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“What Actor Or Actress Stupidly Left A Movie Franchise Or TV Series Thinking They Were Too Good For It, Only To Never Be Popular Again?” (30 Answers)
What unites people like Tamzin Merchant, Stuart Townsend and, for example, Terrence Howard? That's right, they were all part of the movie and TV franchises which later became incredibly popular, but for various reasons, left the projects at an early stage.
It's not that their careers ended there, but we certainly know the people who replaced them in the roles of Daenerys Targaryen, Aragorn or colonel Jim Rhodes much better now. And a recent viral thread in the AskReddit community is dedicated to just such actors and actresses and their stories.
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#1
Late to the party but Stuart Townsend was the original casting for Aragorn in the LOTR movies, but during preproduction and rehearsals he refused to practice things like swordplay, horse riding, action choreography etc, always responding "You'll get it on the day"
Peter Jackson decided he couldn't work with him, Viggo is brought in literally on the first day of shooting and the rest is history
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#2
My ex girlfriend was on a soap but as a regular extra. They were starting to give her speaking roles, got her SAG card, etc. Once she got her SAG, she demanded more speaking roles or she was leaving. She never got another role after that.
#3
Tom Hanks left 'Bosom Buddies' and was never heard from again.
In fact, there are various reasons why actors and actresses leave projects, and probably the main one is that no one can ever be sure that this or that film or series will gain mainstream or cult fame. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, we are amazed at Will Smith's shortsightedness as he turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix for the disastrous Wild Wild West, but then, in the late nineties, the situation was a little different.
Smith had an incredibly successful experience working with director Barry Sonnenfeld on the first Men in Black movie, and the Wachowskis' project seemed to have a strange future those days. In the same way, for example, as The Lord of the Rings, the success of the film adaptation of which, despite all the talents of Peter Jackson, was doubted by many in Hollywood. And many actors then rejected roles in the great adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien.
#4
Terrence Howard was in Iron Man 1 and was going to become War Machine... This was the very start of the Marvel movies, the MCU...
He got bounced I think for asking for crazy money... Don Cheadle replaced him for Iron Man 2 and all the movies beyond.
#5
Marcus Chong was "Tank" in The Matrix. Main character in a HUGE franchise. He had all of these big ideas about how the movie should be done and how his character should progress. That's fine, but he wouldn't stop pushing them on the directors and producers. When it came time to make Matrix 2 he was not invited back.
Dude could have literally just shut up, been cool and thankful, and made huge bank and a bigger career.
#6
Several of the actors of MASH left early to make it big… none of them really did…
We often talk about Stuart Townsend, who was already cast as Aragorn, spent several months on the set, but then for various reasons (one of which was a conflict with the film crew) was fired and later replaced by Viggo Mortensen. But much more epic is Sir Sean Connery's refusal, who was offered the role of Gandalf several times by the producers, but the legendary actor flatly refused without even reading the plot.
Writer Ian Nathan, in his book "Anything You Can Imagine. Peter Jackson & The Making Of Middle-Earth", says that the bosses of New Line Cinema were so eager to get Connery on board that they even offered him 15% of the proceeds of the upcoming trilogy. Considering that The Lord of the Rings grossed about 3 billion dollars worldwide, Sir Sean's fee could be almost 450 million!
#7
Chuck Woolery left WHEEL OF FORTUNE only to see PAT SAJAK host it for over 40 years.
#8
benjamin bratt. he left law and order to capitalize on his "stardom", hasn't been in much since *the cleaner* and *miss congeniality*.
#9
David Caruso leaving NYPD Blue, and Shelley Long leaving Cheers are good examples.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
I mean, David Caruso had CSI: Miami so....yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Lol
Terence Howard was good as Col. Jim Rhodes in the first Iron Man, and was the highest paid actor on the team - simply because he signed his contract first. Yes, you read that right - he was making more money than Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges. "And once the project fully came together, it was too late to renegotiate his deal," says journalist Nicole Sperling in her article on EW, dedicated to Howard's exit.
However, some Hollywood insiders note that Howard was being difficult during the filming of the first movie, so the studio just radically decided on the atmosphere on the set. Be that as it may, after Iron Man, the actor's filmography went downhill (to the point that in 2019 he was even going to retire as he was allegedly 'tired of pretending'), but Don Cheadle, who replaced him, on the contrary, got a great boost to his career.
#10
I feel like this applies a bit, but mostly I am still salty over it.
As I understand it, The CW had two shows for renewal, and only one could survive. Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars.
Veronica Mars got canceled, Gilmore Girls got picked up.
Then, shortly after, Alexis Bledel decided she was done and quit Gilmore Girls, so it got cancelled anyway.
VERONICA MARS DIED SO ALEXIS BLEDEL COULD GO AND HAVE A FORGETTABLE MOVIE CAREER.
#11
Katherine Heigl. She “left” Grey’s to become a movie star… look how that turned out. She was also a massive problem on the Grey’s set.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
I think, from what I've read, that this was more to do with her attitude towards co-workers. She did launch a movie career..she was in everything for a short stint.
#12
More niche but Michael shanks leaving stargate SG-1 only to come back a season later buff as hell. I think he expected to get more roles but at least they let him come back from the dead
Pheebs 1 year ago
I dunno. He mentioned part of the reason he took the time off was he wasn’t super happy with the direction his character was going - and I actually agree with him on that. It’s sad that when he came back he went full gear in to the new, more military Daniel. Stargate was an awesome show, but it also had a level of camp that did not work well for bigger and better parts.
"Cinema is not only a business, but, above all, an art - so no one guarantees that a film or TV series will be successful," says Dmytro Kosygin, a Ukrainian film director and screenwriter, with whom Bored Panda got in touch for a comment. "So even if you put together the most impressive cast, put an Oscar-winning superstar in the director's chair, and give them the best team with an impeccable script, it will in no way give you confidence that the film will be successful."
"No one, in the end, canceled such a thing as chemistry between members of the crew, and this is perhaps one of the most important things. Making a film is somewhat like preparing a magic potion - even if you mix all the ingredients in the right proportion, the result may well turn out to be disgusting. And vice versa - even the most low-budget and unprofessional project can get the love of critics and viewers as well," Dmytro admits.
#13
This *kind of* happened to Topher Grace from That 70's Show. He left to be in Spider-Man 3 (and I don't think he was what was wrong with the movie). He's popped up here and there and has steady work, but he definitely didn't launch into stardom.
That being said, that latter seasons of That 70's Show were just plain bad. And he looks almost identical to the way he looked 20 years ago now that he's in That 90's Show. Dude seems to have made out just fine.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
I don't think he made a mistake as the title says. I'd say it was a fair career choice. Making that leap. Ashton Kutcher left too but had a little more stardom in movies. Grace was in Spiderman, American Ultra (personal fav) and Take Me Home Tonight which were all pretty popular. So I wouldn't say it's a bad choice. Sometimes you gotta leave at the top.
#14
Lacey chabert left family guy and was replaced by Mila Kunis who has made bank between new episodes and syndication
As for Tamzin Merchant, whom we mentioned at the beginning of this post, she played Princess Daenerys Targaryen in the Game of Thrones pilot episode, when actually very few people realized the potential of the future hit. Shortly after that, HBO announced that the actress left the project, and a little later, Emilia Clarke joined the team, without whom it is now impossible to imagine the world of Westeros.
However, if Merchant regretted parting with Game of Thrones, she didn't regret it for long - in the end, several years of successful filming in Salem and the first season of Carnival Row awaited her ahead. By the way, the second season of Carnival Row starts very soon, so do not plan anything for the coming evenings and, of course, prepare some popcorn in advance!
#16
Brian Dunkelman was co-host of Season 1 of American Idol with Seacrest, and then quit. Over the years it has toggled back and forth between whether or not he would have been fired anyway, but in at least one interview he admitted to quitting and then almost becoming suicidal over it.
#17
Farrah Fawcett. She was huge when she left Charlie’s Angels to “expand her career” and while she did some interesting and critically acclaimed work, her overall body of work is small and sporadic compared to what a major star she was.
Elizabeth Tayler 1 year ago
That was her husband pushing her, he tried to control her entire life when they were married.
#19
Katie Holmes dropping out of Batman to do a bomb called Mad Money. With Nicole Kidman! The ex wives of Tom Cruise.
EDIT: Nicole Kidman was not in Mad Money. My mistake
Katie Holmes turned down a lead in Orange is The New Black.
Katie Holmes turned down the role of Buffy in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.
#20
Shelly Long left Cheers an epic screw up. Ed Marinaro left Hill St.Blues,both actors left their rolls when the shows were hot at the time. Neither were ever to return to the success they enjoyed on those shows.
#21
Nina Dobrev left the Vampire Diaries and Megan Boone left the Blacklist and I haven’t seen either of them in much since
#22
Isn't that what happened to the actor who played Mark Brandanawicz (spelling is probably way wrong) from Parks and Rec?
#23
Ja Rule was in the first Fast and Furious movie.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
Fast and Furious for me is now the Lethargic and Placid (in general I mean, not the actors). The first had appealed to me as a teen who liked cars...lost interest after that.
#24
Crystal Reed from Teen Wolf. She was so certain she was done she had them kill off her character only for her career to flop outside of Teen Wolf and ~10 years later would come back and have them revive her character for the movie.
#25
Doesn't qualify as being too good for it but that actress who got booted off of the Mandalorian and is now doing really crappy Conservative funded flicks is a pretty good example.
Cthulhu Kitty 1 year ago
She is was famous MMA star. She made horrifically stupid comments about how being republican and anti vax were like being a Jewish person during the Holocaust.
#28
Pretty sure that’s why Elizabeth Berkeley and Tiffany Thiesen left Saved by the Bell.
Red Ruffensor 1 year ago
Elizabeth Berkley went on to do Showgirls, look how well that turned out.
#29
jonathan taylor thomas leaving home improvement
when he returned to the show not only was his movie career dead in the water but the tv show had left his character behind
#30
From the HBO series Girls, the Boyfriend of Williams' character left abruptly because his agents told him he had to capitalize on the popularity of the show before it ebbed... I don't even remember his name. Adam Driver on the other hand, stuck it out because he has incredible work ethic and loyalty to the projects he starts... and we all know how that turned out.
What do you think ?
Snow_White 1 year ago
This is a very poor post that gathered thin opinions from people that know very little on the subject.
Old Roadie 1 year ago
Agreed. Valerie Harper did not willingly leave show... she was wrongfully fired, sued studio, and won big.
Load More Replies... DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
A lot of these I wouldn't say are mistakes...just a risk that didn't pay off. Sometimes you want to leave at peak popularity so you get more gigs, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I'm sure a lot of the decisions were encouraged by their agents at the time.
David Beaulieu 1 year ago
They are also not necessarily failures because you judge that they were not as commercially successful with their next job. Sometimes people leave projects because of the work environment, or to have more creative input. None of that means they failed by leaving. I know our society now looks at fame and visibility as happiness, but I'd rather be happy.
Load More Replies...
Tyranamar Seuss 1 year ago
Suzanne Sommers in Three's company. Demanded more money. They just replaced her with another blonde.
Snow_White 1 year ago
This is a very poor post that gathered thin opinions from people that know very little on the subject.
Old Roadie 1 year ago
Agreed. Valerie Harper did not willingly leave show... she was wrongfully fired, sued studio, and won big.
Load More Replies... DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
A lot of these I wouldn't say are mistakes...just a risk that didn't pay off. Sometimes you want to leave at peak popularity so you get more gigs, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. I'm sure a lot of the decisions were encouraged by their agents at the time.
David Beaulieu 1 year ago
They are also not necessarily failures because you judge that they were not as commercially successful with their next job. Sometimes people leave projects because of the work environment, or to have more creative input. None of that means they failed by leaving. I know our society now looks at fame and visibility as happiness, but I'd rather be happy.
Load More Replies... Tyranamar Seuss 1 year ago
Suzanne Sommers in Three's company. Demanded more money. They just replaced her with another blonde.
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