow the success of that role throughout the decade with roles in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'', ''Film/SchoolOfRock'', the ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}'' remake (in a [[PlayingAgainstType major turn against comedy]]), ''Film/NachoLibre'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' and ''Film/TropicThunder'', all of which scored critical and commercial success and cemented Black as one of Hollywood's biggest comedy stars. He further gained popularity as one-half of the comedy rock act Music/TenaciousD. Unfortunately, audiences soon began to notice that, like Michael Cera, [[TypeCasting Black was playing the same screwball, hammy character in most of the films he had appeared in]]. This problem became apparent with the release of ''Film/YearOne'', which incidentally paired Black with Cera and exposed just how stale their humor had become. Its critical and commercial thrashing sent both men's careers in a downward spiral, with Black's decline culminating with the massive flop that was ''Film/{{Gullivers Travels|2010}}'', an InNameOnly adaptation of the classic [[Literature/GulliversTravels book]] that bombed with both critics and audiences, becoming one of 2010's biggest box office failures. His brand recognition faded almost immediately, as more box office bombs stymied an attempted comeback the following year with ''Film/{{Bernie}}'', which wasn't picked up for a wide release despite rave reviews. While Black still has the good fortunes of continuing his role as Po in the ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' films, along with his association with Tenacious D and positive signs with ''Film/{{Goosebumps}}'' and ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', it will take a long time for Black to experience a true resurgence of popularity.

* The entire ''[[ComicBook/TheInhumans Inhumans]]'' franchise went through this. After years of being a minor group in the Marvel universe, usually in supporting roles, they had a number of well-received series. Then came the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which could not use mutants, which are tied to the ''X-Men'' film rights (which were owned by 20th Century Fox, locking them out of being able to appear in the Disney-owned Marvel Films), but did still use some characters that are normally mutants. While this hasn't been confirmed, the majority of readers see the 2010s ''Inhuman'' push to be an attempt to popularise them so that they can be used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to mutants (the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy were similarly pushed before their film was announced, but nowhere to the degree the Inhumans were), all but confirmed by insiders who note that Ike Perlmutter, the guy in charge of Marvel, would literally tear down posters featuring characters whose film rights didn't belong to Marvel. This also extended to video games, with developers stating that they were explicitly told to not use ''X-Men'' characters. An ''Inhumans'' movie was announced for Phase 3 of the MCU, and their origin setup in ''Series/AgentsOfShield''. After months of being hyped up as Marvel's next big thing, the main ''Inhuman'' comic book series was delayed, leaving a bunch of tie-ins to a story which nobody knew anything about. Then, months behind schedule, the series finally released and... needless to say, the response was not what Marvel wanted, with a heavy 'meh' heard across the comic world, and the general consensus being that it was ''not'' worth the wait. The first issue of the series wasn't even able to break the top 10 of the month, and the second issue dropped all the way to barely making the top 50. Then came their relaunch as ''Uncanny Inhumans'', which attempted to push the brand with multiple ongoings, while also re-working the Inhumans to have more of a grounded presence in the Marvel Universe akin to mutants. This didn't take either, not helped by Marvel starting a plot about how the Terrigen clouds that give Inhumans' their powers were ''killing mutants'', in what many saw as an unsubtle metaphor for the franchise war. The Inhumans comics still didn't sell well. This culminated in the despised ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen'' event, which only made longtime Marvel readers despise the Inhumans more for the attempt to shill them and failing spectacularly. Finally, with Resurr[=/=]Xion, the Inhumans comics were consolidated down to ''Royals'' and ''Black Bolt'', with the latter in particular receiving critical praise, although neither were strong sellers (''Royals'' was outsold by reprints of decades old single issues). During this time, the ''Series/{{Inhumans}}'' TV show premiered -- by this point, Marvel Studios was restructured to report directly to Disney and not Marvel, and Kevin Feige apparently had no interest in the Inhumans -- and bombed both critically and commercially. Then Marvel/Disney made an offer to acquire Fox that had to wait for government approval, and while that was happening, Marvel quietly turned down the Inhumans hype with one last miniseries, ''Death of the Inhumans'', before shunting the franchise away, just a few months before the Disney/Fox merger was approved and the film rights to the X-Men were regained.

* Myers' old costar, Creator/DanaCarvey, had it even worse. After a few minor roles, he got his big break in 1986 with ''Tough Guys'', where he managed to hold his own alongside Creator/KirkDouglas and Creator/BurtLancaster. Shortly thereafter, he joined ''SNL'', and was one of the people to help reverse its declining popularity and make it "must-see TV" once again. After his success in the ''Wayne's World'' movies, it seemed like he was destined for great things.\\
\\

* Creator/DudleyMoore was already a comedy star in his native United Kingdom as part of a wildly popular double act with Creator/PeterCook in TheSixties, but as that partnership dissolved in TheSeventies he struck out on his own -- and to Hollywood. A movie-stealing turn in ''Film/FoulPlay'' led to a lead in ''Film/{{Ten}}'', and while Bo Derek (see Actresses below on ''her'') was the focus of the marketing campaign, his career promptly skyrocketed as well. While ''Film/WhollyMoses'' was a disappointment (despite a strong opening weekend), the straight-up star vehicle ''Film/{{Arthur}}'' was THE comedy of 1981 and even saw him nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. He was promptly being offered projects left and right.\\
\\

* Creator/MikeMyers was one of the bigger stars of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' at the turn of TheNineties, especially after a movie based on the ''Film/WaynesWorld'' sketches he toplined was a hit. The sequel and ''Film/SoIMarriedAnAxeMurderer'' weren't as successful, but a few years after those he struck gold with the first ''Film/AustinPowers'' film and [[ActingForTwo his two highly quotable characters in it]]. Though not a box-office blockbuster, it proved so successful on the video market that the 1999 sequel ''was''. His star rose even higher after he voiced the title character in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''.\\
\\

* Creator/DanielStern. While he wasn't much of a big name to begin with, he had supporting roles in smaller fare in the early 1980s, but then he changed when he co-stared in the 1982 comedy drama ''Film/{{Diner}}'', a film that was largely applauded by critics that it gave Stern a shed of light to being the next young comedy star in Hollywood (to the point where the producers of the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' series offered him the role of Biff Tannen, which he unfortunately turned down), and years later he got a voice part in the largely successful sitcom ''Series/TheWonderYears'', which would last over six seasons. His biggest career pushes, however, came with ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Film/CitySlickers'', both of which grossed over the $100 million mark at the box office and renewed Hollywood producers' attention toward Stern.\\
\\

* Creator/SophieMarceau was expected by many to have a successful crossover in American films, having found success in her native France and having played major roles in ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' and the Film/JamesBond film ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. However, a number of flops and a bizarre, rambling speech she made at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999 fast derailed her in the US. She still makes films, but many of them barely get released outside of France (you would think ''Film/NeTeRetournePas'', a film where she teams up with Creator/MonicaBellucci and which [[GirlOnGirlIsHot they embraced topless]] on the cover of ''Paris Match'' to promote, would have gotten a decent international push).
* Susan Ward was hyped as a potential "next big thing" after marrying one of the heads of Morgan Creek and having a movie built around her (''The In Crowd''). Then, the movie bombed and her hype fell as fast as it rose. Nowadays, she's known for her numerous plastic surgeries (which began before making the movie) rather than the numerous straight-to-DVD movies she appears in (or her regular role on the first two seasons of ''Series/MakeItOrBreakIt'').
* Nikki Blonsky is a rather sad example of this. After being heavily hyped for her role in the 2007 remake of ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'', a lot was expected of her. Sadly, Hollywood didn't know what to do with her and she's been mostly stuck being typecast as the fat girl in little-seen TV movies and the short-lived ''Literature/{{Huge}}''. Her first post-''Hairspray'' film role wasn't until four years later (a small role in the critically panned ''Waiting For Forever'') and it's since been discovered that she's been working in a salon to pay the bills.

** Suvari was probably the most successful, as she also got major hype from ''Film/AmericanPie'' (detailed above), but all in all is not that big of a star.

* Creator/MeganFox came out of ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' as the new ''It Girl'' sex symbol, and promptly rode it to tons of covers, press coverage, etc. So far, however, it doesn't look good. ''Film/JennifersBody'' and ''Film/JonahHex'' were spectacular failures that seem to be sticking to her, her attempt to go indie with ''Film/PassionPlay'' failed (though her performance itself was praised), and she either left or got booted from the third ''Transformers'' film. Though she did get supporting roles in ''Film/FriendsWithKids'' and ''Film/ThisIs40'' and she re-united with Creator/MichaelBay for the ''TMNT'' reboot, so while she's not quite the hot commodity people were expecting, she's still getting work nonetheless, and motherhood and marriage have mellowed her considerably.
* After a long string of appearances in failed pilots and short-lived series, Creator/AdriannePalicki finally broke through the mainstream when she took the role of Tyra Collette in ''Series/FridayNightLights'', which received significant critical and commercial acclaim. However, her roles after the series ended have been weak at best - she starred in the FOX flop ''Lone Star'' (cancelled after two episodes) and had the title role in the ''Series/WonderWoman2011Pilot'', which wasn't picked up and was trashed by critics and fans. The ''Film/RedDawn2012'' remake was similarly torn apart by critics and bombed in theatres (32.5 million box office against a 65 million dollar budget), with Palicki's presence in the film barely getting a mention from most critics and viewers. However, ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'' did well enough at the box office ($122.5 million domestically and over twice that overseas) to justify a third film; while waiting to see if she returns, she's transferred from the Joes to [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD S.H.I.E.L.D.]] (And now to ''Series/TheOrville''.)
* Creator/OctaviaSpencer got major acclaim and won an Oscar for her role in ''Film/TheHelp''. However, like her co-star, Creator/ViolaDavis, she hasn't done anything really big since then; this isn't due to lack of talent, but more of how what kind of roles Hollywood offers Black actresses. She got her own series, ''Red Band Society'' on Fox and got a prominent role as Johanna in the ''{{Literature/Divergent}}'' movies at least. Spencer has since gone back to being a character actress, with another Oscar nomination for 2016's ''Film/HiddenFigures''.
* Creator/AmandaBynes is a rather sad example. Debuting on ''Series/AllThat'' as a preteen before segueing into her own spinoff ''Series/TheAmandaShow,'' her knack for physical comedy drew multiple comparisons to Creator/LucilleBall. She was able to successfully graduate off the chidren's networks to the WB's ''Series/WhatILikeAboutYou'' and did moderately well in her ventures to lead roles in films (and even better in supporting roles such as ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'' and ''Film/EasyA.'') However, in the new tens, it started to unravel. Several brushes with the law and bizarre behavior in real life and on Twitter made people worry for her mental health. As of 2015, she hasn't worked in several years, has repeatedly "retired" from acting for short periods of time, and has been put under several psychiatric holds.
* Nancy Valen could be regarded as a starlet who unfortunately never got any traction in her career. After a couple of bit parts in movies (such as ''Film/{{Porkys}} Revenge'' and ''Loverboy'' as Creator/PatrickDempsey's love interest) and TV (such as ''Series/MiamiVice'' and ''Series/CharlesInCharge''), she got the cover of ''Magazine/TVGuide'' as one of the stars of an ill-fated attempt at a TV musical drama series on Creator/{{NBC}} called ''Hull High''. Like Creator/StevenBochco's similar show ''Cop Rock'' on Creator/{{ABC}}, it failed after only a few episodes. After that, she went back to occasional guest-starring roles on TV (like ''Series/MurderSheWrote'', ''Series/FullHouse'', ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', ''Series/{{Friends}}'', ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' and perhaps most notably, in the second season of ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' as the [[HospitalHottie sexy new school nurse]] in a role that was originally meant for swimsuit model Creator/KathyIreland) and appearing in small {{B Movie}} roles. Oddly enough, at least twice she seemed poised to get a long-term role which suddenly evaporated. The first occurred on the late-night Creator/USANetwork series ''Silk Stalkings''. After appearing as an IRS auditor in Season 3, she returned in Season 4 to play the role of Dr. Jillian Michaels, who became the love interest of Detective Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes), one of the show's two main characters. But the storyline was never continued. Two years later, she got her gig on ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' as the new lieutenant, Samantha 'Sam' Thomas (which is pretty much, her best known acting role), who was brought in to replace the long-running character Lt. Stephanie Holden, played by Alexandra Paul. That particular season ended with Sam in bed with none other than David Hasslehoff himself with the two of them discussing how to break the news of their relationship to Hasslehoff's on-screen son, Hobie. So everything seemed set for her to return the next year with an expanded role as Mitch Buchanan's girlfriend and partner in command. Alas, that didn't happen. ''Baywatch'' instead returned with even more former ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' Playmates, including Carmen Electra and Angelica Bridges as the newer lieutenant, and Nancy Valen's character Samantha had disappeared with no explanation. After guest appearing during the final season of ''Series/SpinCity'', Valen seemed to go into semi-retirement from acting. She only had two more roles (last appearing in the 2007 Christian drama film ''The Wager'') only to resurface as an {{infomercial}} host.
* Creator/AmandaSeyfried, after well-received early appearances in ''Series/VeronicaMars'' and ''Film/MeanGirls'', was seemingly on a streak of success in becoming a top box-office draw (with hits such as the aforementioned ''Mean Girls'' and ''Theatre/MammaMia''). But in an eleven-month period from 2011 to 2012, she had three major flops in a row (''Film/RedRidingHood'', ''Film/InTime'', and ''Film/{{Gone}}'') with some reviews for the third one questioning if she even had appeal or talent in the first place (though others reviewers contended she was better than the material). ''Film/LesMiserables2012'', in which she played Cosette, was successful critically and commercially, but most of the acclaim was directed at Creator/AnneHathaway and Creator/HughJackman. Her role as the title character in ''Film/{{Lovelace}}'' has gotten her a lot of praise, but the movie made only half a million at the box office. Hollywood has long-since given up on an A-List role for her, but she can probably maintain a solid career as long as she doesn't overreach. Her attempt at becoming part of a franchise to boost her success crashed and burned with the critical and commercial failure that was 2015's ''Film/{{Pan}}''. She reprised her role in ''Film/MammaMiaHereWeGoAgain'' in 2018, which was a moderate success.
* Big things were expected of Creator/BoDerek. After a minor role in ''Film/OrcaTheKillerWhale'', she got her big break in ''Film/{{Ten}}'', which propelled both her and Creator/DudleyMoore to stardom. She was even unironically compared to Creator/MarilynMonroe. However, her follow-up movie, 1980's ''A Change in Seasons'', got unfavorable reviews and disappointed at the box office. The 1981 movie ''[[Film/TarzanTheApeMan1981 Tarzan, the Ape Man]]'', while doing better financially, was mutilated by critics and earned her a Worst Actress Razzie (shared with Creator/FayeDunaway for ''Film/MommieDearest''). She didn't get another film offer until 1984's ''Film/{{Bolero}}'', which bombed at the box office, and earned her another Razzie. She took a five-year hiatus, and her intended comeback film, ''Film/GhostsCantDoIt'', only put her career even further in the ground. She spend the next few years making TV films, not returning to the big screen until ''Woman of Desire'' came out to very little fanfare. After that, her most prominent role was in the 2006 telenovela ''Fashion House''. By this point, it's safe to say that her career is toast, with some even going so far as to ask how she even got so big in the first place.
* Creator/ShannenDoherty became a star in the late '80s and early '90s with hits such as ''Film/{{Heathers}}'' and three respectable TV shows - ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'', ''Series/OurHouse'' and ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''. The late 90s were kind to her as well, when she headlined the supernatural drama ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}''. But cracks started to appear as early 1994 when she was fired from ''90210'' for getting into fights with her co-stars. Stories surfaced about her difficulty on the ''Charmed'' set too - with actor TW King leaving after the first season being rumoured to be because she didn't like him. Tension between her and co-star Creator/AlyssaMilano caused her to be fired again. After being fired from two hit network shows, she was given a few reality TV projects to headline - all of which did middling business. After that she stuck to doing TV movies and her star power quickly faded. Her recent battles with cancer have also put her career on hold.
* Creator/KeishaCastleHughes is regarded as the next big thing back in 2004 after many critics and viewers praised her role in ''Film/WhaleRider'' where she's nominated for Best Lead Actress at the Oscars, making her the youngest Best Lead Actress nominee at the age of 13 (until 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis beat the record in 2013). Then, she appeared in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' and had another lead role in ''Film/TheNativityStory''. But after that, she didn't seemed to get much impressive roles as she got pregnant too early. She did get a guest role in ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' and eventually got in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' Season 5 as Obara Sand, the oldest Sand Snake daughter of fan favorite Oberyn Martell. Unfortunately, viewers and critics hated [[TheScrappy the Sand Snakes]] due to the {{Narm}}y lines, flimsy characterization and horrible acting. Though this didn't seemed to put a dent on Keisha's career as she still got more TV roles, it's a long way for her to get back on the A-list. Unlike that of nearly every other actor involved in the show, her role on ''Game of Thrones'' has not been able to supplant that of ''Whale Rider'' as her best known, and she is widely considered a OneHitWonder for it.
* With the initial success of ''Series/GossipGirl'', Creator/LeightonMeester was praised as a potential breakout star. Five major films featuring her were released from 2010-2011 - including ''Film/CountryStrong'', clearly intended as OscarBait. All of them flopped with audiences and critics, though Leighton herself was praised as being better than the material. After ''Gossip Girl'' ended, she turned to indie films and had some minor success with a music career - but nothing with the high profile she once enjoyed. She did land a role on the FX comedy ''Making History'', so time will tell. Ironically the opposite happened with her co-star Creator/BlakeLively; widely predicted that she would only remain famous for fashion and her marriage to Ryan Reynolds, she surprised everyone with very [[BeautyInversion against-type]] turns in ''{{Film/Hick}}'' and ''Film/TheTown''. She later won critical acclaim for ''Film/TheAgeOfAdaline'' and ''Film/TheShallows'', which were modest Box Office hits - showing that she wasn't above taking risks in acting.
* Julianne Hough is touted as "The Next Big Thing" by The Machine, and America will be subjected to the ''Series/DancingWithTheStars'' performer's films left and right for the next several years until she either hits it big or they give up. The remake of ''Film/{{Footloose}}'' was a good first step, the box-office and commercial flop ''Film/RockOfAges'' (which also included Creator/TomCruise and Creator/CatherineZetaJones elsewhere on this page)... not so much. However, ''Literature/SafeHaven'' became commercially successful despite not getting good notices from critics. As of 2017, she has not been in any big film roles since, but has returned to ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a judge.
* During the 1980s and early '90s, Creator/KimBasinger was not only one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood but also one of its biggest [[MsFanservice sex symbols]] (serving as Hollywood's epitome of "[[EveryoneLovesBlondes the blonde bombshell]]"). Basinger with personality traits like [[ShynessTropes shyness]] and sensitivity along with incredible physical beauty and sensuality, was arguably the closest '80s equivalent to Creator/MarilynMonroe. After working as a fashion model and gradually paying her dues in films like the unofficial Film/JamesBond film ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'', ''Film/TheNatural'', ''Film/FoolForLove'', ''Film/NineAndAHalfWeeks'', ''Film/NoMercy'', ''Film/BlindDate'', ''Film/{{Nadine}}'', and ''Film/MyStepmotherIsAnAlien'', Basigner officially reached the A-list when she was cast as [[Characters/BatmanFilmSeries Vicki Vale]] in Creator/TimBurton's 1989 blockbuster ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}''. Shortly after ''Batman'' however, a series of [[BoxOfficeBomb commercial duds]] and her [[SmallNameBigEgo ego problems]] badly damaged her career. Around the same time that ''Batman'' was out, Basinger spent $20 million to create a film studio and festival in Braselton, Georgia which, was a commercial failure. In the 1990s, Basinger starred in ''Film/TheMarryingMan'' alongside Creator/AlecBaldwin, ''Film/FinalAnalysis'' alongside her ''No Mercy'' co-star Creator/RichardGere, Creator/RalphBakshi's ''Film/CoolWorld'', and ''Film/TheRealMcCoy'' alongside Creator/ValKilmer. All of them were commercial and critical failures that were more than often tainted by Basinger's [[WagTheDirector clashes with the production teams]]. While working on ''[[TroubledProduction The Marrying Man]]'' in particular, Basinger demanded that the director of photography be replaced and stalled production with having her makeup completely removed and re-applied between takes. Her collaboration on ''Cool World'' was particularly disastrous as she [[{{Bowdlerise}} censored the movie]] to show for sick hospital children (which was ''[[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids not]]'' what Bakshi intended), which in turn drove Bakshi [[CreatorKiller away from filmmaking]].\\
\\
However, the biggest story of 1993 for Kim Basinger was ''Film/BoxingHelena'', a movie that she backed out of at the last minute. To make a long story short, just before filming began, Basinger got cold feet about playing a woman who is held hostage by a surgeon who amputates her limbs. Not surprisingly, the makers of ''Boxing Helena'' [[ContractualObligationProject sued]][[note]]The makers of the film ''Boxing Helena'' said that Kim Basinger agreed to star in the film, had been fitted for wardrobe and then she suddenly dropped out without making any effort to help them find a replacement. Basinger did not come off as honest or credible on the witness stand.[[/note]] and [[ScrewedByTheLawyers Basinger was forced to pay a settlement]] of $3.8 million dollars[[note]]She was initially ordered to pay the filmmakers about $8.1 million in damages, but it was cut down on appeal.[[/note]]. But the damage was done; combined with her costly legal battles and failed Braselton buyout, Basinger filed for bankruptcy. It still might have been worthwhile, though, as the film ended up as a notorious disaster that outright annihilated the career of its eventual female lead, Creator/SherilynFenn. In 1994, Basinger co-starred with her then-husband Alec Baldwin in the remake of the 1972 crime drama film ''Film/TheGetaway''. Despite some buzz if not controversy over some [[CoitusEnsues steamy sex scenes]], it was [[CoupleBomb not enough]] to make ''The Getaway'' a hit. Ultimately, the aforementioned lawsuits, bankruptcy and box office flops, caused Basinger to [[CelebrityIsOverrated retreat from Hollywood]] for a few years.\\
\\
Three years later, Basinger was primed for a [[CareerResurrection comeback]] in the form of Creator/CurtisHanson’s 1997 film noir, ''Film/LAConfidential''. Basinger's performance as a glamorous, sexy [[FemmeFatale femme fatale]] earned her an [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] for Best Supporting Actress, putting her back on Hollywood's A-list. Despite the overwhelming success of ''LA Confidential'', Basinger didn’t jump right back into starring roles until ''Film/IDreamedOfAfrica''[[note]]A [[VanityProject passion project]] of Basinger's.[[/note]] and ''Film/BlessTheChild'' in 2000. Both received bad reviews and underwhelmed at the box office, [[StarDerailingRole killing the momentum]] of her Oscar win. Shortly after that one-two punch, Basinger and Alec Baldwin entered a tumultuous divorce proceeding and custody battle over their daughter, further [[OvershadowedByControversy overshadowing her professional work]]. Since then, her career has been on a slow decline with Basinger only starring in [[DirectToVideo low-budget]] movies (or participating in small, borderline "[[MoneyDearBoy money for hire]]" parts in films like ''The Sentinel'', ''Film/CharlieStCloud'', ''Film/TheNiceGuys'', and ''[[Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey Fifty Shades Darker]]''[[note]]Which earned Basinger a UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward for Worst Supporting Actress in 2017.[[/note]]) and becoming a [[ReclusiveArtist recluse]]. Her most high-profile role since was in ''Film/EightMile'' with Music/{{Eminem}}, where she played his character's mother. Once she won her Oscar, it seemed as if Hollywood stopped paying her much attention even when she appears in high profile movies. To put things in proper perspective, Basinger appeared alongside Creator/RobertDeNiro, Creator/SylvesterStallone, Creator/AlanArkin, and Creator/KevinHart in 2013's ''Film/GrudgeMatch'' yet was [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg nowhere to be found]] in the movie's marketing. Nowadays, Basinger is more known for her failed marriage to Alec Baldwin, uncooperative ego, animal rights activism, and lack of financial success than her actual acting abilities. Even most of Kim Basinger's filmography, aside from films like ''Batman'', ''LA Confidential'', and ''8 Mile'', are only remembered largely as vehicles in launching the [[RetroactiveRecognition careers]] of such stars as Creator/BruceWillis (''Film/BlindDate''), Creator/BradPitt (''Film/CoolWorld''), Creator/JenniferLawrence (''Film/TheBurningPlain''), and Creator/ChrisEvans (''Film/{{Cellular}}'').
* Claire Forlani got to share the screen with a number of high profile stars in the '90s - notably in ''{{Film/Mallrats}}'', ''Film/TheRock'', and ''Film/MeetJoeBlack''. Despite well-received performances, most of the films were commercial disappointments and she starred in three bombs in a row. She quickly faded from leading roles and turned to television instead.
* Creator/MollyRingwald is a serious case of this, to the point she could rival the above-pictured Shyamalan for the Trope Illustrator title. She seemed set for great things after a [[Film/SixteenCandles trio]] [[Film/TheBreakfastClub of]] [[Film/PrettyInPink hits]] with writer/director Creator/JohnHughes, even making the cover of Time Magazine at the age of eighteen. However, a vicious split from Hughes and failed attempts to broaden her appeal to audiences utterly destroyed her future as a leading girl. After the failure of ''Film/BetsysWedding'' in 1990, Ringwald has rarely seen the silver screen since. Nowadays, Ringwald is both PersonaNonGrata in Hollywood and virtually uninsurable. She currently makes a living guest starring on TV and taking character roles in B-movies [[MoneyDearBoy for a quick paycheck]], a ''very'' far cry from her ultra-popularity in the '80s. Though ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' received some critical buzz, and despite being slated to appear alongside Creator/KeanuReeves in the upcoming thriller ''Siberia'', it will take an act of divine intervention for her to regain even a modicum of her former stature.
* Creator/KatherineHeigl. After several years of TV appearances in stuff like ''Series/{{Roswell}}'' and ''Series/GreysAnatomy'', she gained a lot of fans for her starring role in ''Film/KnockedUp''... only to throw them all away within weeks. She was on her way to becoming a household name before leaving ''Grey's Anatomy'' presumably to pursue more film work, and went on to star in flops like ''Film/{{Killers}}'', ''Film/NewYearsEve'', ''Film/OneForTheMoney'', and ''Film/TheBigWedding'', and developed a reputation of being difficult to work with, in part thanks to her [[StageMom mother/manager]]. Not long after ''Knocked Up'' came out, however, she did a very vocal interview where she attacked basically everyone involved in the film, calling director Creator/JuddApatow a sexist and lead actor Creator/SethRogen a slob, among other things. Despite the backlash, her next two works, ''Film/TwentySevenDresses'' and ''Film/TheUglyTruth'', did very well at the box office despite not-so-great reviews. However, her reputation took another hit when she criticized the writing of ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' publicly on multiple occasions and was eventually PutOnABus (so bad was the backlash to her behavior that she did an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly'' to apologize for her antics). Since 2009, her films have opened under $16m and have grossed less than $60m total domestically, and her latest try at television, in 2014-15 with ''Series/StateOfAffairs'', was derided by critics and canned after one season despite airing behind ''Series/TheVoice''. In 2017, she made another television attempt with ''Doubt'', which got cancelled after two episodes, and made another movie called ''Film/{{Unforgettable|2017}}'', which flopped critically and commercially. Her career and reputation are basically in tatters at this point.
* Back in the '80s Creator/HelenSlater found herself getting a big push. It started with ''{{Film/Supergirl}}'', which was unfortunately a flop. Her next project was ''Film/TheLegendOfBillieJean'', which she hoped would be her breakout role, but it was a Box Office disappointment (it did later get a cult following from TV airings however). She did have notable successes in ''Film/RuthlessPeople'', ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'' and ''Film/CitySlickers'' but work seemed to dry up in the 90s. While she's still working away, she's best known as Supergirl, and her high profile work is usually something that acknowledges this (such as ''{{Series/Smallville}}'' or ''{{Series/Supergirl 2015}}'' ).
* Creator/KristySwanson got a minor push in the late 80s and early 90s, first with OneSceneWonder roles in ''Film/PrettyInPink'' and ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff''. Lead roles came in the form of ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' - but the sequel to the former was cancelled and the latter got retooled into the more famous [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer TV series]] with Creator/SarahMichelleGellar as the lead. The failure of ''Film/{{The Phantom|1996}}'' caused high profile roles to dry up for her, and she drifted towards guest spots on TV and {{Made For TV Movie}}s.
* Creator/KristenBell has been pushed heavily by Hollywood in the past few years, but it was her ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' co-stars, Creator/MilaKunis and Creator/RussellBrand (himself in danger of this trope), who became bigger stars out of the deal. So far, she's decently well-known, but is nowhere near what Hollywood was hoping. While she had a lead role in Disney's box office juggernaut ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', voice-over success tends to not translate back into live-action (ask ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'s'' Music/MandyMoore) and the majority of the hype that did come out of ''Frozen'' seems to have gone to Creator/IdinaMenzel (or even Josh Gad). She's only been in a few live-action films that grossed more than $40 million (''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'', ''Film/CouplesRetreat'', ''Film/TheBoss''', ''Film/BadMoms'' and the latter's sequel) and she was part of an ensemble with all of them; with the ''Film/VeronicaMars'' film having a simultaneous launch on video-on-demand, her cold live-action streak on the big screen will live on; as far as she's concerned, television is indeed ''Series/TheGoodPlace''.
* Creator/DanielleHarris. She got her start as a child actress with lead and supporting roles in films like ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'', ''Film/DontTellMomTheBabysittersDead'', and ''Film/FreeWilly''. By the mid-90s, she was building a steady career as a teen actress with a high-profile supporting role in ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''. She later co-starred with Katherine Heigl in the Disney Channel film ''Wish Upon a Star'', and with Creator/SylvesterStallone in ''Film/{{Daylight}}''. The June 1998 issue of ''Teen People'' featured her on the cover alongside Creator/ScarlettJohansson, Creator/KirstenDunst, and Creator/JessicaBiel. Sadly, it was not to last. Aside from voicing Debbie Thornberry in Nickelodeon's ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'', her career never really took off as once expected, something Danielle herself acknowledges, saying she never really truly got a breakout lead in a mainstream film. She confessed that she was even working at a hair salon in the early 2000s to make ends meet. Danielle did undergo a minor CareerResurrection in 2007 by returning to the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise in Rob Zombie's [[Film/{{Halloween2007}} reboot]] of the franchise, getting her typecast as a scream queen in the years that followed. She also dabbed in directing with 2012's ''Among Friends.'' These days, she's largely put acting on hold to focus on her family.
* Lauren Holly first gained notice on the critically-acclaimed series ''Series/PicketFences'' and gained even more notice as Linda Lee in ''Film/DragonTheBruceLeeStory'' and as Mary in ''Film/DumbAndDumber'', [[RomanceOnTheSet where she met, and later married,]] Creator/JimCarrey. It was assumed that Holly would successfully make the transition to movies, but she unfortunately wound up in a string of high-profile flops, including ''Film/DownPeriscope'', ''Film/{{Turbulence}}'', and ''A Smile Like Yours''. Ultimately, Holly was destined to become only known for being Jim Carrey's wife, but their marriage was short-lived. Nowadays, she's been stuck doing B-movies and supporting roles on TV, including a recent turn on the third (and last) season of ''Series/DesignatedSurvivor''.
* Creator/GeenaDavis started in television comedy in TheEighties but found a StarMakingRole with ''Film/TheFly1986'', which showed her to be beautiful, funny, ''and'' capable of handling drama all at once. She immediately had a major push; come 1988 she had both a box-office smash in ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' and an Oscar-winning supporting turn in ''Film/TheAccidentalTourist''. Seeking the most interesting roles she could find rather than conventional leading lady fare, her next big success was 1991's ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' (which saw her and Susan Sarandon nominated for Best Actress Oscars), with ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'' coming right on its heels in '92. However, her next few leading turns -- ''Hero'', ''Angie'', and ''Speechless'' -- did little business. And then there was ''Film/CutthroatIsland'', a pirate movie directed by her husband at the time, Creator/RennyHarlin, that suffered a massively TroubledProduction and became a ContractualObligationProject. Its catastrophic failure and that of their follow-up flop ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'' dissolved their marriage and permanently harmed their film careers. She has noted that her turning 40 in 1996, the year of the latter film, didn't help her career prospects any; she wouldn't act again until ''Film/StuartLittle'' in 1999. At the TurnOfTheMillennium she returned to TV, but both an eponymous sitcom and ''Series/CommanderInChief'' were short-lived (the latter yet another TroubledProduction to boot -- she won a Golden Globe for it, though).\\
\\
Nonetheless she found life after the A-list: Out of frustration with the lack of good roles for women in Hollywood (especially in shows aimed at children), in 2004 she founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to research and advocate for change in the industry. She does still appear on TV and in independent films, specifically ones that are female-centric -- in 2019 she appeared in the Netflix shows ''Series/GLOW2017'' and ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' in guest roles. That was also the year she won an ''honorary'' Oscar for her advocacy work.
* Creator/MaraWilson was a self-inflicted example. A child star in the 90s, she received lots of fame for her memorable turn in ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', and was enough to convince John Hughes to cast her in the planned [[GenderFlip male role]] in the remake of ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet''. The film was a massive success, and her next was probably her most iconic - the title character in ''{{Film/Matilda}}''. During ''Matilda'''s production, her mother passed away and led to several years of her struggling with the grief for that while also trying to keep working (even though she was only eight) - as well as struggling with body image issues as she entered puberty. [[ContractualPuberty Her father's refusal to let her do films and TV work that would potentially destroy her family-friendly image]] led to her passing on scripts such as ''{{Film/Thirteen}}'' and ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. Her final film was ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'', after which she decided to quit acting to focus on schoolwork. She never went back, and instead found more success in voice acting and as a writer - to the extent that some people know her more for her writing than ''Matilda''.

!!Ensembles and Other Group Examples

* Back in the 1940s, a former Rockette called Lucille Bremer impressed officials at Creator/{{MGM}} with her screen test and they began to test her as a potential star. She made a successful debut playing Rose in ''Film/MeetMeInStLouis'', with director Creator/VincenteMinnelli saying more than once that he felt she came close to stealing the film from Creator/JudyGarland. However her first starring role ''Yolanda And The Thief'' flopped at the Box Office (despite good reviews) because [[FantasyGhetto of its fantasy theme]]. She took the blame for this and, despite a few more starring roles, MGM soon lost interest in promoting her. She opted to retire from films before the decade was over.

* Creator/AliciaSilverstone exploded into Hollywood in 1995 thanks to ''Film/{{Clueless}}'', gaining so much fame that she even had a 3-picture deal with Columbia that even gave her a production company, First Kiss Productions, to call her own. The summer of 1997 completely derailed her career before it could continue, thanks to the one two-punch of serial career killer ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' and her company's first (and only) project, ''Excess Baggage,'' becoming a major flop. Silverstone nowadays is remembered as a quintessential OneHitWonder in the acting world, and is now more well-known for her political/social activism and promoting her [[GranolaGirl vegan lifestyle]].

* Creator/LindsayLohan. This one wasn't related to any lack of talent -- Creator/MerylStreep, of all people, vouched for her acting ability, as did her ''Film/MeanGirls'' co-star Creator/TinaFey. Instead, her decline came from a combination of a disastrous relationship with [[StageMom her parents]], chronic [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl partying]] and drug/alcohol abuse (which did quite the number on [[http://www.buzzfond.com/16-gorgeous-stars-who-have-aged-badly/9/ her looks]] and eventually led to legal troubles), and a reputation for being [[SmallNameBigEgo a diva]] who often showed up to the set late and hungover (if not completely missing filming days altogether). Attempts to revitalize her career -- such as the {{Lifetime|MovieOfTheWeek}} biopic ''Film/LizAndDick'' -- have mostly flopped, with the qualified success of her 2014 West End theatre debut in ''Speed-the-Plow'' the one exception. Nowadays, she's far better known for her appearances in the tabloids, and is considered a cautionary tale for the FormerChildStar. It's also been joked that Creator/EmmaStone has the career she would have had.
* Creator/ParisHilton. Unlike the other people on this list, this heiress and socialite did not earn her fame through "legitimate" routes (film, TV, music), but through a HomePornMovie that was "leaked" online in advance of the debut of her RealityShow ''The Simple Life''. Not only did [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity the video turn her into a mega-star virtually overnight]], it also established the home sex tape as a viable route for would-be celebrities and fading stars to boost their careers. She went on to channel her fame into careers in music and (non-pornographic) film, both of which have been non-starters, and the latter notable only for producing her performance in ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. Despite these failures to branch out she remained a tabloid mainstay until about 2008, when she was replaced as America's favorite reality TV starlet by Creator/KimKardashian (who rose to fame under similar circumstances as Hilton). Because of this, by and large the media stopped paying attention to her. She attempted a comeback in 2011 with a new reality show ''The World According To Paris'', but the series was cancelled after only one season. Since then she's kept a pretty low profile, [[PopCultureIsolation with only an occasional mention in the local Hollywood papers]]. She has since found moderate success as a DJ and continues to be popular on social media.
* Marion Davies is a famous historical example, since it was William Randolph Hearst who financed her bid for movie stardom. While her looks were as good as people expected from a former Ziegfeld girl, and she was far more talented and off-screen amiable than her RomanAClef opera singer counterpart in ''Film/CitizenKane'', Hearst kept pushing for her to be cast in heavy-duty "respectable" dramatic roles when [[ComedyGhetto she was much better at comedy]].
* ABC in the early 2000's attempted to push Kiele Sanchez in anything they could, first in the three-episode flop ''That Was Then'', and later in the sitcom ''Married to the Kellys'' without stirring up much in ratings or interest in the actress. Her role as the female half of the infamous [[TheScrappy Nikki and Paulo]] couple on ''{{Series/Lost}}'' though finally ended any interest in building her up after Nikki and Paulo were hastily dropped, and after a run in ''Series/SamanthaWho'' to finish up her ABC deal, eventually found steady work in the A&E series ''Series/TheGlades'' and [=DirecTV=]'s ''Kingdom''.
* Creator/JessicaBiel has faltered badly, much to her fans' chagrin. Despite a lot of hype early on from ''Series/SeventhHeaven'', an amazing fitness-girl body that still frequently shows up in magazines, having a high-profile marriage to Music/JustinTimberlake, and several potential break-out roles, she has had a string of critically trashed box-office bombs like ''Film/BladeTrinity'' and ''Film/{{Stealth}}'' (a massive dud that also sank Creator/JamieFoxx's post-''Film/{{Ray}}'' hype and, along with ''Film/{{Poseidon}}'', halted Josh Lucas's career in its tracks). When she finally got naked in a "serious" movie (hoping for the extra career boost that it usually provides hot, young, fading actresses), it was a straight-to-video stripper role (''Powder Blue'') that earned her zero legit cred -- and sadly for all concerned, is more likely to be remembered as Creator/PatrickSwayze's final film. The bombing of the ''Film/TotalRecall2012'' remake, which reportedly cost Creator/{{Sony}} over $200 million in losses, seems to cement her even further into this, especially as her "generation" of actresses include megastars like Creator/AnneHathaway and Creator/ScarlettJohansson. To date, despite being on tons of magazine covers, she's still just a minor star, and at this point is basically "Justin Timberlake's Wife". However, she in 2017, she returned to the small screen with her critically acclaimed role in ''Series/TheSinner'', receiving Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.

* Creator/KateBosworth had bit parts and a cancelled-after-one-season TV show on Creator/TheWB called ''Young Americans'' before her starring role in ''Blue Crush''. Once that hit, she was catapulted to the position of It Girl, hyped as the greatest and most beautiful actress of her generation (sometimes this phrase was used verbatim), and she became a regular tabloid and fashion mag staple because she was dating the premiere heartthrob of the time. Fast forwarding to 2010, and just about every film since ''Blue Crush,'' with the exception of ''Film/SupermanReturns'', has been a critical and/or commercial failure, though not for lack of trying for that great comeback.
* Creator/RachelBilson was something of a TV It Girl during her days on ''Series/TheOC'' Once that ended, Bilson did a few underperforming films like ''Film/{{Jumper}}'' and forgettable TV appearances and, like ''Bosworth'', is now mostly known for attending various Hollywood functions and getting paparazzi photos of herself performing mundane daily tasks. However, she did score a TV series with ''Series/HartOfDixie''.
* Creator/RachaelLeighCook first came to fame thanks to her role in a famous anti-heroin PublicServiceAnnouncement [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMwxWHaZUro in which she demolishes a kitchen]], and became a star proper when ''Film/ShesAllThat'' came out. The flop of 2001's ''Film/JosieAndThePussycats'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Film/{{Antitrust}}'' and ''Texas Rangers'' (she had supporting roles in those films, and unluckily for her, they came out the same year as ''Josie'') derailed her career, and she spent the following decade playing bit parts on television and various forgettable straight to DVD flicks. In recent years, however, she has had some success as a voiceover artist and plum guest roles in the likes of ''Series/{{Psych}}'' and ''Series/GhostWhisperer'', so a comeback isn't an entirely unrealistic prospect. She stars in ''Series/{{Perception}}'', alongside Eric [=McCormack=].
* The success that was ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' turned Creator/SarahMichelleGellar into a star and she was suddenly everywhere in the late 90s. Despite the Box Office success of ''Film/CruelIntentions'', ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'', ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' and ''Film/TheGrudge'' and attempts to resist typecasting, audiences couldn't see her as anyone other than Buffy Summers. The failures of ''The Return'' and ''Film/TheAirIBreathe'' saw her turning to voice-over work and direct-to-video films, gradually fading from the mainstream. She also took some time off to raise her children.
* Creator/PiaZadora is a notorious example from TheEighties. After years of bit parts (including a small role in ''Film/SantaClausConquersTheMartians'' as a child), her bid for fame started when she married billionaire Meshulam Riklis in 1977. Her career peaked in 1981, when she won the Golden Globe for Best New Star of the Year for the film ''Butterfly'', which was largely financed by Riklis. However, it has long been rumored that Riklis had [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney "bought"]] Pia her Golden Globe by financing lavish trips to UsefulNotes/LasVegas for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, allegations not helped by the fact that her performance also won her two Razzies for Worst Actress and Worst New Star. She won the Worst Actress Razzie ''again'' the following year for her performance in ''Film/TheLonelyLady''[[note]]She would go on to be named "Worst New Star of the Decade" in 1990 and being nominated for "Worst Actress of the ''Century''" in 2000.[[/note]], a film that essentially killed her acting career and left her doing small parts and cameos. She wound up having far more success as a singer, even earning a Grammy nomination in 1984.
* Elizabeth Berkley was supposed to be the Next Big Thing with ''Film/{{Showgirls}}''. Too bad that trainwreck of a film completely derailed whatever film career she may have had. The fallout was so bad that when she requested $2,500 to be interviewed for the V.I.P. DVD edition of the film, she was ''turned down''. Ouch.

* Creator/DemiMoore has had various ups and downs, but has been hyped a lot. She was the most successful member of the '80s Creator/BratPack, and went on to some major success in TheEighties, but a string of ''huge'' box office bombs in TheNineties completely derailed her star. ''Film/TheScarletLetter'' was universally loathed by critics, and ''Film/{{Striptease}}'', a wannabe star-defining role for which she earned the then-highest paycheque of any female in Hollywood history, was another mega-bomb. She vanished for literally a decade, only resurfacing as Creator/AshtonKutcher's [[MrsRobinson new wife]], and a storm of hype from her hot body (despite her age) in ''Film/CharliesAngelsFullThrottle'' failed to amount to anything. Now, since her breakup with Kutcher and subsequent dating of an even younger man, she's best known as "that older chick who's into younger guys."
* Julia Ormond was an unknown in the US when she landed lead roles three big mid-nineties films (''Film/LegendsOfTheFall'', ''Film/FirstKnight'', and the remake of ''Film/{{Sabrina|1995}}''), starring opposite such actors as Creator/BradPitt, Creator/AnthonyHopkins, Creator/SeanConnery, Creator/RichardGere, and Creator/HarrisonFord, but all were box-office and critical disappointments. She's still working, but she never became the "star" Hollywood expected.
* Creator/JenniferGarner was promoted as the next big ActionGirl after coming to public attention with the TV series ''Series/{{Alias}}''. But she turned out to be remarkably unsuccessful in headlining movies. Her big action film debut in ''Film/{{Elektra}}'' flopped, whereupon she turned to romantic comedies and did only marginally better (''Film/ThirteenGoingOnThirty'' being a minor hit). These days, she seems stuck in small supporting roles, such as in ''Film/{{Juno}}'', ''Film/ValentinesDay'' (with Creator/JessicaBiel, mentioned above), the ''Film/{{Arthur}}'' remake and ''Film/AlexanderAndTheTerribleHorribleNoGoodVeryBadDay''. After a career spanning almost fifteen years, Sydney Bristow is still far and away her most iconic role.

* Creator/ElisabethShue had a solid career as a child/teen actress, with prominent roles in ''Film/{{The Karate Kid|1984}}'', ''Film/AdventuresInBabysitting'', ''Film/{{Cocktail}}'' and ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' and ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII III]]'', but really hit the big time with a critically acclaimed performance alongside Creator/NicolasCage in ''Film/LeavingLasVegas'', going against her previously established, girl-next-door image. Big things were expected, but a few high-profile critical and commercial flops (such as ''Film/TheSaint1997'' with Creator/ValKilmer and ''Film/HollowMan'' with Creator/KevinBacon) didn't really hit the heights that were anticipated, and she had a more-or-less solid but unremarkable career since then. She parodied this with a starring role in ''Film/{{Hamlet 2}}'', where she played a [[AsHimself fictionalized version of herself]] who quits acting in disillusionment to become a nurse. She may be on the verge of... something... replacing Marg Helgenberger on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' in 2012.

* Anne Heche made a big splash in 1997 for two reasons: her critically-acclaimed supporting roles in box-office hits ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' and ''Film/WagTheDog'', and her coming out of the closet and becoming one-half of what was then Hollywood's biggest gay power couple alongside Creator/EllenDeGeneres. Both of these reasons made up for the fact that her first leading role in a Hollywood film, ''Film/{{Volcano}}'', flopped at the box-office. Nevertheless, the studios decided to parlay her newfound fame into an A-List acting career, but the resulting films were ''Film/SixDaysSevenNights'', ''Return to Paradise'' and Creator/GusVanSant's infamous ''[[Film/{{Psycho|1998}} Psycho]]'' remake. The former film was a modest success and the latter were money-losers. The fact that America was still too homophobic to accept an LGBT woman as a female lead may have played a part in her losing more jobs, and her increasing mental instability (the product of a very broken home), which led to her crashing at a random person's house, didn't help either. And on top of that, [=DeGeneres=] and Heche broke off their engagement after a three-year relationship. She still acts in indie films and on TV, but her career has been low-key ever since and is probably solely known for being Ellen [=DeGeneres=] ex-girlfriend than anything else.

* Creator/KevinJames rose to become the next top comedy star with the popularity of ''Series/TheKingOfQueens'' and the success of ''Film/{{Hitch}}'' marking high notes in his career. Then, just two months after the cancellation of ''Queens'', he co-starred with longtime partner Creator/AdamSandler in ''Film/INowPronounceYouChuckAndLarry'', which critics everywhere tore apart for alleged [[UnfortunateImplications gay stereotyping]]. He bounced back a couple years later with ''Film/PaulBlartMallCop'', which was also panned but became the highest grossing film released in January, only to take another downturn in the next two years with ''Film/GrownUps'' and ''Film/{{Zookeeper}}'', both of which received bad reviews and did mediocre business at the box-office. After yet another Sandler-James collaboration, ''Film/{{Pixels}}'', bombed critically and financially, he decided to go straight back to television in the CBS sitcom ''Series/KevinCanWait''. That series got canned after its second season due to CBS attempting to make it more like ''The King of Queens'', going as far as to fire Erinn Hayes, [[McLeaned kill off her character]] and replace her with ''Queens'' co-star Leah Remini, a decision met with largely unfavorable reactions.
* Creator/ChrisTucker was actually considered to be "the next Creator/EddieMurphy" after ''Film/{{Friday}}'' and the first ''Film/RushHour'' movie in the mid-late '90s. Unfortunately, Tucker wasn't much motivated to branch out and capitalize immediately; he had become born-again during that time, and declined to reprise his role in ''Next Friday'' due to its raunchy content. Tucker has only appeared in a handful of movies since 1998, two of which were the sequels to ''Rush Hour'' (Tucker was apparently paid $20 million for ''Rush Hour 2''). Tucker has seemed to be more passionate about his charity work, buddying up with the late Music/MichaelJackson, and his stand-up. Rumor has it he was offered the same type roles over and over again, and turned them down out of frustration. After landing a major supporting role in the 2012 acclaimed comedy ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook'', it seemed he had an opportunity to make a comeback in film. However, his only film role since then was ''Film/BillyLynnsLongHalftimeWalk'', which was a critical and commercial flop.
* Creator/JoshHartnett rocketed to super-stardom in the late 90's and early 00's with roles in teen films like ''Literature/TheVirginSuicides'', ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'', and ''Film/TheFaculty'', and was voted several times by People Magazine as one of their top teen stars of the year. Gradually, however, his momentum died down -- in spite of a starring turn in the critically acclaimed ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', Hartnett was in a long list of commercial flops including ''Film/TownAndCountry'', ''Film/PearlHarbor'', and ''Film/HollywoodHomicide''. His last work of note, 2007's ''Film/ThirtyDaysOfNight'', barely recouped its production budget, and he's spent the late '00s and early '10s working on small indie projects. He's started a small comeback in the Showtime horror series ''Series/PennyDreadful'', but time will tell if he'll be able to return to maiunstream success.
* Creator/DanielStern. While he wasn't much of a big name to begin with, he had supporting roles in smaller fare in the early 1980s, but then he changed when he co-stared in the 1982 comedy drama ''Film/{{Diner}}'', a film that was largely applauded by critics that it gave Stern a shed of light to being the next young comedy star in Hollywood (to the point where the producers of the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' series offered him the role of Biff Tannen, which he unfortunately turned down), and years later he got a voice part in the largely successful sitcom ''Series/TheWonderYears'', which would last over six seasons. His biggest career pushes, however, came with ''Film/HomeAlone'' and ''Film/CitySlickers'', both of which grossed over the $100 million mark at the box office and renewed Hollywood producers' attention toward Stern.\\

His newfound success, however, did not last long. While he tried to look for main roles in films, he still was degraded to the supporting role he had played in many of his works, and his works after ''City Slickers'' suffered heavily as a result. ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'' ended up grossing less than its predecessor, ''Film/RookieOfTheYear'' (which he also directed) wasn't much of a hit, and ''[[Film/CitySlickersIITheLegendOfCurlysGold City Slickers II]]'' nearly flopped[[note]]it was presumably made because main star, producer, and writer Creator/BillyCrystal suffered a severe SmallNameBigEgo case after the first film was released[[/note]]. After these snags, he was finally given a starring role in the two comedy movies ''Film/{{Bushwhacked}}'' and ''Film/CelticPride'' (which he intended to be {{Star Making Role}}s for him), both of which fared so badly with critics that they were massive box office flops that [[StarDerailingRole literally obliterated all the hype]] Stern had built for his entire career. Since then, he's only made television appearances and direct-to-video movies, including turning down offers to reprise his role in the third and fourth ''Home Alone'' movies, and his comeback attempt in ''Film/WhipIt'' was a box office disaster, despite being applauded for his role.
** He was cast in a supporting role alongside Creator/MirandaCosgrove in the NBC sitcom ''Girlfriend in a Coma'', but the series didn't go ahead. However, he did get cast on ''Series/{{Manhattan}}'', and the series has been renewed for a second season.
* Edward Burns was heavily hyped as being a future voice in independent film after starring and directing in the acclaimed ''The Brothers [=McMullen=]'' in 1995. However, numerous attempts at trying to recapture the success of that film and his follow-up ''She's The One'', combined with attempts to break into acting (despite those talents not being as good as his directing skills) and a failed attempt to make his ex-girlfriend a star, failed to catch on and his hype died out fast. He's still around, but most of his films (starring or directing), like ''Film/ASoundOfThunder'' and the ''Film/OneMissedCall'' remake, were critical and commercial failures and either go DirectToVideo or get barely released.
* Dougray Scott got a lot of hype after his role as Prince Charming in ''Film/EverAfter'' and soon became the front-runner for roles such as [[Film/XMenFilmSeries Wolverine]] and Film/JamesBond. But after ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' went over schedule, he was forced to give up the Wolverine role to a little-known Australian actor named Creator/HughJackman. While Jackman became a huge star, Scott's career fell into a tailspin as he's spent much of his career toiling away in TV movies, short-lived TV series (plus a single season on ''Series/DesperateHousewives'', just as the show was beginning its long descent in ratings and buzz) and little-seen movies (his possible low point being the 2011 film ''Love's Kitchen'', which grossed just £121 at the UK box office).
* Creator/EmileHirsch was a rising star who had built up much acclaim from films such as ''Film/IntoTheWild'' and ''Film/AlphaDog''. Then the failure of ''Film/SpeedRacer'' (an attempt to turn him into a big star) more or less led his hype to dry up, as he would not appear in another lead role until the 2011 flop ''Film/TheDarkestHour''. Though he still has the occasional supporting role (most recently in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood''), Hirsch's time seems to have passed. Also not helping his case was his 2015 assault conviction.
* After appearing in a number of well-regarded supporting appearances in various films and TV shows, Creator/BrandonRouth got a massive push when he was cast in the role made famous by Creator/ChristopherReeve in ''Film/SupermanReturns'' in 2006. His StarMakingRole ended up being a dead end when the film received mixed reviews, general viewer apathy and (despite making $400 million at the box office) negative profit due to prior production costs. Routh then disappeared for two years before landing a pair of cameo roles in a couple of films (''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'', ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'') and a guest spot on the third season of ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', all of which failed to make much impact with audiences. His intended comeback in ''ComicBook/DylanDog: Dead of Night'', based on a bestselling comic series, also flopped at the box office ($4 million against a $20 million budget). Barring a major hit, it seems like he'll be stuck making small indie projects for quite some time. Though, he got a major role in ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' as Ray Palmer aka Comicbook/TheAtom and then, he's one of the main cast of the spin-off, ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' so, at least, playing another superhero doesn't hurt.
** Routh is only one of several actors who are believed to fall victim to the second version of [[TheProductionCurse the "Superman Curse."]] Namely that the role is so iconic, any actor who plays him is inevitably doomed to type casting and is unable to shake it. Routh is but one example, with Creator/TomWelling and Creator/DeanCain also seen as examples of it. People are already telling Creator/HenryCavill to be careful because of it.
* Creator/MikeMyers was one of the bigger stars of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' at the turn of TheNineties, especially after a movie based on the ''Film/WaynesWorld'' sketches he toplined was a hit. The sequel and ''Film/SoIMarriedAnAxeMurderer'' weren't as successful, but a few years after those he struck gold with the first ''Film/AustinPowers'' film and [[ActingForTwo his two highly quotable characters in it]]. Though not a box-office blockbuster, it proved so successful on the video market that the 1999 sequel ''was''. His star rose even higher after he voiced the title character in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''.\\
\\
However, he developed a reputation for being egotistical and tough to work with, walked out of a planned movie adaptation of the ''SNL'' "Sprockets" sketches, and the ''Austin Powers'' sequels were met with frostier critical reactions (primarily due to vulgarity and {{Sequelitis}}) than the original had. A StarDerailingRole came with his critically roasted turn as ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'' in 2003, which was so terrible that Creator/DrSeuss' [[FranchiseKiller estate has prohibited any more live-action adaptations of his works]], and it was his last live-action leading role for five years. In the interim he continued with the ''Shrek'' franchise, but ''that'' went into decline with the third installment. 2008's ''Film/TheLoveGuru'' was intended as a comeback vehicle but bombed spectacularly. With the ''Shrek'' saga closing out quietly in 2010, and no leading roles in the pipeline, early hopes that he would be the second coming of Creator/PeterSellers have proven unfounded. In the summer of 2017, Creator/{{ABC}} relaunched ''Series/TheGongShow'' with "English presenter" Tommy Maitland, who just happens to be Myers under heavy makeup and a Scottish accent (though of course the network is denying that). Following a cameo in ''Film/BohemianRhapsody'', it was reported that he will be starring in and executive producing a comedy series for Netflix, with it to last for six episodes and him playing multiple characters.[Time will tell if it helps Myers' career.
* Myers' old costar, Creator/DanaCarvey, had it even worse. After a few minor roles, he got his big break in 1986 with ''Tough Guys'', where he managed to hold his own alongside Creator/KirkDouglas and Creator/BurtLancaster. Shortly thereafter, he joined ''SNL'', and was one of the people to help reverse its declining popularity and make it "must-see TV" once again. After his success in the ''Wayne's World'' movies, it seemed like he was destined for great things.\\
\\

* Creator/MartinLawrence was one of the fastest rising comedic stars of [[TheNineties the '90s]]. His sitcom, ''Series/{{Martin}}'', was incredibly popular, and then in 1995 he starred along with Creator/WillSmith in ''Film/BadBoys'', which was the StarMakingRole for both actors.[[note]]For more emphasis on how far he's fallen, he was billed '''ahead''' of Will Smith.[[/note]] Unfortunately, real life drug issues and a sexual harassment suit would stain his career. On the film side, while Smith went on to star in other [[Film/MenInBlack smash]] [[Film/IndependenceDay hits]], Lawrence stuck with acting in comedies that only produced lukewarm responses (the first ''Film/BigMommasHouse'' and ''Film/WildHogs'' arguably being exceptions).

** Creator/AnthonyMackie is a weird case. Some of his supporters find it frustrating that Mackie has been touted as one of Hollywood's future A listers (he appeared on the Hollywood issue of ''Vanity Fair'' along with Creator/RyanReynolds, Creator/AnneHathaway, Creator/JenniferLawrence, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Creator/RashidaJones, Creator/JesseEisenberg, Creator/GarrettHedlund, Creator/NoomiRapace, Creator/MilaKunis, Creator/OliviaWilde, Creator/AndrewGarfield, and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal) and yet remains the only male up and comer featured there that has yet to headline a major movie. People started saying he's stuck playing supportive roles as the BlackBestFriend. He was cast as ComicBook/TheFalcon in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', though, so only time will tell if he will ever break out.
** Kadeem ''does'' seem to be getting a CareerResurrection via a different target audience as of 2015--he plays the father of Creator/{{Zendaya}} title character on Creator/DisneyChannel's ''Series/KCUndercover''.
* After the success of ''Film/GardenState'' and the popularity of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', much was expected from Creator/ZachBraff. Then ''The Last Kiss'' (which he was given near-complete creative control over in an attempt to create another ''Garden State'') fared so badly with critics and audiences that he more or less disappeared after the cancellation of the latter and little has been heard from him since (his first film project after this one was the little-seen 2011 film ''The High Cost of Living'').
* Creator/{{ABC}} threw Eddie Cibrian in every single "beefcake [[LatinLover Latin Lothario]]" role they could think of for a three-year period, including ''Series/UglyBetty'' and the failed ''Football Wives'' pilot, even though nobody was interested in him and the ''Ugly Betty'' fan reaction when he was paired up with Betty's sister was 'anyone but him'. ABC eventually gave up and after the mess of his personal life involving his affair and eventual tabloid-ready marriage with Music/LeAnnRimes was dredged up (we also have him to blame for his ex-wife and mistress becoming ''Real Housewives'' regulars) and a quick season of ''Series/CSIMiami'' where he did nothing memorable, he was poison, and his derided role in ''Series/ThePlayboyClub'' assured his star burned out quickly; everything he's done since then has been C-level cable network work, and his 2014 Creator/VH1 reality series with his wife saw substandard ratings which should make sure he never sees a major television role again.

* ''Film/TheSixthSense'' got the then-eleven-year-old Creator/HaleyJoelOsment an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1999, making him the hottest child actor since Creator/MacaulayCulkin. Unfortunately, his first film role afterward was as the saintly hero of ''Film/PayItForward'', a failed piece of OscarBait that became SnarkBait instead. He had one more chance to prove himself as a star with ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' the following summer, but that film proved to be a divisive box-office underperformer. Afterward he did several films' worth of voiceover work for Disney and ''Film/SecondhandLions''; his highest-profile gigs since then have been voicing Sora in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' video game franchise.
* There was at one point in the late-2000s, when there were three movies made in an attempt at turning Creator/DaneCook into a movie star, beginning with ''Film/EmployeeOfTheMonth'' and continuing with ''Film/GoodLuckChuck''. The last film, ''Film/MyBestFriendsGirl'', ended up a flop, and showed that success as a comedian doesn't always translate into a successful acting career. Since then, Cook has mostly done stand-up and supporting roles in both films and TV.

* Creator/ColinFarrell, starting with ''Film/HartsWar'', had a big push in the early to mid-00's, starring in or having large supporting roles in blockbusters like ''Film/MinorityReport'', ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', ''Film/TheNewWorld'' and most infamously, Creator/OliverStone's ''Film/{{Alexander}}'' and Creator/MichaelMann's ''Film/MiamiVice''. With the exception of ''Minority Report'', all of these films flopped or under-performed, and Colin went under the radar for a few years, starring in smaller budget/indie films. While he's had some small hits like ''Film/InBruges'' and ''Film/FrightNight2011'', he's still made flops like the ''Film/TotalRecall2012'' remake, and regardless his career is nowhere near the A-List status it once was. Then, he's one of the main cast in the second season of ''Series/TrueDetective'' as one of the main leads. He was praised for his performance on the show if it wasn't bogged by the convoluted plot, making the second season a ToughActToFollow. In 2016 he appeared in the ''Film/HarryPotter'' spin-off ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' [[spoiler:as the lead villain]], but it's too soon to tell.
* Stephen Collins made a name of himself beginning with his critically-praised role in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' and the cult series ''Series/TalesOfTheGoldMonkey'', but he wouldn't hit the big time until seventeen years later when he was cast as the Reverend Eric Camden in the television drama ''Series/SeventhHeaven'', which became the highest-rated program of Creator/TheWB for much of the network's existence and caused studios left and right to offer Collins roles in various films and shows. However, none of these roles offered Collins the star power he had with ''7th Heaven'', and thus the spotlight began turning away from him, especially following the cancellation of ''7th Heaven'' after just one season on Creator/TheCW. Since then, Collins tried to find suitable roles and avoid being [[{{Typecasting}} cast as Eric Camden again]], to little success. He made several appearances in the ABC series ''Series/PrivatePractice'' and ''Series/{{Scandal}}'', but all that became overshadowed by his highly-publicized divorce with Faye Grant and the nasty proceedings that followed. And then came TMZ leaking an audio tape of Collins admitting to Grant during a private therapy session that he had molested several children decades prior, and the HypeBacklash came. RoleEndingMisdemeanor doesn't even begin to describe the immediate fallout from the scandal, such as his character in ''Scandal'' getting McLeaned, Collins resigning from his position at the Screen Actors Guild board, getting fired from production of ''Film/Ted2'', and multiple stations and networks yanking reruns of ''7th Heaven'' from their schedules. With all these events, it's safe to say Collins may never be able to repair his career.
* After coming to the public's attention with his role in ''Series/{{Skins}}'', Creator/DevPatel's career exploded with the success of ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire''. He was nominated for many awards, and looked to be a star in the making. Unfortunately, his next role was as Zuko in ''Film/TheLastAirbender'', a critically-derided bomb that quickly put a stop to his rising international career. He managed to repair his reputation somewhat in Britain with ''Film/TheBestExoticMarigoldHotel'' and landed a good supporting role in Creator/AaronSorkin's ''Series/TheNewsroom'', so he's not completely gone, but his chance at superstardom seems to be long past. However, he was nominated for an Oscar in 2017 for ''{{Film/Lion}}'', so things may be looking up for him.
* Creator/ArmieHammer has suffered repeated disappointments, including one legendary bomb. After several years of TV roles he got a breakthrough part (or [[ActingForTwo parts]]) in ''Film/TheSocialNetwork''. All of Hammer's subsequent projects - ''Film/MirrorMirror'', ''Film/JEdgar'' and ''Film/TheLoneRanger2013'' - have flopped critically and financially. He's still getting high-profile roles, including the ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'' remake... but it failed to light the world on fire. It's only until in 2017 where he received a lot of critical praise in ''Film/CallMeByYourName''.
* Creator/RyanReynolds had the fortune/misfortune of coming along when Hollywood had a dearth of young leading males. After getting his big break in the ABC series ''Series/TwoGuysAGirlAndAPizzaPlace'', Reynolds starred in a number of well-regarded comedic roles. However, most of his films from the late '00s and early '10s (with the exception of ''Film/{{Buried}}'') received mixed reviews at best. His intended dramatic breakout performance in 2011's ''Film/GreenLantern'' was also a critical and commercial underperformer, and then ''Film/TheChangeUp'' didn't do well either; thus he was not the bankable star Hollywood perceived him to be. It's hard to say how well his career will turn out at this point, though the success of 2012's ''Film/SafeHouse'' (though Creator/DenzelWashington was obviously the big draw, and there's a lot of debate about how much Reynolds' presence really contributed) could help him regain momentum. The bombing of ''Film/{{RIPD}}'' and the under-performance of ''WesternAnimation/{{Turbo}}'', on the same weekend no less, seems to suggest his momentum is trending downward once more. But with the critical and commercial success of ''{{Film/Deadpool|2016}}'' film, with much praise for his performance as the lead character, this might change most especially when he earned nominations from the Golden Globe Awards, of all things. While it received mixed reviews from critics, Reynolds had another hit with ''Film/TheHitmansBodyguard''. He continues his successful streak with ''Film/DetectivePikachu''. Even better is that in light of the Disney-Fox merger, Reynold will still be able to play Deadpool while all of the other X-Men actors are recasted, meaning that he'll still have plenty of opportunities to reprise his signature role.

* Creator/CThomasHowell was one of the 80's top rising stars, appearing in hits like ''Film/TheOutsiders'' and ''Film/RedDawn1984'' and becoming a TeenIdol. However, he blew it all with 1986's ''Film/SoulMan'', which (while a box office success) garnered controversy as Howell spent most of the movie in blackface, which, in the 1980's and beyond, is [[ValuesDissonance extremely taboo]] [[UnfortunateImplications for obvious reasons]]. Since then, Howell has been appearing in a bunch of B-movies and TV shows.
* Creator/TimAllen. With his pre-teenage life marred by the loss of his father, and his adult years disfigured by drug use, Allen managed to make a name of himself in the stand-up circuit, both on television and record, so that his life can go on the right track. He never conceived himself to be an actor, having stated at one point that he could only act based on "personal experience," but he eventually found his big break when he became star of the ABC sitcom ''Series/HomeImprovement'', which became one of the highest-rated sitcoms of the 1990's. A chart-topping book from him soon followed, his first major film role, ''Film/TheSantaClause'', became the 4th highest-grossing domestic release of 1994, and then he voiced Buzz Lightyear in a little animated project known as ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', which became a pop-culture behemoth overnight. Hollywood soon began courting him for more film roles, but he turned down most of them due to his limited acting experience. Consequently, the only studio he received film roles from was Creator/{{Disney}}, who produced both ''The Santa Clause'' and ''Home Improvement'' and whom Allen had a close relationship with. During that time, he starred in the Disney films ''Film/Jungle2Jungle'' and ''Film/ForRicherOrPoorer'', whose theatrical runs were overshadowed by Allen's highly-publicized DUI arrest in Michigan, with his troubled past having caught up with him. After ''Home Improvement'' was cancelled in 1999, he seemed to be heading back on the road to stardom, starring in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' (his ''only'' non-Disney project during his hey day) and reprising his role as Buzz in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', but quickly fell back into recession after starring in a few more forgettable film roles after that. While he hasn't disappeared from the spotlight completely, thanks to another ABC sitcom, ''Series/LastManStanding'', running for an impressive six seasons before cancellation, and the continued success of the ''Toy Story'' franchise, his career heights from the 1990's have long passed.
* Creator/MichaelCera came out with a ''vengeance'' after ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' [[ScrewedByTheNetwork went off the air]], appearing in several films that got mainstream recognition ''and'' artistic credibility (particularly ''Film/{{Juno}}''), and things were looking up. Then ''Film/YearOne'' put him in a bumpy road before his push fell apart in 2010, as both of his films that year (''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' and ''Film/YouthInRevolt''), [[CriticalDissonance despite positive critical reception]], flopped badly. His problem? Cera [[TypeCasting played the exact same nerdy-shy-guy character in every film he's been in so far]], right down to specific mannerisms and vocal style. This eventually stuck to him in a big way, and his career took a tumble. He hasn't had a major hit or appearance in years, and now Creator/JesseEisenberg (who has a similar appearance and acting style) has gone on to become a bigger star.
* Creator/TomSelleck was supposed to be one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood thanks to his starring role in ''Series/MagnumPI'', one of the most successful action shows of the 80's. However, he preferred to [[PlayingAgainstType play against type]] when it came to movies. His first breakthrough film role was ''Film/ThreeMenAndABaby'', which got decent reviews and was the biggest box office hit of 1987. After ''Magnum P.I.'' was cancelled, Selleck decided to take his action personality to film with ''Film/AnInnocentMan'' and ''Film/QuigleyDownUnder''. Although neither were box office hits, they went on to become cult classics, and Selleck would continue to build up his film career throughout the 90's while still being a television favorite. And then came 1999's ''The Love Letter'', which despite Selleck being in a supporting role got poor reviews and failed to turn a profit. Not helping matters was when Selleck decided to show up on Rosie O'Donnell's talk show to promote the movie only to be confronted by O'Donnell over his appearance on a recent National Rifle Association advertisement, a move that O'Donnell received heavy criticism for and forced her to apologize. Even though the moment didn't harm Selleck as much, the failure of ''The Love Letter'' did, and his film career entered a steady decline thereafter. His TV career was also flagging simultaneously, eventually culminating in the romantic comedy ''Film/{{Killers}}'', which bombed and killed Selleck's film prospects for good. Although Selleck's TV career is still kicking, with ''Series/BlueBloods'' being a network favorite and a reboot of ''Magnum P.I.'' in the works, it's safe to say that his glory days during mid 80's and early 90's are dead in the water.
* Following ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' and ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', Creator/SamWorthington has got a big push as Hollywood's next big ActionHero. The ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|2010}}'' remake followed, as well as a number of smaller action movies. Like several others on this list, however, Worthington has taken criticism for playing more or less the same character in most of his roles. For a while there was even a debate if he is going to be the next Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger or the next Creator/StevenSeagal... and them he simply stopped getting roles at all, aside random episodes as OneSceneWonder. The critical and commercial savaging of ''Film/WrathOfTheTitans'', which served as the sequel to the remake of ''Clash'', was the last straw for Worthington. With news that Creator/JamesCameron's ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' sequels entered production, it might change things in his favour.
* After a slew of minor film roles in the 90's, Creator/JackBlack exploded onto the scene starring opposite Creator/JohnCusack in ''Film/HighFidelity'', which became a huge critical hit despite moderate box office intake. He would follow the success of that role throughout the decade with roles in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'', ''Film/SchoolOfRock'', the ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}'' remake (in a [[PlayingAgainstType major turn against comedy]]), ''Film/NachoLibre'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' and ''Film/TropicThunder'', all of which scored critical and commercial success and cemented Black as one of Hollywood's biggest comedy stars. He further gained popularity as one-half of the comedy rock act Music/TenaciousD. Unfortunately, audiences soon began to notice that, like Michael Cera, [[TypeCasting Black was playing the same screwball, hammy character in most of the films he had appeared in]]. This problem became apparent with the release of ''Film/YearOne'', which incidentally paired Black with Cera and exposed just how stale their humor had become. Its critical and commercial thrashing sent both men's careers in a downward spiral, with Black's decline culminating with the massive flop that was ''Film/{{Gullivers Travels|2010}}'', an InNameOnly adaptation of the classic [[Literature/GulliversTravels book]] that bombed with both critics and audiences, becoming one of 2010's biggest box office failures. His brand recognition faded almost immediately, as more box office bombs stymied an attempted comeback the following year with ''Film/{{Bernie}}'', which wasn't picked up for a wide release despite rave reviews. While Black still has the good fortunes of continuing his role as Po in the ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' films, along with his association with Tenacious D and positive signs with ''Film/{{Goosebumps}}'' and ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', it will take a long time for Black to experience a true resurgence of popularity.
* In the early 2000s Eli Marienthal was getting a push as a child star following his OneSceneWonder role in ''Film/AmericanPie'' (as Stiffler's younger brother). He was the voice of Hogarth in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' and given a prominent role in ''Film/TheCountryBears''. Both films flopped at the box office (though the former became a CultClassic on home video). He was tested out as the star of his own sitcom ''{{Series/Tucker}}'' which only lasted one season. His role as the love interest in the Lindsay Lohan vehicle ''Film/ConfessionsOfATeenageDramaQueen'' was commercially successful but trashed by critics, and he retired from acting shortly afterwards.
* Creator/StevenSeagal is a classic story of an actor who worked his way up the ladder, had a brief time as a big star, overreached himself, and sunk into obscurity, becoming a punchline to countless jokes about washed-up celebrities. He started work in movies as a stunt coordinator and martial arts instructor (including on ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'', where he infamously broke Creator/SeanConnery's wrist during a spar), but made the transition to actor when one of his aikido students, superstar talent agent Michael Ovitz, arranged for him to demonstrate his martial arts skills on the Creator/WarnerBros lot. Warner Bros. decided to take a chance on him, and in 1988, he wrote and starred in ''Film/AboveTheLaw'', which was a commercial success despite mixed reviews. His next two movies, ''Film/HardToKill'' and ''Film/MarkedForDeath'', both opened at #1 at the box office, and while the former was a critical flop, the latter received good reviews. 1991 saw the release of ''Film/OutForJustice'', his third straight number one box office opening. To promote the movie, he hosted an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''... and is still widely considered to be the worst host in the show's history, which many consider in retrospect to be a portent of things to come. While he was a niche actor up to this point, his appearance in the critically acclaimed blockbuster ''Film/UnderSiege'' allowed him to break out to general audiences and compete with A-list action heroes. Seagal used his newfound clout to make an [[GreenAesop environmentally conscious]] movie called ''Film/OnDeadlyGround'', which was his directorial debut. The movie was a critical and commercial flop, and the following year's ''Under Siege 2: Dark Territory'' was a box office disappointment and received poor reviews. While 1996's ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' was a success, it didn't do much for his career. Still, he would continue to appear in high-budget action movies, but after ''Film/TheGlimmerMan'' and ''Film/FireDownBelow'' both flopped and his original multi-picture contract with Warner Bros. ended, his next major role was in a 1998 direct-to-video movie titled ''The Patriot'' (not to be confused with [[Film/ThePatriot the Revolutionary War movie of the same name]]). In 2001, he seemed slated for a comeback after ''Film/ExitWounds'', but the disappointing performance of ''Film/HalfPastDead'' would push him off the big screen for good. Aside from ''Film/{{Machete}}'', he's been stuck in direct-to-DVD movies and Reality TV. It doesn't help that he's since been OvershadowedByControversy, due to allegations of sexual misconduct and his apologia for authoritarian leaders like UsefulNotes/FidelCastro and UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin.

* Creator/MaraWilson was a self-inflicted example. A child star in the 90s, she received lots of fame for her memorable turn in ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', and was enough to convince John Hughes to cast her in the planned [[GenderFlip male role]] in the remake of ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet''. The film was a massive success, and her next was probably her most iconic - the title character in ''{{Film/Matilda}}''. During ''Matilda'''s production, her mother passed away and led to several years of her struggling with the grief for that while also trying to keep working (even though she was only eight) - as well as struggling with body image issues as she entered puberty. Her father's refusal to let her do family unfriendly movies led to her passing on scripts such as ''{{Film/Thirteen}}'' and ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. Her final film was ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'', after which she decided to quit acting to focus on schoolwork. She never went back, and instead found more success in voice acting and as a writer - to the extent that some people know her more for her writing than ''Matilda''.

* Anne Heche made a big splash in 1997 for two reasons: her critically-acclaimed supporting roles in box-office hits ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' and ''Film/WagTheDog'', and her coming out of the closet and becoming one-half of what was then Hollywood's biggest gay power couple alongside Creator/EllenDeGeneres. Both of these reasons made up for the fact that her first leading role in a Hollywood film, ''Film/{{Volcano}}'', flopped at the box-office. Nevertheless, the studios decided to parlay her newfound fame into an A-List acting career, but the resulting films were ''Film/SixDaysSevenNights'', ''Return to Paradise'' and Creator/GusVanSant's infamous ''[[Film/{{Psycho|1998}} Psycho]]'' remake. The former film was a modest success and the latter were money-losers. The fact that America was still too homophobic to accept an LGBT woman as a female lead may have played a part in her losing more jobs, and her increasing mental instability (the product of a very broken home), which led to her crashing at a random person's house, didn't help either. And on top of that, [=DeGeneres=] and Heche broke off their engagement after a three-year relationship. She still acts in indie films and on TV, but her career has been low-key ever since and is probably solely known for being Ellen [=DeGeneres=] ex-girlfriend than anything else.

* Creator/MaraWilson was a self-inflicted example. A child star in the 90s, she received lots of fame for her memorable turn in ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', and was enough to convince John Hughes to cast her in the planned [[GenderFlip male role]] in the remake of ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet''. The film was a massive success, and her next was probably her most iconic - the title character in ''{{Film/Matilda}}''. During ''Matilda'''s production, her mother passed away and led to several years of her struggling with the grief for that while also trying to keep working (even though she was only eight) - as well as struggling with body image as she entered puberty. Her father's refusal to let her do family unfriendly movies led to her passing on scripts such as ''{{Film/Thirteen}}'' and ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. Her final film was ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad'', after which she decided to quit acting to focus on schoolwork. She never went back, and instead found more success in voice-over and as a writer - to the extent that some people know her more for her writing than ''Matilda''.

** Similar to Biggs, Seann William Scott did mostly the same kind of "big dumb happy guy" roles and mostly vanished from the limelight after the HotterAndSexier ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' film came out. He now mostly plays supporting roles in films like ''Film/CopOut'', however his roles in the ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' franchise has made him the most ''financially'' successful of his former cast mates. He had something of a resurgence when he replaced Creator/ClayneCrawford on ''Series/LethalWeapon''.

** Ironically, Creator/JohnCho, who plays a minor character in the film, is the one whose movie career is most on the rise, between ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'', ''Film/StarTrek2009'', and the ''Film/TotalRecall2012'' remake.
** Natasha Lyonne is an especially unhappy case. She got even more cred with ''Film/ButImACheerleader'', but a serious problem with drugs and alcohol, as well as health problems and extreme mental illness, all but destroyed her career. There was even a period where she was living homeless on the streets of New York after being evicted from her apartment for her behavior. Eventually she came back with a cameo ''American Reunion''), and is finally coming back to prominence for her praised role in the {{Creator/Netflix}} series ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack''. Unlike Biggs, Lyonne completely escaped the shadow of ''Pie'' after landing the show.