Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast

Dr. DVD · 07-10-11, 12:35 PM

Basically, the minute the actor's face appears on screen in the preview it actually inspires laughter, even if the movie is serious.

I think the best example of this is Nicolas Cage. When they showed a clip for Drive Angry , the audience I was with erupted with laughter when he showed his face.

While I never thought this would be possible a little over a decade ago, the same almost seems to be happening for Tom Cruise. When I saw a preview for the new Mission:Impossible most people just shook their heads.

AnonomusBob15 · 07-10-11, 12:43 PM

The big difference between Nic Cage and Tom Cruise is that Cage's pictures usually suck. They suck for a number of reasons, him being one of them. Once in a while, his inner brilliance shines, but less often than one would hope, especially considering some of the really quality films he has participated in.

Tom Cruise 90% of the time delivers a quality product, but people can't help but be more interested in someone's personal life. The new M:I film looks great, but it will underperform because people care about things that dont really concern them.

Pizza · 07-10-11, 01:02 PM

Actually, I was always amazed at the career Cage has had. He should be thanking the gods. He's been good in some films but I always found him goofy, sort of acting against type when he plays the action hero.

inri222 · 07-10-11, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pizza

Actually, I was always amazed at the career Cage has had.

Mr. Cinema · 07-10-11, 01:23 PM

Look over the Best Actor/Actress winners and nominees and you'll probably find a few choices.

Jamie Foxx hasn't exactly been knocking it out of the park since his win for Ray. Nicole Kidman? Renée Zellweger? Terrence Howard? Helen Hunt?

Mr. Cinema · 07-10-11, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pizza

Actually, I was always amazed at the career Cage has had. He should be thanking the gods. He's been good in some films but I always found him goofy, sort of acting against type when he plays the action hero.

I loved Cage in "Matchstick Men". Probably my favorite film of his career. I thought he was superb in it.

sleepyhead55 · 07-10-11, 01:37 PM

What about Val Kilmer? He's been doing mostly direct to dvd stuff. He does have a film with Coppola coming out later this year though.

Dr. DVD · 07-10-11, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnonomusBob15

Tom Cruise 90% of the time delivers a quality product, but people can't help but be more interested in someone's personal life. The new M:I film looks great, but it will underperform because people care about things that dont really concern them.

That's a real shame IMO. The two I mentioned are for two entirely different reasons in terms of why they fell. M:I-3 was very well done IMO, and critics agreed. Problem is, most of the U.S. didn't want to look at the movie aspect.

tellor · 07-10-11, 01:57 PM

Tom Cruise is HUGE internationally, though, so his career is fine. At present, studios are placing much more emphasis on movie stars who are popular worldwide. Tom Cruise is one of the top ones.

PopcornTreeCt · 07-10-11, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

Look over the Best Actor/Actress winners and nominees and you'll probably find a few choices.

Jamie Foxx hasn't exactly been knocking it out of the park since his win for Ray. Nicole Kidman? Renée Zellweger? Terrence Howard? Helen Hunt?

Exactly. I just saw that Forrest Whitaker is in a TV series! Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Tom Cruise is lucky that he's still able to headline movies. If I were a movie exec I'd consider him done for leading roles.

I think Django will help out Foxx's career.

Mike86 · 07-10-11, 02:11 PM

The problem with Cruise though is that even though he is decent in some movies his nutjob personality turns a lot of people off. It also seems like around the time he started behaving like a weirdo is when the quality of his movies went down with a few exceptions.

brianluvdvd · 07-10-11, 02:22 PM

Cuba Gooding Jr.

'Nuff said.

Yeti4623 · 07-10-11, 02:36 PM

Tom Cruise is one of the few huge stars who doesn't do easy, "Cocktail"-like movies over and over again. He's actually done a lot of entertaining and interesting/edgy movies.

Pizza · 07-10-11, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

Look over the Best Actor/Actress winners and nominees and you'll probably find a few choices.

Jamie Foxx hasn't exactly been knocking it out of the park since his win for Ray. Nicole Kidman? Renée Zellweger? Terrence Howard? Helen Hunt?

Nicole Kidman seems to be doing alright. I'm a little confused as to why Renée Zellweger has fallen off the map. For some reason it's harder for actresses to maintain long acting careers like guys.

Mr.Briggs · 07-10-11, 03:42 PM

Surprised nobody's named Kevin Costner yet. Late 80's early 90's one of the biggest box office draws & since about 94-95 about 15+ years of crap.

Dr. Mantle · 07-10-11, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

Exactly. I just saw that Forrest Whitaker is in a TV series! Oh how the mighty have fallen.

When was Forrest Whitaker ever a huge movie star? He's done plenty of television before. And considering the quality of TV today, it's hardly a step down from film.

andy434343 · 07-10-11, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Briggs

Surprised nobody's named Kevin Costner yet. Late 80's early 90's one of the biggest box office draws & since about 94-95 about 15+ years of crap.

I really enjoyed him in Mr. Brooks

kd5 · 07-10-11, 04:54 PM

What about Charlie Sheen? Went from respected actor to complete nutjob in record time. -kd5-

PopcornTreeCt · 07-10-11, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Mantle

When was Forrest Whitaker ever a huge movie star? He's done plenty of television before. And considering the quality of TV today, it's hardly a step down from film.

It's not so much that he's a big movie star but moreso that he's an astounding actor. I think he earned the title of movie star as well. And the thing is, he isn't on some HBO show he's on a Criminal Minds spin off.

It's like Zooey Deschanel on that Fox show. Like why you wanna kill your career so fast? Stick to movies.

Solid Snake PAC · 07-10-11, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kd5

What about Charlie Sheen? Went from respected actor to complete nutjob in record time. -kd5-

...respected actor since when? Growing up...I just knew him as that guy in the comedies. As an adult...he's the guy who was in that 2 1/2 men show. He was good in Platoon and Wall Street. That was the highest in his acting career I think..at least in terms of quality.

Nick Martin · 07-10-11, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

It's not so much that he's a big movie star but moreso that he's an astounding actor. I think he earned the title of movie star as well. And the thing is, he isn't on some HBO show he's on a Criminal Minds spin off..

"Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" was canceled so it only lasted for one season.

Jeff Goldblum was briefly a lead on one of the "Law & Order" shows, as were Terrence Howard and Alfred Molina.

I'm not a Tom Cruise fan in the slightest, but if I ever doubt him I'll just think of Les Grossman.

tellor · 07-10-11, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

Exactly. I just saw that Forrest Whitaker is in a TV series! Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Tom Cruise is lucky that he's still able to headline movies. If I were a movie exec I'd consider him done for leading roles.

I think Django will help out Foxx's career.

Forest Whitaker was *never* a leading man, though. His Oscar win was due to his great performance, but it did not suddenly catapult him to leading man status. Many non-lead actors have signed up for roles in television shows over the last several years because the number of films being produced has decreased. The television stigma has decreased. Plus, the real money is earned on television if a person is not a box office star.

Tom Cruise is a global box office star. His films may not gross as well as they used to in the USA, but he's still extremely popular in other country. Studio executives are relying much more on global box office receipts now. Tom Cruise is still highly valuable.

Jamie Foxx focuses more on his music career. He makes the occassional film, but his true passion is music. He's had several hit songs over the last five years.

tellor · 07-10-11, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

It's like Zooey Deschanel on that Fox show. Like why you wanna kill your career so fast? Stick to movies.

Killing your career so fast? Not at all. As I have stated, television is where a lot of actors who are not box office leads are heading. The stigma has worn off a lot over the last decade and especially over the last five years.

Fewer films are being produced, and television is more steady and better paid.

The popularity of a buzz-about tv show can actually help a TV star land high-profile film gigs. They then would be able to move back and forth between the two.

Boba Fett · 07-10-11, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Martin

I'm not a Tom Cruise fan in the slightest, but if I ever doubt him I'll just think of Les Grossman.

I don't think I can ever hate Cruise. The worst he did was act like a child over getting married and spout his religion/beliefs. I might not agree with it, but in the long run it's a lot better than the actors people continue to worship who get busted on DUIs, drug possessions and spousal abuse, not to mention affairs and bastard children.

Besides, anyone who hates Cruise for his "kooky" period, better not call themselves a Prince fan if that may be the case, because that man is guilty of every "social crime" Cruise is and more.

kd5 · 07-10-11, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solid Snake PAC

...respected actor since when?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000221/

He's been in a lot of movies, a lot of TV shows, he's had a decent career.......until he turned nutjob. -kd5-

07-10-11, 12:35 PM	#1
Dr. DVD DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 18,491	Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Basically, the minute the actor's face appears on screen in the preview it actually inspires laughter, even if the movie is serious. I think the best example of this is Nicolas Cage. When they showed a clip for Drive Angry , the audience I was with erupted with laughter when he showed his face. While I never thought this would be possible a little over a decade ago, the same almost seems to be happening for Tom Cruise. When I saw a preview for the new Mission:Impossible most people just shook their heads. __________________ "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." -Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects

07-10-11, 12:43 PM	#2
AnonomusBob15 DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Auburn University Posts: 2,396	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast The big difference between Nic Cage and Tom Cruise is that Cage's pictures usually suck. They suck for a number of reasons, him being one of them. Once in a while, his inner brilliance shines, but less often than one would hope, especially considering some of the really quality films he has participated in. Tom Cruise 90% of the time delivers a quality product, but people can't help but be more interested in someone's personal life. The new M:I film looks great, but it will underperform because people care about things that dont really concern them.

07-10-11, 01:02 PM	#3
Pizza DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,535	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Actually, I was always amazed at the career Cage has had. He should be thanking the gods. He's been good in some films but I always found him goofy, sort of acting against type when he plays the action hero. __________________ And it's not an assumption. DVD is better than DVD-R.

07-10-11, 01:23 PM	#5
Mr. Cinema DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 16,954	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Look over the Best Actor/Actress winners and nominees and you'll probably find a few choices. Jamie Foxx hasn't exactly been knocking it out of the park since his win for Ray. Nicole Kidman? Renée Zellweger? Terrence Howard? Helen Hunt? __________________ 1. Side Effects • 2. - • 3. - • 4. - • 5. - • 6. - • My Countdown Counting down to: Black Swan

07-10-11, 01:37 PM	#7
sleepyhead55 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 3,480	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast What about Val Kilmer? He's been doing mostly direct to dvd stuff. He does have a film with Coppola coming out later this year though.

07-10-11, 01:57 PM	#9
tellor Cool New Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 34	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Tom Cruise is HUGE internationally, though, so his career is fine. At present, studios are placing much more emphasis on movie stars who are popular worldwide. Tom Cruise is one of the top ones.

07-10-11, 02:11 PM	#11
Mike86 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 3,985	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast The problem with Cruise though is that even though he is decent in some movies his nutjob personality turns a lot of people off. It also seems like around the time he started behaving like a weirdo is when the quality of his movies went down with a few exceptions.

07-10-11, 02:22 PM	#12
brianluvdvd DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 8,667	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Cuba Gooding Jr. 'Nuff said.

07-10-11, 02:36 PM	#13
Yeti4623 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 815	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Tom Cruise is one of the few huge stars who doesn't do easy, "Cocktail"-like movies over and over again. He's actually done a lot of entertaining and interesting/edgy movies.

07-10-11, 03:42 PM	#15
Mr.Briggs DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wouldn't you like to know? Posts: 1,794	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast Surprised nobody's named Kevin Costner yet. Late 80's early 90's one of the biggest box office draws & since about 94-95 about 15+ years of crap. __________________ Your mission, should you decide to accept it...

07-10-11, 04:54 PM	#18
kd5 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 3,812	Re: Actors whose careers have fallen low and fast What about Charlie Sheen? Went from respected actor to complete nutjob in record time. -kd5- __________________ Time is the fire in which we burn. (Soran) My DVD Collection