Actors you were surprised "didn't" become big movie stars...

[Pariah]

Speaking of bad decisions I saw a bio where Scott Baio said he turned down the lead role in Top Gun?

Oops.

That's got to be false. I mean, do you really think the same guy who thought it would be a good idea to make "Zapped" would think it a bad idea to be in ANY big-budget film?

 

[Ryanwb]

I always thought Scott Bakula was cool. I liked Necessary Roughness

 

[Ryanwb]

I had a man crush on Joey Lawrence in the '80s, I though for sure he would be getting Tom Cruise money by now

 

[Russ Smith]

That's got to be false. I mean, do you really think the same guy who thought it would be a good idea to make "Zapped" would think it a bad idea to be in ANY big-budget film?

It was one of those E or A&E stories, they were talking about former child stars. They talked about Willie Aames and his drug problems, and then they talked about Baio and his inability to transition from teen idol roles to leading man roles. he himself said "hey I turned down the Tom Cruise role in TopGun."

I questioned it too because my memory is he was already a has been by that point, but he said it on tv.

 

[Russ Smith]

http://www.notstarring.com/actors/baio-scott

Of course his comment on tv is probably the source of this site too.

 

[Ryanwb]

I heard that Dave Chappelle was offered the role of Bubba in Forrest Gump but he turned it down. His career probably would have taken a different path

 

[Ryanwb]

That's got to be false. I mean, do you really think the same guy who thought it would be a good idea to make "Zapped" would think it a bad idea to be in ANY big-budget film?

He would have made the volleyball scene that much more uncomfortable

 

[Renz]

It was one of those E or A&E stories, they were talking about former child stars. They talked about Willie Aames and his drug problems, and then they talked about Baio and his inability to transition from teen idol roles to leading man roles. he himself said "hey I turned down the Tom Cruise role in TopGun."

I questioned it too because my memory is he was already a has been by that point, but he said it on tv.

I read a quote once from John Denver saying that he turned down the lead in An Officer and a Gentleman. For some reason, I have always had my doubts about that.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I read a quote once from John Denver saying that he turned down the lead in An Officer and a Gentleman. For some reason, I have always had my doubts about that.

Richard Gere or John Denver? Hmmm. Let me think about that one for a little while ... not.

 

[KloD]

You are right that Spader is pretty good in Boston legal. It's just a shame he didn't make more films. His last film, "Secretary" was pretty good.

Here's a crazy thought. A couple of years ago before "Pirates" we might be talking about Johnny Depp on this list. Amazing how his fortunes changed over night. Not that he wasn't a star, just that he hadn't quite hit that super star status everyone expected of him.

I disagree about Depp. He had done and proven himself in a number of films prior to Pirates. There was no sign of his fading, he was certainly on the rise, but already established as a top male lead actor I believe.

 

[Chaplin]

I disagree about Depp. He had done and proven himself in a number of films prior to Pirates. There was no sign of his fading, he was certainly on the rise, but already established as a top male lead actor I believe.

It's generally forgotten, but 21 Jumpstreet did a lot for Johnny Depp's career.

 

[KloD]

It's generally forgotten, but 21 Jumpstreet did a lot for Johnny Depp's career.

As did Edward Scissorhands a movie I didn't like.

 

[mesacardsfan]

He has been a great actor for sometime I beleive you just have to get the lucky movies that do really well. On a side not check out Secret Window very cool flick!

 

[se7en]

This is why I rarely post a message. I come back and I have to read 10 posts from people who have completely taken my post out of context or who simply failed to read it before responding. I said Johnny Depp was a “STAR” who hadn’t quite hit the status of “SUPER-STAR” that everyone had predicted. How am I wrong in that statement? How is that implying that he had not proven himself as a great actor? This thread is about stardom.

 

[KloD]

This is why I rarely post a message. I come back and I have to read 10 posts from people who have completely taken my post out of context or who simply failed to read it before responding. I said Johnny Depp was a “STAR” who hadn’t quite hit the status of “SUPER-STAR” that everyone had predicted. How am I wrong in that statement? How is that implying that he had not proven himself as a great actor? This thread is about stardom.

I just disagreed about his star "level" prior to Pirates is all, don't take offense.

 

[se7en]

I just disagreed about his star "level" prior to Pirates is all, don't take offense.

My apologies. So than you do feel as though Johnny Depp was a Super-Star whose films generated hundreds of millions of dollars and would attract millions of film goers on opening weekend – before Pirates? Hmmmm. No offense, I just think that maybe we just have a different opinion on the traditional meaning of “Super-Star.”

 

[KloD]

My apologies. So than you do feel as though Johnny Depp was a Super-Star whose films generated hundreds of millions of dollars and would attract millions of film goers on opening weekend – before Pirates? Hmmmm. No offense, I just think that maybe we just have a different opinion on the traditional meaning of “Super-Star.”

Maybe I'm wrong, biased, I don't know. I don't usually see "blockbuster" movies. I do know that Depp was my favorites for some time (pre Deadman) and continues to be. I know that Sleepy Hollow was a big film as well as Donnie Brasco (starred with Pacino) and wasn't Blow pretty big? Maybe I just don't know what a blockbuster is? If it's something like Independence Day or Men in Black, I think Johnny has either made the right choices or avoided bad ones to pick better quality scripts.

 

[thirty-two]

Jonathon Brandis

 

[Russ Smith]

The little boy in American Werewolf in London that says "a naked American man stole my balloons."

 

[Chaplin]

Michael Winslow

 

[Zeno]

Jonathon Brandis

It's kinda tough to become a star when you are dead.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The death of 27-year-old actor Jonathan Brandis, who starred in two seasons of Steven Spielberg's "SeaQuest DSV," was a suicide, the county coroner's office said Monday.

Brandis, who died November 12, hanged himself, the coroner said.

Brandis started his career in commercials and on television, landing a recurring role on the soap "One Life to Live" at age 6. He also made guest appearances on "L.A. Law," "Who's the Boss?" and "Murder, She Wrote."

His film credits included the starring role in 1991's "The Neverending Story 2: The Next Chapter," the Rodney Dangerfield comedy "Ladybugs," and the martial arts comedy "Sidekicks" with Chuck Norris.

 

[thirty-two]

It's kinda tough to become a star when you are dead.

Duhhhh, that's what I picked him...

He fits criteria #4 (from se7en's original post)

category #4: They died. John Candy and John Belushi were already super stars, however, River Phoenix and Chris Farley were on their way when they died unexpectedly. In fact, I believe River Phoenix would probably have been the biggest star in Hollywood over the past decade.

He was a teen heart throb and I would have liked to have seen what other stuff he could have done.

 

[Bada0Bing]

Michael Winslow

Is that the guy from the Police Academy movies that made the funny noises? His picture isn’t on IMDB and I can’t remember his character’s name.

 

[Chaplin]

Is that the guy from the Police Academy movies that made the funny noises? His picture isn’t on IMDB and I can’t remember his character’s name.

Yes, and before anyone says anything, it was a joke.

 

[jenna2891]

piper perabo seemed to be (briefly) on the fast track.