Regrettably, everything doesn’t always go as planned. Even the most anticipated actors occasionally fail to make the leap to superstardom for various reasons. It’s sometimes an actor’s lousy attitude that sinks their career before it even gets started, and other times it is simply bad professional decisions. Here’s a list of 5 popular actors that could have had a more successful career but didn’t:
1. Taylor Lautner
Taylor has been in major theatrical pictures from the age of thirteen. However, barely a few years after the megahit Twilight series, his star route has gone cold. It could be argued that none of Twilight’s popular actors have quite filled up Hollywood either. However, they’ve accomplished far more than Lautner. Although the Hollywood heartthrob continues to act, he hasn’t been in any television shows or films in years. He starred in the film Home Team, which was released in January 2022, but it was a flop.
2. Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes was one of Nickelodeon‘s top stars during the late-90s. She went on to star in teen comedies including What a Girl Wants, She’s the Man, and Sydney White as a result of her fame. She also starred in the Emma Stone comedy Easy A and the 2007 adaptation of Hairspray, both of which garnered positive reviews. However, all of that came to a standstill when Bynes announced her retirement from acting in 2010. Bynes’ personal life began to fall apart later, as she displayed conduct that suggested she was suffering from major mental health concerns.
3. Bridget Fonda
Bridget Fonda appeared to be on the verge of not merely upholding, but even surpassing her family’s heritage. Fonda made her big-screen debut in the psychological thriller Single White Female in 1992. She also starred in Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age drama Singles in the same year. Fonda reached her critical apex later in the decade, with appearances in Quentin Tarantino‘s Jackie Brown and Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan. Despite all of his accomplishments, Fonda seemed to be missing out on a big break. She quit acting in 2002 after a string of high-profile flops in the early 2000s.
4. Shelley Duvall
One of the most promising and popular actors, who received great acclaim for her disturbingly believable depiction of a murdering husband’s wife in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece The Shining, appeared on Dr. Phil, scarcely recognizable and suffering from a variety of mental health issues. Despite being a part of such a famous film, many people forget that The Shining wasn’t a huge hit when it first came out. Most of Duvall’s well-known roles are in this category. It would take years for Duvall’s films to be appreciated, implying that she was largely an actor acting in under-regarded pictures at the time.
5. Shannyn Sossamon
After a few years as a model and a few small roles on Mr. Show, newbie Shannyn Sossamon beat out Kate Hudson for the cult classic A Knight’s Tale in 2001. She co-starred in the successful film 40 Days and 40 Nights the next year, as well as the black comedy The Rules of Attraction. Sossamon’s career halted after the box office flop of her reunion with Ledger in The Order. Sossamon became a mother in 2003 and decided to take a sabbatical from acting. While her career has improved in recent years, she was never able to achieve the heights she had hoped for.
