The right roles. The right manager. The right agent and publicist. The right dress. The right photograph. The right answers. When it comes to being a celebrity, no matter what the fame is, how big the fortune is, how beautiful the person is or how incredible the talent may be, there is no immunity mistakes, embarrassments or laziness. To create the career you want, you have to work hard and make the right decisions. And unfortunately when you’re a celebrity, the wrong moves can be highlighted, scrutinized and played out in the public eye for all the world to see.
Below there’s a list of 15 celebrities that made some of the biggest career mistakes ever. From passing up amazing roles to bad decisions in their private life, these famed and talented made some less-than-stellar decisions that may have not only damaged their career but cost them a completely different future.
15 Nicholas Cage Filed For Bankruptcy
According to CNN, Nicholas Cage is the only one to blame is his financial downfall that ended in filing for bankruptcy in 2009. After a spree of luxury buying including: castles, homes, yachts and vehicles (yes, all plural), his ex-business manager warned him that he needed to make $30 million a year to keep up with the lavish lifestyle he had cultivated. And because of the hole Cage dug himself, financially, there’s been a line of “paycheck” movies he’s been forced to take under his belt – despite the mediocre scripts.
14 Brian Dunkleman Left American Idol
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Thinking back to the first season of American Idol, fans remember everything from Kelly Clarkson’s win, Simon Cowell’s scowl, Justin Guarini’s hair and Ryan Seacrest. But it’s rare that one remember the co-host to the entire production, Brian Dunkleman, especially since he made the mistake of packing up and leaving the competition show after just one season making Ryan Seacrest sole host for years to come. Access Hollywood reported in 2011 that Dunkleman joked with Joy Behar on her show, “I have what many people refer to as ‘poor judgment’.” Since his exit, he’s had a fine string of guest roles and nothing substantional to move along his comedic dreams.
13 Emily Browning Saying, No Thanks,” To Twilight Audition
Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight, famously posted on her blog that her favorite choice was Emily Browning to play Bella Swan in the movie version of her story. But it was self-proclaimed laziness from Browning that stopped the possibility from happening. According to MTV, she had just finished up filming The Uninvited and was too tired to audition saying, “So, really it’s just a mtter of me being lazy.” And since, fans haven’t seen her in anything as successful as the huge, vampire trilogy.
12 Lindsay Lohan’s Reputation
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Debatably one of the most talented up-and-coming actresses, Lindsay Lohan squandered the momentum of her career with a series of bad decisions. DUI arrests, trips to rehab and a reputation for being less-than-professional on set, all of these situations have caused Lohan’s career to stop in its tracks. She’s had opportunities here and there, and even turned down a role in The Hangover (another mistake) and she still hasn’t quite gotten back in the saddle and turned her life around.
11 Kayne West Interrupting Taylor Swift
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Creating one of the most infamous moments in award show history, let alone the VMAs themselves, Kanye West stormed the stage during Taylor Swift’s speech after she won Best Female Video for “You Belong With Me.” He interrupted shouting to the crowd that Beyonce deserved the award (for “Single Ladies”) and mortifying Swift in the process. Fast-forward several years later and West still hasn’t recovered from his rude move and even got booed from the crowd at the 2015 VMAs throughout his own performance.
10 Michael Richards’ Racial Slur
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Richards was caught on-camera during one of his stand-up shows exploding on a heckler in the audience in an extremely crude line of comments. Yelling, “Fifty years ago they’d have you hanging upside-down with a {expletive} for up your {expletive}…” at the man. Washington Post reported that later he went on to apologize on “Late Show With David Letterman” but the Seinfeld star, arguably, ruined his career with this one incident as fans have had a hard time looking at him as the same, beloved Kramer character they were used to seeing on television.
9 Chevy Chase Leaving Saturday Night Live
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Chevy Chase left Saturday Night Live after its first year proclaiming, “because I thought this wasn’t going anywhere…” At the height of his career, he insulted the entire cast and writing staff of SNL during meetings before his exit. Little did he know what a juggernaut of a show this would turn out to be. And that “asshole” reputation would stay with him throughout the rest of his career, all the way up to the 40th anniversary special.
8 Chris Brown’s Felony Assault Charge
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Some would argue that Brown’s career hasn’t suffered as much as it should have when his felony assault charge came in 2009 after a violent altercation with singer, Rihanna. There were even reports in 2012 that the turmoil-inducing couple had gotten back together with a source divulging that Jay-Z told the singer if he hurt Rihanana, in any form, he would personally end his career. Since the drama, we’ve seen Chris Brown’s probation end and his career keep a steady pace – but who is to know how many fans he lost in the process of losing his temper.
7 Tom Selleck Turned Down Indiana Jones
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Even though Tom Selleck has a large following of fans, it’s hard to say whether or not the lovable actor would be known for anything bigger than his thick, kitschy mustache if he had taken on, what could have been, the opportunity of his career. According to Daily Mail, he was actually offered the role before Harrison Ford had – Ford being catapulted into fame with the part he made iconic. And although his career is still alive, Selleck never received as much recognition or stardom as Ford.
6 DMX’s Arrests
Rapper, actor and a talent that was on its way up before its plummet, DMX’s legal issues were his demise. Several arrests started to create a tarnished persona and reputation including: failure to pay child support, animal cruelty, drug possession and more. And albums released after his budding criminal record never gained the success of his previous. In 2013, his eighth album, Redemption of the Beast, was given an unauthorized release and is under legal dispute.
5 T.R. Knight Left Grey’s Anatomy
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As Entertainment Weekly reported, fans were shocked when T.R. Knight made the decision to leave Grey’s Anatomy. And in the article he exposes a bit of that truth and why he made his edit including: a “breakdown of communication” between himself and creator, Shonda Rimes, "Isaiahgate" and his coming out. Although he was a breakout star in the series and his decisions to leave were, hopefully, personally beneficial, because it certainly wasn’t beneficial for his acting career or his bank account – walking away from a $14 million contract.
4 Chris O’Donnel’s Shot At Titanic
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It’s become a classic film and one of the most beloved stories of all time. The love between Jack and Rose is one that has touched the lives of so many. But it’s a bit odd to picture baby-faced Jack as anyone but Leonardo Dicaprio. Chris O’Donnel was one of those men considered but instead of taking on the opportunity he decided to film Batman & Robin instead, and although he’s still steadily working in the industry his stardom isn’t near as bright at Leo.
3 Katherine Heigl Trashes Judd Apatow
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In an article by US Weekly, Heigl’s Knocked Up co-star, Seth Rogen, called her sexist over her remarks of the Apatow movie in a 2007 Vanity Fair article. She was quoted that the comedy “paints women as shrews,” and she expressed that it was “hard for me to love the movie.” A part from Dr. Izzie Stevens from Grey’s Anatomy, which she chose to leave, most of the characters she’s played since the film weren’t of the high-caliber, up-lifting quality she was assumingly gunning for. There also hasn’t been much variation to her scripts nor a movie that’s come out coming close to the critical review Knocked Up had received.
2 John Mayer Sharing Intimate Details
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John Mayer is infamous for putting his foot his in mouth, hence his song “My Stupid Mouth.” But aside from his alledged relationship and heartbreak with country-turned-pop songstress, Taylor Swift, he also made a no-no move when speaking about intimate details of his relationship with Jessica Simpson. Some would say him referring to sex with the singer and designer was “like sexual napalm,” in an article with Playboy Magazine, was quite the tactless, tasteless way to go.
1 Mel Gibson’s Drunken Rant
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Since Mel Gibson’s drunken, anti-semitic rant during an arrest he’s been essentially blacklisted by Hollywood. But in a 2014 Bloomberg article, talks of giving him another chance were ignited. The problem is Gibson has been known to create moments of drunk crudeness including his recorded conversation between himself and Oksana Grigorieva, an ex-girlfriend. Listening to the scary conversation on Huffington Post, it’s no wonder that other actors, writers, directors and the like want nothing to do with the potential violence and problems the temperamental actor could create on-set.
Sources: cnn.com, accesshollywood.com, people.com, yahoo.com, rollingstone.com
