You can say that about a lot of actors though - whether going from bad too good or good to bad,

That was my first though. Other was Wesley Snipes... a lot of big action stars fall off as they get older but he was like direct to video fairly young.

I don't think anyone saw Leonardo DiCaprio going from Growing Pains to what he is, nor Clooney from Facts of Life, but I think that's just actor progression and getting a big break. Even Tom Hanks from Bosom Buddies to Splash was a huge leap and then where he is today.

Bradley Cooper was basically supposed to be the geeky friendzoned guy in Alias somehow compared to Michael Vartan and yet he became a hearthrob moviestar. And it's not like he was a kid or otherwise changed how he looked. Unlike someone like Chris Pratt who went from kind of overweight shmuck on Parks and Rec to buff action star.

Hugh Grant. From Elizabeth Hurley to Divine Brown ...

We recently watched "Too Funny to Fail", the Hulu documentary about the Dana Carvey show. It was wild to think about a show with Steve Carell, Stephen Cobert, Robert Smigel, Louis C.K., Bob Odenkirk, Greg Daniels and Charlie Kaufman working together in shitty offices in 1996.

That show was insane as well. Add Carvey to the list of people I thought would've been a huge deal coming out of SNL and whose career just fizzled (outside of Waynes World). I paid money to see Master of Disguise in the theater as a kid and was so disappointed.

Bob Odenkirk is a good example. He went from a comedy writer to silly sketch comedy on Mr. Show to serious drama in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul to becoming a bad-ass action star on Nobody.

Breaking Bad reminds me of Bryan Cranston too. He'd obviously been around a while in different TV series in bit parts but he was basically an anime voice actor early on under the name Lee Stone (or uncredited) and did, for example, Isamu's voice in Macross Plus and (not anime) some Power Rangers villains. His role as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle was probably his breakout before Breaking Bad.

Hilary Swank comes to mind. From Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Next Karate Kid to Oscar gold in Boys Don't Cry

Ronald Reagan went from B-movie actor to President. At least he kept in the acting profession.

I thought Neil Patrick Harris would pretty much be done after Doogie Howser but after about a decade out of the spotlight played Barney Stinson.

The incredible thing about that is nearly anyone else playing the Barney Stinson role would probably be reviled just because of the part he played... like HIMYM is barely watchable in today's climate. But that character is almost the polar opposite of what NPH seems to be in real life (though I guess you never can tell).

Yup, he's basically finished in Hollywood. He's unhireable and I think a lot of his past colleagues won't work with him again. Let him bitch and moan on Twitter.

Shame I always thought he was a good actor and liked his TV show Shark when he tried to segue to TV years ago.

And then there's this guy

I was just watching her bit part in Logan Lucky, but Hilary Swank, hasn’t done much for me or in much of anything too big after her Oscars.

Who is that?

Shark had some great episodes feat. Billy Campbell as James Woods nemesis, those were great. It's a shame Woods is done in Hollywood, he always brought something to the table.

Armie Hammer. He was in The Social Network and starred as The Lone Ranger in the Disney adaptation, as well as was cast as Batman in George Miller's Justice League: Mortal (that collapsed due to the writers' strike). A year or two ago, messages of his were leaked that essentially said he had a cannibalism fetish. His career predictably imploded and he's been living as a handiman in the Caribbean, last I recall.

My addition to this thread is also a Batman: Robert Pattinson - from bored protaganist in a teenybopper-beloved YA adaptation to well-respected actor and "sigma male"-beloved vigilante.

John Travolta from Welcome Back Kotter to Pulp Fiction.

He was good in Welcome Back Kotter. I'd go from Carrie to Pulp Fiction.

Also, Demi Moore. From being completely forgettable in Blame It On Rio to being the highest paid and highest profile actress in the world. Don't think too many people saw that coming.

George Clooney went from a failed sitcom named ER to one of the biggest actors in a long time.

Tom Hanks went from Bosom Buddies to one of the biggest actors in a long time.

What does does this mean

That I can believe because it's was a natural graduation. He started out in a short-lived tv series, continued with a lot of comedies, where he could prove his acting talent, especially in Big and a decade after Bosom Buddies, he landed Philadelphia and everything evolved from there.

Jack Nicholson played a bit part as the dentist’s patient in the original low-budget Little Shop of Horrors movie (the Bill Murray part in the remake). Once he became a star they put him on the cover of the video box even though he’s only in it for a hot second.