00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the actors who departed
00:11their shows prior to its conclusion for whatever reason but found greater success afterwards.
00:26Number 10.
00:27Chevy Chase.
00:32Chevy Chase is such a huge part of the history of Saturday Night Live, some might forget
00:37that he was only on the show for a season and a half.
00:40He was easily the biggest breakout star of the show's first season and by the time
00:44season 2 rolled around, the movie offers were coming in fast and furious.
00:52Whether it was that or the fact that his girlfriend didn't want to move to New York,
00:56Chase left the show during the second season.
00:59He moved to LA and became a huge comedy movie star with iconic characters like Clark Griswold
01:04and Erwin Fletch Fletcher.
01:11Number 9.
01:12James Garner.
01:19James Garner appeared in more than 50 movies throughout his impressive career, films as
01:24diverse as The Great Escape and The Notebook.
01:27He also starred in what TV Guide in 2002 called the 39th greatest show of all time, The Rockford
01:33Files.
01:41Garner's impressive career got its break back in the late 1950s with a show called
01:45Maverick.
01:46The show was so popular, The Rockford Files was created as a Maverick remake in a modern
01:5270s setting.
01:53There's even a statue of Garner as Brett Maverick in his hometown of Norman, Oklahoma.
01:57The show made Garner famous, but issues with the studio caused him to quit the series after
02:02the third season.
02:09Number 8.
02:10Drake.
02:16Drake may have gotten his first taste of fame as an actor, but that was never going to be
02:21his path to world domination.
02:23Not to denigrate his acting talent, but music has always been his true love and his goal.
02:28So much so that even when he was on Degrassi The Next Generation, he was showing up late
02:32to set because he was spending so much time at night working on his music.
02:44Some say he was giving an ultimatum, the music or the show.
02:48But regardless of whether that's true or not, Drake did leave Degrassi after seven
02:52years to make music his full time gig.
02:55When it comes to the success of that gig, skyrocketing is probably an understatement.
03:06Number 7.
03:07Farrah Fawcett.
03:14Prior to 1976, Farrah Fawcett was a relatively unknown actress trying to make it in Hollywood.
03:20But then 1976 happened and everything changed.
03:23At first, she landed the role of Jill Monroe on Charlie's Angels.
03:27And as her popularity rose, the now iconic Red Bathing Suit poster came out and she got
03:33even bigger.
03:43Then in 1977, she quit the show.
03:45Some might say her career was never again as big commercially, and her first few film
03:50roles were pretty forgettable.
03:51However, Fawcett kept working and expanded the audience's assumptions about what she
03:56was and what she could do.
03:58Fawcett ended up with four Emmy nominations and was even nominated for an Independent
04:02Spirit Award for her supporting role in The Apostle.
04:12Number 6.
04:13Ashton Kutcher.
04:14For some, Ashton Kutcher will always be Michael Kelso.
04:29But while the fame and opportunities Kutcher found with that 70s show could have been the
04:33peak of his career, he used them as a launchpad for bigger things.
04:38After leaving the show, he continued to be an in-demand rom-com star with films like
04:42What Happens in Vegas and No Strings Attached.
04:49He even got to play Steve Jobs in 2013 and kept Two and a Half Men going for four seasons
04:54after Charlie Sheen left the series.
04:56Kutcher has also found success investing in startups, as well as with his own venture
05:00capital firm, as well as a creator or producer of TV shows.
05:12Number 5.
05:13Johnny Depp.
05:24Johnny Depp has had such an impressive movie career that one could easily forget he was
05:28ever on a television show in the first place.
05:30But he was.
05:3121 Jump Street didn't just make Depp famous, it made him a much-drooled-over heartthrob,
05:36which is actually one of the reasons he left the show.
05:46Feeling more like a product than an actor, Depp wanted to get away from the teen idol
05:50he had become and was let out of his contract after the fourth season.
05:53Controversies and his private life aside, there's no denying his acting career has
05:57reached impressive heights both critically and commercially.
06:07Number 4.
06:08Donald Glover.
06:19While some singers dabble in acting and some actors might try to be musicians, few have
06:23done both at such an impressively high level as Donald Glover.
06:27We first really got to know Glover during his four full seasons on Community.
06:40However due to some personal issues and a desire to expand creatively, Glover left the
06:45show early in the fifth season.
06:46What has he done since?
06:48Well, he's been Lando Calrissian, he's been the voice of Simba, and he created and
06:52wrote the multi-award winning FX series Atlanta.
06:55On the music side, he's continued to see critical and commercial success under the
06:59name Childish Gambino, with the pinnacle being the trove of the Grammys he took home for
07:04This Is America.
07:13Number 3.
07:14Steve Carell.
07:25It's a mystery how Steve Carell never won an Emmy for his portrayal of Michael Scott
07:29on The Office.
07:30However, awards aside, the show truly did wonders for his career.
07:40Carell left the show after the seventh season when NBC didn't make an effort to renew
07:44his contract.
07:45And yes, with films like the 40-year-old version, Carell's career was already heading to the
07:50sky before he left the show.
07:52However, it's continued that way since and gone beyond comedy to include, among other
07:57dramatic roles, an Oscar-nominated performance in Foxcatcher.
08:01What can't he do?
08:13Number 2.
08:14Ron Howard.
08:24There might be a generation who only knows Ron Howard as a great, award-winning director.
08:29But before he got behind the camera, he became famous in front of it.
08:33First he was Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show.
08:36Then came the role that made him a household name, Ritchie Cunningham on Happy Days.
08:46The aforementioned series ran for 11 seasons on ABC.
08:51But Howard left after the seventh season to focus on his desire to direct.
08:54Within four years of leaving the show, he would break out as a director with Splash
08:59and follow up with an impressive career that has included Backdraft, Apollo 13, and A Beautiful
09:04Mind to name just a few.
09:17Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
09:21about our latest videos.
09:23You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
09:27If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:33Number 1.
09:34George Clooney
09:35No, we aren't talking about his 17 episodes of The Facts of Life.
09:49It was his 100 plus episodes as Dr. Ross on ER that made Clooney famous, a fame that almost
09:56any actor would love to have.
09:58Yet it's a fame that pales in comparison to how his career took off after he left the
10:02show in the fifth season, with films like Good Night and Good Luck and Oh Brother Where
10:07Art Thou?
10:13Clooney has seen critical and commercial success both in front of and behind the camera, winning
10:18Oscars as an actor and producer and being nominated several more times.
10:22He is a true movie star as well, as one of the most popular celebrities in the world.
10:36Which big-time star do you remember watching on their first big TV show?
10:40Let us know in the comments down below.
Comments