- 8 hours ago
Fame can be fleeting, especially when you walk away from what made you famous! Join us as we count down our picks for the actors who left their signature franchises, only to watch their careers crash and burn. From one-time 007s to sci-fi heroes who spoke out, these stars learned the hard way that Hollywood has a long memory.
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00:00What are you allowing to happen to your foot just now?
00:01At least he's faithful, Sam.
00:03Yeah, well, he's faithful, and he's nude, and he's perverted.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most notable performers
00:10who left their signature film series and faced the consequences.
00:14When it takes off, Hector, you're gonna haunt the chance.
00:17Why Hector?
00:18Because it's too slow to make away with the money, man.
00:23Number 10, Claudia Wells.
00:25Leaving a successful franchise isn't always an ego move.
00:28In fact, for Claudia Wells, it was the very definition of selfless.
00:33Despite Back to the Future giving her a golden ticket to the A-list,
00:36Wells retired from the industry for family reasons after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
00:41Oh, Jennifer.
00:42Marty, don't go this way. Strickland's looking for you.
00:44If you get caught, it'll be four tardies in a row.
00:46Elizabeth Shue took over the role of Jennifer Parker,
00:49and Wells stayed out of the limelight for over 20 years.
00:52Marty, you're acting like you haven't seen me in a week.
00:56I haven't.
00:57You're okay.
00:59Is everything alright?
01:00She eventually dipped her toe back into acting,
01:03but her career was never the same, and fizzled out again.
01:06On a brighter note, Wells did return to Back to the Future to voice Jennifer in the 2012 video game,
01:11bringing this part of her journey full circle.
01:13I should have known.
01:15All talk, no rock.
01:17Number 9, Crispin Glover.
01:19Hey, another one from Back to the Future.
01:21This one is a very different story, though.
01:24Glover was reportedly a loud critic of the first film,
01:27taking issue with the materialistic message of the ending.
01:31Uh, now, Biff, I want to make sure that we get two coats of wax this time, not just one.
01:35Just finishing up the second coat now.
01:37Now, Biff, don't con me.
01:39Later, when time came to negotiate the sequel, salary disputes forced Glover to drop out completely.
01:45In the aftermath, Glover began seeking out work that better reflected his morals.
01:49Unfortunately, his selections were widely panned and failed to make much profit.
01:53Andy Wilmore, of course.
01:55Hi.
01:55Wow.
01:56We really like your music.
01:59How you doing, Andy?
02:00Oh, great.
02:02By the 2000s, he saw a bit of a resurgence.
02:04Not as much as he could have if he had stayed with Back to the Future.
02:08But it's something.
02:09Number 8, Ja Rule.
02:21After revving up a solid foundation in the first The Fast and the Furious,
02:25this rapper-turned-actor came upon an important fork in the road.
02:29Allegedly, his offer to return in the sequel conflicted with his tour,
02:32and when push came to shove, Ja Rule chose music over acting.
02:36We share something so rare, but who cares?
02:40You can, baby.
02:42By doing so, he missed out on a franchise of over 10 movies and counting,
02:46some of which grossed over a billion dollars.
02:49You know, everyone happens to know a few things.
02:52And one of the things everyone knows is,
02:54it's not how you stand by your car, it's how you race your car.
02:57Don't feel too bad for Ja Rule, though.
02:59He's still a platinum-certified artist,
03:01and it's not like he gave up acting for good.
03:03Though, admittedly, none of his other work has ever come close
03:06to the success of The Fast and the Furious.
03:09Something's not right.
03:10I know what you mean.
03:11It's like that feeling that something's not right.
03:14Number 7, John Boyega.
03:16Speaking up is a dangerous thing,
03:18especially in such a forward-facing career field like acting.
03:21John Boyega is a spitting example of that.
03:23The galaxy far, far away had the chance to diversify its audience
03:27with its black-leaning man, Finn.
03:29I'll tell you when you tell us about all that shifty stuff you do.
03:33However, as Boyega himself pointed out,
03:35his character seemed to be sidelined more and more with each passing film.
03:39Now that the sequel trilogy is complete,
03:41Boyega claims that he won't return to the series
03:43unless Finn is properly fleshed out and explored.
03:46Versatility is my path,
03:48and I think Finn is at a good confirmation point
03:52where you can just enjoy him in other things,
03:54the games, the animation,
03:55but I feel like 7-9 was good for me.
03:58However, in a sad turn of events,
04:01the actor's resume has been looking a lot slimmer in recent years.
04:04It's a high price for standing by your morals,
04:07but Boyega seems willing to pay.
04:09I don't know what that was,
04:10but that wasn't me.
04:12Somebody is conducting experiments on us.
04:16Number 6, Kate Beckinsale.
04:19For 13 years,
04:20slaying monsters in tight outfits
04:21was a full-time job for Kate Beckinsale.
04:30Afterwards, though,
04:32it seemed the Underworld franchise
04:33didn't offer much in terms of retirement benefits.
04:36Despite audiences loving her work,
04:38any time Beckinsale branched out,
04:40it more often than not
04:41ended up being a box office bomb.
04:43Now that the Underworld franchise
04:44has been on ice for a while,
04:46her status has dimmed even more.
04:48I have lived a thousand years.
04:54I may live a thousand more.
04:56The powers that be seem to think
04:58that if moviegoers didn't want to see Beckinsale
05:00at the peak of her career,
05:01they definitely won't now.
05:03And given the track record,
05:04we can't exactly blame them.
05:06We're not really using that word
05:08to describe women anymore.
05:09There's been a whole thing.
05:14Number 5, Megan Fox.
05:16The live-action Transformers films
05:18were smash hit at the box office,
05:20but making them wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
05:23Megan Fox had some very choice words to say
05:25about working on the set of the sequel,
05:26and the disagreement led to her
05:28failing to return for the third installment.
05:30I'm breaking up with you, Sam.
05:32Really?
05:32You sure?
05:33I'm not hearing a lot of conviction.
05:34Well, I am, okay?
05:35So there's no reason for me
05:36to come say goodbye to you.
05:37Though, in her defense,
05:39she really wasn't given much to do
05:40but fix cars and look pretty anyways.
05:43Sadly for Fox,
05:44her behavior led to a shaky run of roles
05:46that threatened to capsize her career.
05:48You're...
05:49Ninja...
05:51Mutant...
05:52Turtle...
05:54Teenagers...
05:56Well, when you put it like that,
05:57it sounds ridiculous.
05:59Thankfully, a run-in with some turtles
06:00and a few fun TV appearances
06:02kept her afloat just long enough
06:04to regain her footing.
06:05But still,
06:06that stretch in the early 2010s
06:08was definitely rough.
06:09What are you doing here?
06:16Thank you for the swift kick to the face.
06:19Perhaps you'll want to live in our place.
06:21Number four,
06:22Orlando Bloom.
06:23Whether on the high seas
06:24or in Middle Earth,
06:25theatergoers couldn't get enough
06:26of Orlando Bloom
06:27in the early 2000s.
06:29He certainly thought so too
06:30and used his franchise capital
06:32on some very head-scratching projects.
06:34We shall have to be ready for him.
06:40Won't we?
06:41Unfortunately,
06:42they all bombed.
06:44Majorly.
06:45The mountain of failures
06:46left the impression
06:46that Bloom's success had come
06:48because of his franchises,
06:49not the other way around.
06:51We have to make a stand.
06:53We must fight.
06:55Load the guns.
06:56With what?
06:57Anything.
06:58Everything.
07:00Anything we have left.
07:01He struggled finding quality work afterwards,
07:03eventually returning to his bread and butter
07:05for the Hobbit trilogy
07:06and a cameo in the fifth Pirates film,
07:09Dead Men Tell No Tales.
07:11The sequel focusing on his character
07:13never materialized,
07:14leaving Bloom and his sagging career
07:16left in limbo ever since.
07:26Number three,
07:27Steve Guttenberg.
07:28It's the nature of acting
07:30that fame ebbs and flows.
07:31It just so happens
07:33that Steve Guttenberg
07:34struck gold early on.
07:35I thought you wanted to get thrown out.
07:38Here's your chance.
07:39The Police Academy series
07:41kept him well paid
07:42and well employed for years,
07:44but when scheduling conflicts
07:45kept him from returning
07:46for the fifth film,
07:47his career almost immediately dried up.
07:50These days,
07:50he still pops up
07:51in the occasional guest spot
07:52or cameo
07:53and also does some work
07:54behind the scenes,
07:56but nothing that's anywhere near
07:57as prolific as Police Academy.
07:59The human brain becomes convinced
08:02that the powder works
08:03so in a way it does.
08:06It's a strange fate,
08:07but sometimes that's just
08:09how the siren blares.
08:10Plus, all things considered,
08:11the first four Police Academy films
08:13are a pretty good peak.
08:15Has anyone told you, Mahoney,
08:17that you are still a little pizant?
08:20No one whose opinion matters, sir.
08:22Number two,
08:22Shia LaBeouf.
08:23While not exactly winning any Oscars,
08:25the live-action Robots in Disguise
08:27were fan favourites
08:29and even without Megan Fox,
08:30the movies were still
08:31at the centre
08:32of the pop culture zeitgeist.
08:34It is and always has been
08:36your destiny.
08:38Still, three films
08:39make for a neat and tidy trilogy,
08:41so we can see why Shia LaBeouf
08:42wanted to shift gears
08:43into a new phase of his career.
08:45You're the only thing I need in this world
08:46and not do anything
08:47to make it up to you, I promise.
08:50I'm going to hold you to that.
08:53Just never let me go.
08:54I promise you.
08:56But while Transformers
08:57continue to pump out
08:58highly profitable sequels,
09:00LaBeouf found himself
09:01with slim pickings.
09:02While he still worked
09:03consistently enough,
09:04Nyevitt was on the same scale
09:05as the fighting robot.
09:07Pair all that
09:08with an onslaught
09:08of personal struggles
09:09and LaBeouf was left
09:10in a career slump
09:11he's still trying to get out of.
09:13Stop!
09:15What are you doing?
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09:32Number 1.
09:33George Lazenby
09:34Stepping into the shoes
09:35of James Bond
09:36doesn't just mean
09:37becoming tall, dark, and handsome.
09:38It also means
09:39accepting a degree of fame
09:40that George Lazenby
09:41simply wasn't up to.
09:43Citing mistreatment on set
09:44and the overwhelming
09:45stress of the role,
09:46Lazenby retired from 007
09:48after just one movie,
09:49making his tenure
09:50the shortest in Bond's history.
09:52Please excuse me, ladies.
09:56May all your allergies
09:57be swiftly cured.
10:00While it may have been
10:00the best for Lazenby's
10:01mental health,
10:02it had disastrous
10:03implications for his career.
10:05He was deemed difficult
10:06and the actor himself
10:07admitted he became
10:08nigh-unhireable.
10:10So it's no surprise
10:20his post-Bond career
10:22is disappointing,
10:23to put it lightly.
10:24Just goes to show
10:25how tenuous
10:26an acting career
10:27really is.
10:28Look, James,
10:29I know that we haven't
10:30always exactly seen...
10:32Well, anyway,
10:32don't forget,
10:33if there's anything
10:34you ever need...
10:35Thank you, Q,
10:35but this time
10:36I've got the gadgets.
10:37I know how to use them.
10:38What actor do you think
10:39deserves another chance
10:40at a post-franchise career?
10:42Let us know
10:43in the comments below.
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