Hazel Motes

Besides Bryan Cranston of course.

Rob V

After George Hamilton took on the role as the Kentucky Fried Chicken guy.... nobody should take any shit for taking a TV gig.

cleaver

Tom Hanks coming crawling back to TV after his iconic work in Bosom Buddies and Family Ties

morriscroy

George Peppard going from "Breakfast At Tiffanys" to "The A-Team".

TomOpus

I guess he's more stand-up than actor but Dave Chappelle.

james2025a

I would say maybe Jerry Seinfeld.

kenbuzz

Funny, I was thinking along similar lines.

James Carrey after breaking through on In Living Color

Goat3001

I would say Mathew Mcconaughey

madcougar

Bruce Willis.

OldBoy

David Caruso yet again...

Decker

Hypothetically? George Clooney. But he, like Hanks wouldn't do that except in a limited series.

Realistically? If Jennifer Aniston came back to TV for a lead role in a comedy show, that would get a TON of attention and scrutiny.

I'm also curious to see where John Hamm goes next. My guess would be a sitcom produced by Lorne Michaels. He really seems to like to show off his considerable comedy chops and I think he could make it work. But yeah, there would be a lot of scrutiny in that role as well

d2cheer

I like him. Really like CSI Miami, but yea I hope he made good $$ and gets residual money as he probably never works again.

Shannon Nutt

Right now? Bill Cosby.

davidh777

My first thought was Caruso or anyone else who flamed out on the big screen. Aniston has fared better, but still not great.

Red Dog

Hamm is a good choice.

Cranston has already done a very good job in tv-movie and movie roles since BB.

GoldenJCJ

Upon reading the thread title the first person to pop into my head was Michael Richards...but I'd assume he'd face scrutiny for different reasons.

Decker

I don't think The Michael Richards Show was that iconic.

Nick Danger

I can think of a counter-example. David Duchovny flamed out on the big screen. But he was well received in Californiation, and Aquarius seems to be doing okay.

GoldenJCJ

The Michael Richards Show came and went before his stand-up racial tirade. I think he'd be scrutinized a whole lot more nowadays.

And that YouTube video is downright painful to watch.

Michael Corvin

It's easy to point to movie stars like Clooney or Hanks, but I think a leading actor from a previous hit show would face more scruitiny, especially if said actor won multiple awards for a previous role. John Hamm and Jerry Seinfeld are good. I'm always amazed at Ted Danson and Kelsy Grammer's ability to be in multiple hit shows.

What about someone like Mark Harmon. Would baby boomers tune into a different show that he's in?

Office Space
Iron Giant
Bruce Almighty
Along Came Polly
The Break-Up
Marley & Me
Horrible Bosses
We're the Millers

Yep, she should really throw in the towel at this point.

The real problem is that the bombs seem to overshadow the hits. Despite the hits above that's probably less than 30% of her career and the other 70% are bad...read bad.

morriscroy

In recent times, the most tragic cases would be actors/actresses who went from big hits to lowering themselves down to stuff produced by The Asylum.

- Tara Reid
American Pie ---> Sharknado

- Ian Ziering
Beverly Hills 90210 ---> Sharknado

- Christopher Judge
Stargate SG-1 ---> Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, Clash of Empires (Hobbits)

- Tom Everett Scott
That Thing You Do, Law & Order ---> Z Nation

- Daryl Hannah
Blade Runner, Wall Street ---> Zombie Night, Social Nightmare (Mother)

- Graham Greene
Dances With Wolves ---> Atlantic Rim (From The Sea)

Count Dooku

Ted Danson is pretty amazing. You would have thought Sam Malone was so iconic a role that he would be hindered in other projects, but he played serious parts on CSI and Fargo with no problem.
Still, when he shows up in Saving Private Ryan, it is like "WTF is he doing here!?!?"

Jennifer Aniston is too smart to ever go back to TV.
She's as rich as fuck, so she does not need to ever work. She has not made it as a movie star, but I think she has proven she can be a movie actress. She's 47 and in a new marriage. 10 years after Friends went away, she is still a huge celebrity.
She does not need anything that TV has to offer.

I think Ted Danson is just one of those people that absolutely loves acting, whether it is a starring role or a guest spot on Curb.

cleaver

The actor who could go to TV which would generate the greatest scrutiny that could theoretically happen is Tom Cruise. If HBO or FX or AMC announced a project tomorrow with Tom Cruise as the star, it would be easier to imagine than such a project with Clooney, Hanks, Cranston, Pitt, Denzel Washington, or Meryl Streep, yet it would have just as much buzz around it.

morriscroy

In contrast, her Friends co-star Courtney Cox didn't seem to have much scrutiny in her post-Friends career, such as Cox's lead roles in tv shows like Dirt and Cougar Town.

morriscroy

One actress who had a lot scrutiny and got pummeled after a big role, would be Katherine Heigl.

It seems like she has a reputation for being a difficult person, and critics not liking her at all. (Whether real or perceived).

A lot of people want to see her fail repeatedly.