Hollywood is a fickle mistress. One moment, you can be on top of the world, flying in private jets (or at least first class) to A-list events and award shows, and the next you can be scrounging around for your next role, desperate to stay out of the multitude of “Where Are They Now?” articles that imply your relevancy days are over.
All of the actors on this list were tapped to be the Next Big thing: the Next Big Action Hero, the Next Big Heartthrob, the Next Big Serious Actor, and so on. All of them had big dreams and even bigger expectations placed upon them, and some were even lucky enough to score a few massive hits before they went AWOL. Others, however, didn’t even do that well, and only claimed one blockbuster under their belt before fading into oblivion. We can’t always know what happened to make their careers totally fizzle, but any potential we saw in them dimmed and faded away. Even if they’re still managing to find work, they’re nowhere close to the stratosphere they were once so close to touching. So, take a walk down memory lane with us, and be reminded of the famous faces who almost were, but then weren’t.
15 Mischa Barton: Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone
Some stars just don’t know a good thing when they have it. Case in point: Mischa Barton. In the early 2000s, Mischa was the It Girl of the ages, thanks to her role on the soapy teen drama The O.C. and her regular boho-chic appearances on the red carpet. She was a far cry from the creepy girl we were first introduced to in The Sixth Sense, but just when Mischa’s star was poised to rise even higher, she abruptly pulled the plug on her own career.
In an astronomically bad move, Mischa opted to leave the show that made her a household name when it was at the height if its popularity, became embroiled in legal and personal drama that saw her enter rehab multiple times, attempted a comeback with a show centred around the lives of models and wannabes, called the Beautiful Life – which was cancelled after two episodes. Now, her style has gone the way of her talent, and this former It Girl appears on the Worst Dressed pages of magazines and not much else.
14 Taylor Lautner: Twilight, Take One
Remember when Twilight was the biggest thing to hit theatres and bookstores since Harry Potter? The merchandise alone that found its way into the rooms of Twi-hards everywhere was astounding, and it looked like any star who was lucky enough to score a role in the much-anticipated film adaptation of the series was guaranteed and healthy and wealthy career in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, none of that really happened, much to the disappointment of then-heartthrob Taylor Lautner.
As the werewolf Jacob who was after Bella Swan’s heart, only to creepily turn around and fall in love with her fast-ageing offspring, Taylor made pre-teens and grown women alike swoon whenever he doffed his shirt for the purpose of Jacob’s wolfish transformation. And that’s about where his acting chops ended. He didn’t quite make it as an action star, despite producing and starring in his own film (Abduction, if you were wondering), and he didn’t transition into drama like stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. He did Scream Queens, though (even if it was cancelled after two seasons).
13 Josh Hartnett: Blackballed Action Hero-To-Be
Okay, to be fair, Josh Hartnett did have some major movie roles in the early 2000s. He appeared in war-time blockbusters like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down and tried his hand at romantic comedy with the painfully unfunny 40 Days and 40 Nights. At the time, Josh had a squinty-eyed, gap-toothed, hulking attractiveness that hadn’t been replicated before or since, but he just never quite reached the A-list levels we all expected of him.
Unlike others on this list, Josh seemed to be a victim of the times. He was (is) talented, attractive, likeable, and definitely has the acting chops to pull off drama, action, and suspense (comedy is debatable), but after turning down the opportunity to be in a Superman film that never quite came to pass, he was alienated by the Hollywood elite and went the way of so many former It Guys (and PETA’s “Sexiest Male Vegetarian of 2003”, it is worth mentioning) and disappeared into the ether. In fact, this is probably the first time you’ve thought about the former poster boy of your bedroom walls in a while!
12 Kellan Lutz: Twilight, Take Two
Aside from Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, both whom have quietly accumulated more roles and shied away from the glaring limelight that made up much of their late 2000s, the rest of the cast of Twilight hasn’t done nearly as well for themselves. Call it a curse, but Kellan Lutz is definitely one of those afflicted.
Most recognizable for his ripped physique, Kellan seems in need of better skills to get beyond playing a buff mouth-breather, but that remains to be seen. After Twilight, he appeared in The Legend of Hercules, which most of us forgot (or didn’t even hear of). Since we all assumed that the vampire gang would be beating off upcoming roles with a stick, it was a little surprising to see Kellan fall so quickly on his face, and we honestly can’t see him making it beyond straight-to-video releases. At least he’s got something to celebrate: he recently became engaged!
11 Jessica Biel: Better Known as Timberlake’s Wife
Okay, we know that Jessica Biel snagged Justin Timberlake, ensuring she’s never quite far from the glare of the spotlight, but the girl has not done well for herself outside of her relationship status. However, poor Jessica says her lack of acting roles comes down to one thing: she’s “too pretty”.
Seriously.
Back in 2007, when Jessica was still moderately relevant, she claimed in an interview that her good looks were a drawback when it came to being cast. Yeah, because Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, and Jennifer Lawrence have had SUCH a difficult time snagging multiple roles, critical acclaim, and a trunkload of awards. It sounds to us like Jessica just wasn’t ready to admit that her acting talents didn’t stretch far beyond running around in a tight white tank top (as in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) or stripping down for Gear magazine in an effort to shed her good-girl image. She was once an It Girl, but now gets more press as JT’s main squeeze.
10 Kate Bosworth: From Blue Crush to Now What?
Once declared a “star in the making” by Rolling Stone and the inspiration for girls everywhere to take up a surfboard, Kate Bosworth’s lead role in Blue Crush looked like she was poised to be a superstar…until she wasn’t. In the early 2000s, Kate was a style icon with the likes of other waifish blondes like Sienna Miller and as in the press for her red carpet appearances as she was for her on-off romance with Orlando Bloom and her drastically thin figure.
Noticeably absent from her publicity sheets, though, was any semblance of an acting career. Kate appeared in the disastrous Superman Returns alongside other forgotten action hero in the making, Brandon Routh, and geek boys everywhere didn’t let her forget how terrible she flopped as Lois Lane. Since that major misstep, Kate appears to have slunk away from the public eye, only popping up in smaller-scale movies with minor parts, as well as TV shows. While she’s still working, it’s a far cry from what we all thought the future had in store for her.
9 Lindsay Lohan: Flame Out
It’s one of the saddest Hollywood stories, since we were all rooting for her to get her act together. Lindsay Lohan starred in dual roles in 1998’s The Parent Trap, but she really won over everyone when she played the lead in Mean Girls, easily one of the most quoted films of our time. What followed was a few subsequent stints in similar teen comedy fare, before rumours began to swirl about Lindsays’ unprofessionalism, her lateness, her drug addiction, her behavioural issues, her family problems, and so on. Soon, her personal struggles began to get more press than her professional success, and she began to lose out on roles and be dropped from films altogether.
While she has never quite disappeared from the public eye, Lindsay never fully realized the potential we had all earmarked for her. She dabbled in music as well as film, and proved herself talented in comedy and drama, and yet she totally fizzled. Unfortunately, she really has no one but herself to blame.
8 Alicia Silverstone: Clueless About Where Her Career Went
Raise your hand if you’ve spent more afternoons than you can count re-watching 1995’s Clueless? A film so iconic that GIFs of it are regularly used today, and a Halloween doesn’t go by without two besties doing their best Cher and Dionne impressions.
The defining role of Alicia Silverstone’s career has certainly become bigger than the actress herself, who has faded from her It Girl status to become a vegan mom who “bird-feeds” her son and writes smug cookbooks. The critical and financial success that came with Clueless initially launched Alicia into the stratosphere, but she was never quite able to replicate the impact it made. Subsequently, she fell off the Hollywood scene, and her most notable role has been that of a mom in the sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which seems like the last stop on the stardom train. Hey, at least we’ll always have the comforting memories of Cher Horowitz!
7 Chace Crawford: The Poor Woman’s Zac Efron
Oh, Gossip Girl. Filled with impossibly beautiful actors, gorgeous clothing, and enough juicy drama that had you reeling from one WTF storyline to the next, it was a good time in the 2000s. In fact, this year marks the 10th anniversary since the teen soap premiered, which has us wondering what happened to Nate Archibald, aka Chace Crawford?
Unlike costars Blake Lively and Leighton Meester, who went on to bigger and better things, Chace kind of stalled in terms of acting – and we think we know why. Chace looks far too much like Zac Efron, but falls just short of the latter’s charm and skill quotient. With their thick eyebrows, baby blues, and chiseled body, the two could be brothers, but Efron fared better in the acting department, no doubt stealing roles right out from under Chace’s nose. Unfortunately for the guy who made the Upper East Side his playground, Efron shows no signs of slowing down, so Chace doesn’t look like he’ll be getting some major acting credits any time soon.
6 Ashley Greene: Twilight, Take Three
Our final victim of the curse of Twilight, Ashley Greene has us wondering how she still manages to make the trashy tabloids on a fairly regular basis. Whether she’s walking the red carpet for events and premieres to movies she doesn’t have a part in, to getting caught pumping gas or buying groceries, Ashley is a staple in the star rags, but she does almost nothing at all!
Her iMDB page reads like a Where’s Waldo of films that most of us have never heard of and more than a few articles have been dedicated to figuring out why Hollywood simply won’t cast the green-eyed actress anymore. In addition to her boring, unrecognizable name, her lack of talent and apparent expectations to command a hefty salary since starring in a few teen flicks keeps the public and the producers away. If we’re being honest, we’re not really that mad about it.
5 Haley Joel Osment: I See A Dead Career
Like Alicia Silverstone, Haley Joel Osment had one of the biggest films of the decade, one that has been engrained in the cultural zeitgeist that makes it impossible for the former child star to step out from under the shadow of being the kid who saw dead people.
A lot of former child stars struggle with breaking into the business as an adult, and Haley Joel was definitely a casualty. Adorable and precocious, he was the male Dakota Fanning a few years before Dakota was even on the public radar. Since then, however, Haley Joel’s star has dimmed, and he’s dealt with substance abuse issues and only recently gotten a guesting gig on HBO’s tech-driven show Silicon Valley. Considering that he was once nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 11, it’s a pretty steep fall from grace, and a prime example of star power fizzling.
4 Alex Pettyfer: Attitude is Everything
Hollywood is a social business, and it’s just as much about who you know as anything else. Too bad Alex Pettyfer didn’t get the memo, otherwise we might still be seeing the handsome Brit on the big screen!
Alex was poised to become the next big heartthrob, thanks to films like I Am Number Four and, of course, Magic Mike. Unfortunately for him, it was the latter that proved to be his undoing. Despite being tapped as the next It Guy to clean up in Tinseltown, Alex decided that he wanted to be an entitled little prince both on the set and off, which made him seem cocky and unappreciative of his good fortune. He got into a publicized feud with costar Channing Tatum, which ensured that Alex wouldn’t be back for the sequel – a good thing for him, since he was quoted as saying that “being an actor is like being in prison”. A good attitude and working relationship can do wonders, and being an a-hole ensured that Alex’s career effectively fizzled.
3 Estella Warren: Wait, Who?
If the name Estella Warren doesn’t ring a bell, don’t feel bad: a lot of people don’t recall the Canadian beauty, who first got recognition when she mutely starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in that first reboot of Planet of the Apes back in 2001. Perhaps the filmmakers were on to something, because although she was gorgeous in the critically-blasted film, Estella said next to nothing – which is what her career has amounted to!
Since 2001, Estella has virtually no acting credits to her name, and is still described as the “Planet of the Apes star”, since it’s her most recognizable role! Despite garnering a slew of photoshoots and press at the time, Estella didn’t amount to much in the entertainment world. Her personal life hasn’t fared much better, unfortunately, and included an arrest for domestic violence this past May after pouring cleaner fluid on her boyfriend. Well, that’s certainly one way to get your name back in the news!
2 Rachael Leigh Cook: She’s All Gone
One of the many It Girls of the ‘90s and the star of guilty pleasure favourites like She’s All That and Josie and the Pussycats, Rachael Leigh Cook seemed unable to age out of the teenage roles that put her on the map. We were used to seeing the petite actress as the quirky girl who gets the guy, the nerdy chick who takes off the glasses that somehow blinded people from seeing how beautiful she really was.
Now, though, Rachael isn’t getting nearly as many calls to play the role of geek-turned-gorgeous, because she’s hardly on the screen at all! While she’s still been keeping busy with multiple roles on TV and in film, her primary source of income seems to be in voice acting work. Considering that she was the dream girl for men and women alike in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, it’s more than a little disappointing to see one of the decade’s most promising young talents totally fizzle.
1 Thora Birch: One Less ‘Quirky Girl’
Another “quirky girl” who chose indie flicks after starting out as a child actress in coming-of-age movies like Now & Then, we all saw Oscar gold in Thora Birch’s future, especially after her roles in Oscar bait like American Beauty and Ghost World. She was wonderful and weird and relatable if you’ve ever felt like the only smart, sarcastic girl in the room, but Thora’s career didn’t pan out the way so many of us had expected – or hoped.
Thora’s last movie role was back in 2012, in the unknown Petunia (which garnered a sad 5.1 on iMDB), and while she has some stuff lined up, she’s aged out of the quirky cool girl persona that made her famous in the first place. We can’t even chalk her demise up to her choice of films, either: in 2000’s Ghost World, in which Thora starred opposite Steve Buscemi, her BFF was played by Scarlett Johnasson who has gone on to become, well, Scarlett Johansson.
