Celebs whose careers never recovered after starring in big movie franchises

By Wonderwall.com Editors 8:33am PST, Jan 19, 2018

Starring in a giant blockbuster film might seem like a dream come true, but for some stars, the lasting effects haven't been so great. Many celebs have found themselves typecast or struggling to obtain new roles after achieving big-screen success. Wonderwall.com has put together a list of the actors and actresses who haven't been able to bounce back after starring in hit movie franchises, starting with Rupert Grint. Rupert was cast as Ron Weasley when he was only 11 years old and went on to star in all eight "Harry Potter" films. Since the series wrapped in 2011, Rupert has starred in a few smaller movies but hasn't reached the same heights as "Harry Potter." Today, fans can find him performing on two British TV shows, "Snatch" and "Sick Note."

Hayden Christensen became an instant international star at the age of 19 when he was cast as Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" and "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith." The final prequel film was released in 2005 and since then, Hayden has kept a very low profile. He starred in "Jumper," "Factory Girl" and "Outcast," but audiences still primarily know him for his work as Anakin. Hayden told reporters that he disappeared from acting because he felt he never earned his success. "I felt like I had this great thing in 'Star Wars' that provided all these opportunities and gave me a career, but it all kind of felt a little too handed to me. I didn't want to go through life feeling like I was just riding a wave," Hayden told Yahoo! in 2015.

Taylor Lautner was every teen girl's fantasy when he was cast as Jacob Black in the "Twilight" film series in 2009. By 2010, he was the highest paid teenage actor in Hollywood, according to MTV News. Since the film series wrapped in 2012, Taylor has struggled to find his footing in Hollywood. The former teen idol starred in "Grown Ups 2" and "Tracers," neither of which was a big box-office success. Taylor most recently played Dr. Cassidy Cascade on "Scream Queens," but FOX executives announced the series' cancellation in May 2017. Here's hoping there's some better opportunities headed his way!

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Similar to Taylor Lautner, Josh Hutcherson is another actor who first made a name for himself starring in a young adult movie franchise. Josh landed the lead role of Peeta Mellark in "The Hunger Games" in 2012. He went on to star in three more "Hunger Games" movies before the series wrapped in 2015. Josh hasn't been involved in much in the nearly three years since the franchise ended, but is now rejuvenating his career with a small role in the critically acclaimed film "The Disaster Artist." "I don't feel pressure. Everybody is talking about it, so maybe I should. I feel really comfortable and relaxed, and where my career goes, it goes, and if people stop hiring me then I'll find a way to stay happy and do something else I love. I want to produce and direct," Josh told The Independent in 2014.

Shia LaBeouf once seemed poised to be Hollywood's next big A-list movie star. After a successful launch in "Disturbia," the fresh-faced former Disney kid was cast to play Sam Witwicky in "Transformers" in 2007. From there, he achieved international stardom and was cast in the 2008 reboot of another big movie franchise, "Indiana Jones," before starring in two more "Transformers" movies. Now, seven years later, Shia is not the Hollywood "It" guy everyone anticipated he would be. He's appeared in a string of music videos, written three short graphic novels, made headlines for his wild art installations and faced multiple run-ins with the law since "Transformers" wrapped. Things could, however, be turning around for Shia, as his most recent project, "Borg McEnroe," is expected to hit U.S. theaters in 2018.

Macaulay Culkin was everyone's favorite child actor when he appeared in the highest grossing Christmas movie ever, "Home Alone," and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." After achieving international stardom and a $17 million fortune, Macaulay decided to take a long break from Hollywood and completely fell off the radar in 1994. He has since reemerged in small projects (such as the 2004 film "Saved!") and performed with his now-defunct band, Pizza Underground, but has never reached the level of success he once had. "I don't just turn my back, I actively don't want it. The paps go after me because I don't whore myself out," he told The Guardian in 2016.

Linda Hamilton had a string of successful shows ("Beauty and the Beast," "Chuck") but audiences know and love her most for playing Sarah Connor — a role she started in 1984 — in the "Terminator" film series, which grew into a $3 billion money-making machine. Linda — who will reprise her role in a 2019 "Terminator" film — initially tried to distance herself from her iconic role but eventually learned to embrace her inner Sarah. "It's not about the fame — it's about the very nature of Sarah Connor, who is a savior. I know people don't necessarily buy it was the truth, but I go out in the world for all of these years and people stop me and say, 'Hey, I love you!' It's kind of an insidious thing because they think of me as the person who saved the future. It's subtle how it works on people, but I just go out and people treat me like I'm a hero. It's a wonderful feeling and it's really great to be Linda Hamilton," she told Assignment X in 2011.

Billy Boyd was a little-known actor when he was cast to play Peregrin "Pippin" Took in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" in 2001. The supporting role catapulted him into the "LOTR" fandom and international fame. The Scottish actor would go on to star in two sequels, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" in 2002 and the critically acclaimed "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" in 2003. Since reaching the pinnacle of movie success with "LOTR," Billy has embarked on a much quieter career. He's appeared in several plays, including "San Diego" and "The Ballad of Crazy Paola," and worked with BBC Radio, but hasn't starred in any major films since.

Ariana Richards was only 14 years old when she achieved widespread fame and success as Lex Murphy in "Jurassic Park." Released in 1993, the Steven Spielberg-directed film was an instant classic and spawned numerous sequels — including one with Ariana. However, after starring in 1997's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," Arianna struggled to get work. She took small roles in several TV movies but never bounced back from her child-star success and hasn't appeared in any projects since 2003.

Mark Hamill, pictured here with co-star Daisy Ridley, is known for one role and one role only: Luke Skywalker. Mark had barely begun his Hollywood career when he was cast as Luke in George Lucas' "Star Wars" in 1977. The film was an unexpectedly huge success, leading to sequels, prequels, reboots, international fandom, conventions, books, toys and much more, and Mark was never able to distance himself. Movie audiences associated him with Luke and he struggled to avoid typecasting. He eventually found an outlet on Broadway and appeared in a number of plays, such as "Amadeus." However, when a film adaption of the play was being shopped around in 1984, a studio executive reportedly turned Mark down, saying, "I don't want Luke Skywalker in this film." He later found success behind the camera as a voiceover artist on animated projects and video games, most notably as The Joker. After a string of smaller TV roles, Mark reprised his iconic role as Luke in 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

When Ashley Greene first came onto the scene as Alice Cullen, Edward Cullen's adopted sister in the "Twilight" film franchise, critics and audiences alike thought her star power was only going to grow. However, after the release of the last film, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," Ashley maintained a very low profile. In fact, in an interview with Marie Claire in 2012, Ashley claimed that "Twilight" "ruined" her. She has starred in a number of limited-release films since then, including "Urge" and "Wish I Was Here," but has not yet reached the stardom she once had.

Like his "Twilight" co-stars Ashley Greene and Taylor Lautner, Kellan Lutz has also faced difficulties since starring in one of the biggest film franchises of the decade. Kellan landed the role of Emmett Cullen in 2008 and reprised his role in all four "Twilight" sequels. He attempted to jump-start his career once the series wrapped in 2012 but has had string of bad luck. Kellan was considered for the lead role in "Conan the Barbarian" but eventually lost out to Jason Momoa. He was one of the candidates for the lead role in "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," but that role ultimately went to Jeremy Renner. He eventually did get his leading-man role in "The Legend of Hercules," but the film was a box-office bomb. Kellan was most recently in talks to play He-Man, so let's hope that works out for him!

Megan Fox was one the hottest stars of the mid-2000s, appearing on what seemed like every magazine cover. She shot to international stardom and earned sex-symbol status after she was cast as Mikaela Banes in "Transformers." Megan was scheduled to appear in both "Transformers" sequels but was not included in the third film after publicly comparing working under director Michael Bay to working for Hitler. Following her departure from "Transformers," the brunette beauty struggled to find work. Megan — who is now a married mother of three — eventually was cast in another film franchise reboot in 2014, "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

William Shatner landed the career-defining role of Captain James T. Kirk on "Star Trek" in 1966. The NBC series was only a modest success and was cancelled after three seasons, leading Bill to be typecast and experience difficulty finding work in the early 1970s. He eventually lost his home and lived in a truck bed camper in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley until he was booked for smaller roles and commercials. Eventually, however, "Star Trek" gained a cult following and he reprised his role in 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The franchise grew into a $10 billion international phenomenon complete with "Trekkie" fans, conventions, TV shows, sequels and reboots. Bill has since starred in a number of other projects such as "T.J. Hooker," "Better Late Than Never" and "Boston Legal," and renewed his fame as a Priceline.com pitchman, but is still best known for playing Captain Kirk.

Chris Tucker might have once been one of Hollywood's funniest and most profitable lead actors, but the comedian has not starred in very many projects outside of the "Rush Hour" film series. Chris was cast as Detective James Carter in 1998. The first film grossed over $200 million and lead to two equally successful sequels, "Rush Hour 2" in 2001 and "Rush Hour 3" in 2007. However, in the nearly 20 years since the original film's release, Chris has only starred in two non-"Rush Hour" films, "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk." He did release a Netflix comedy special in 2015 and there are talks of a "Rush Hour 4" and "Last Friday" film, so hopefully fans will be getting a lot more Chris soon!

Tom Felton was only 12 years old when he was cast as Harry Potter's Slytherin foe Draco Malfoy in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." The British actor went on to star in all eight "Harry Potter" films, gaining widespread recognition, fortune and success. When the film series wrapped in 2010, Tom appeared to be avoiding the typecast curse with a significant role in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." However, he has not been cast in any other big-name blockbusters since then and has instead taken on smaller roles in films such as "Belle," "Risen" and "A United Kingdom."

Sadly, Jake Lloyd has faced some true difficulties since starring as young Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace." Jake gained worldwide fame after appearing in the 1999 prequel but officially retired from acting and destroyed all his "Star Wars" keepsakes in 2001 after years of bullying. "My entire school life was really a living hell, and I had to do up to 60 interviews a day," Jake told The Sun in 2012. "Other children were really mean to me… They would make the sound of the lightsaber every time they saw me. It was totally mad." In 2015, Jake was arrested for reckless driving, driving without a license, and resisting arrest and was diagnosed with schizophrenia while in custody.

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