Actors that should have been bigger stars

[nwhoopfan]

Ben Foster. He was awesome in Alpha Dog, and while I have not seen all his movies, he always gets great reviews, but he hasn't broken out yet. He does a lot of ensemble and indie flicks. He is like a younger, male, Chloe Sevigny.

He started out playing plucky underdog characters but seems like he's gotten a steady stream of violent psychopaths more recently. Quite a career transition.

 

[huskyrob1]

Ben Foster. He was awesome in Alpha Dog, and while I have not seen all his movies, he always gets great reviews, but he hasn't broken out yet. He does a lot of ensemble and indie flicks. He is like a younger, male, Chloe Sevigny.

Thought he deserved an Oscar nomination for "To Hell Or High Water", playing Chris Pines crazy brother. I would watch anything Ben Foster is in.

 

[Kolumbo]

My wife was watching Grease, and I stuck around for the end of it. I had forgotten how good Olivia Newton John was in that movie. She crushed it, and it was a tough part. She got a well-deserved Golden Globe nomination for that part. That movie grossed $400 million, most of that in the late 70's, which today would have been well over $1 billion. She followed that up with Xanadu, which was just weird, and then some dreck that I have never seen called Two of a Kind with Travolta, and that was it. After that, she was a periodic TV guest star and was most recently in Sharknado 5.

She could act and sing, was absolutely gorgeous in her prime, and co-starred in one of the biggest hit movies in history. And then she vanished because of two bad movies. She must have had a terrible agent.

I agree Olivia could have been a much bigger star here in America. I think she is first a singer/songwriter and was a smashing success in a musical. I don't know about her personal life but I would think she could have had an even more successful musical career if she wanted to. Who'd have thought Vinnie Barbarino would have experienced the success he has.

 

[Kolumbo]

Kristy McNichol had a ton of childhood success and retired from acting at age 38.

Brooke Shields was also very popular and a celebrity for various reasons.

Perhaps both were just not very good actors

 

[temery]

Kristy McNichol had a ton of childhood success and retired from acting at age 38.

Brooke Shields was also very popular and a celebrity for various reasons.

Perhaps both were just not very good actors

I do wonder how many woman who had their career stalled because they wouldn't put out.

With that said, Kristy McNichol has said she was bi-polar, and Shields married Agassi, which wasn't exactly the action of a sane woman.

 

[Kolumbo]

This may be a new category altogether. Great concept, bring this back!

Danny vs. Donny

 

[HuskyHawk]

The young Olivia Newton John and Phoebe Cates. That's about as good a blonde-brunette combo as you'll find.

Olivia was a pretty huge star as a singer before she ever even did Grease. Not sure she really qualifies for this list. As for Phoebe....mad props to someone who thought living a great life was more important than being a movie star. There's a lesson there for a lot of people in the entertainment industry.

For laughs, go watch any old David Letterman show with Phoebe Cates as a guest. He simply comes unglued around her and can't contain himself.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Kristy McNichol had a ton of childhood success and retired from acting at age 38.

Brooke Shields was also very popular and a celebrity for various reasons.

Perhaps both were just not very good actors

Those two ended up with the careers they deserved. Mediocre actresses that got lucky with some early castings.

 

[superjohn]

Ben Foster. He was awesome in Alpha Dog, and while I have not seen all his movies, he always gets great reviews, but he hasn't broken out yet. He does a lot of ensemble and indie flicks. He is like a younger, male, Chloe Sevigny.

I like Foster in some things but he tends to overact. His overacting in Alpha Dog was to the point where it was laugh out loud funny, he made the character not at all believable. It's a known thing with him and the reason he hasn't had more big roles.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I like Foster in some things but he tends to overact. His overacting in Alpha Dog was to the point where it was laugh out loud funny, he made the character not at all believable. It's a known thing with him and the reason he hasn't had more big roles.

The part in Alpha Dog is supposed to be over the top. He is a strung out black belt. How should he play that? I liked the movie, but it was not perfect. For one thing, I think it is unlikely that all the girls hanging out with these losers would be as attractive as the women in the movie.