I've been watching the Kevin Bacon detective series The Following recently and it reminded me how good James Purefoy is. But look him up now and he's making small time films about being a fisherman in England.
Then I watched The Surfer with Nicholas Cage and who should show up but Julian McMahon. Fantastic actor, very handsome, could've been a star.
What are some other examples?
I dont really know why Scott Adkins hasn't broken through as an action star. He has all these supporting parts in big movies and is tall and handsome but hasn't found a franchise he can really call his own.
What are some other examples?
Depending on your definition of success,
Sam Worthington. He was paraded as the next IT guy around Terminator Salvation but never caught on as an actor but at the same time is probably set for life with the Avatar movies.
Do you really not know why a highly generic charisma vacuum like Sam Worthington didn't make it big?
I am not defending or attacking him just going with the theme of the OP where this guy was being shoved in our faces as the next big thing
The whole point is guys who had everything but still couldnt find success. Sam clearly didn't have everything or even close to that, he has glaring flaws that keep people from wanting to see him
this guy has some kinos. Rome obviously. Ironclad, Solomon Kane, Altered Carbon
I've generally liked Purefoy.
Ulfric Stormcloak and Paul Giamatti in the same movie. So kino.
Paul Giamatti was good.
very handsome
just admit your gay
And Brian Cox, Kate Mara, Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng, Derek Jacobi, Mackenzie Crook
SW behaved like a real person in Everest. He needs smaller normie roles as aussies
For a while the lead in blockbuster action became a bland white guy that can appeal to the most people, offend no1. He's bland but sympathetic to let the SFX mayhem around him stand out. Then CBM overtook that with larger than life superheros.
Brian Cox
Very famous. Doubly received his laurels with Succession
Kate Mara
Lol.
Charles Dance
Same as Cox but to a lesser degree. Still very famous and appreciated. Was one of the last bastions of quality on GoT.
Jason Flemyng
Eh, he's a good actor. He found his niche with Ritchie and kind of stayed in that world. Wouldn't say he's underachieved too much though. I also remember him leaking the Star Wars TFA script picture and being immediately passed on the project kek
Derek Jacobi
One of the quintessential "that guys". He's like nearly a 100 years old and still working last I checked. Will always be remembered for Gladiator.
Mackenzie Crook
This is the one. Only head scratcher you've really posted where his career does not align with his talent whatsoever. Excellent actor. Excellent writer. Excellent director, remembered as a creep in The Office and one half of the Pirates of the Carribean dumb and dumber. I highly doubt a more fitting answer to OP will be posted in this thread. Mackenzie Crook is mega based.
Purefoy was on the short list for playing James Bond
Aidan Turner if he isn't chosen to be the next James Bond
For a while the lead in blockbuster action became a bland white guy that can appeal to the most people
I dont think this was ever true. The leads in action movies at that time were guys like Pierce Brosnan, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Vin Diesel, Tom Cruise.
Say what you want about them but they aren't bland white guys
Being a leading man had nothing to do with being white before ~2010.
You literally just need to be pretty and charismatic. The more of either one then the more chance of fame and fortune you had.
Acting ability was a tertiary bonus which is why the very very cream of the crop had all 3 and even a couple of uggo shitters who didn't have the first 2 could still succeed.
We threw all these century established principles out the fucking window a little over a decade ago and wonder why everyone in the world is so pissed off constantly when originally entertainment had been specifically catered to promoting escapism and... you know... entertaining
Every actor on a network TV show starting in 2010. Streaming destroyed the value of network TV so fast that actors that would've become superstars never really made it. Pre-streaming people will never understand how big and powerful network TV was in launching careers and pop culture icons.
I'm surprised he disappeared after Being Human and Poldark. Hollywood usually likes Irish
His new show Rivals is probably the best thing he's been in
What movie
iron clad
Nathan Fillion for sure. Why the fuck isn't he a movie star. Where's my Uncharted-esque adventure movies he's just stuck doing shitty procedural cop dramas
Shitty procedurals are some of the highest paying and most stable work available to an actor. The work schedule is also fairly normal and you get to go to your own home and family at the end of the day like a normal human being. If you're a lead on a series that reaches 3 seasons you're basically set for life financially.
fair enough
I only know this guy from the Resident Evil movie and the other guy from playing Doctor Doom
I still wish he would have tried desu
Wasn't he in some Italian thing?
He's James Gunn's friend, he'll be fine
He's a well recognized and successful kino actor, do you consider anyone not being Tom Cruise a failure or something?
Mackenzie Crook
He's not a leading man, and he isn't a dramatic actor. He's got "silly dude" vibes, which is why he tends to play comedic/weirdly funny characters. He's right about where you would expect him to be career wise, frankly. He'd never lead anything big, and he'd never be starring a supremely dramatic Oscar baiting film.
mfw some plebbitor starts ranting about how muh spear is better than a sword
him and Kevin McKidd made a dumb pact to refuse any roles from HBO for them cancelling the show Rome for Game Of Thrones
it's why a lot of actors from Rome were in Game of Thrones but not them.
i can respect someone sticking to a decision even if its the "wrong" one in the end.
But look him up now and he's making small time films about being a fisherman in England.
Look at the fucking state of you
dumb pact
what did they mean by this?
He's been phenomenal in everything he's been in
Easily Stephen Dorff, I still remember how in 2000s everyone thought Blade was cool and Frost was cool, he literally fucked Blade's mom, how many villains do you know who fucked moms of their enemies. So cool in fact there have been constant rumors about Frost prequel movie up until 2010s. And the rumors were circulating before dial-up was replaced by broadband because there was a demand.
And after Blade this guy just had nothing, until he was cast in True Detective and stood his acting ground next to Mahershala Ali and didn't even get nominated at least once, while Mahershala Ali went on to win all the awards and get to not be Blade, ironically. But if only he got a role like that just 10 years ago, I think he could've achieved super stardom, True Detective came in way too late.
had everything
be manlet
Choose one.
Bill Pullman, he was in a bunch of big movies but in his prime he didn’t have many really juicy roles to showcase his talent.
He kept getting mistaken for Bill Paxton.