Tom Green was up to something good, and audiences found his magnetically absurd acting style irresistible in the 90s MTV series, “The Tom Green Show”.
Audiences wanted to see more of Green and were happy when he followed up his MTV series with films such as “Superstar”, “Road Trip”, and “Charlie’s Angels”. He was set for bigger things until he co-wrote and starred in the movie “Freddy Got Fingered”, which viewers found tasteless and cliche-ridden. While Green disappeared for a long time after the Freddy fail, he kept working in stand-up and hosting “Tom Green Live”.
Chris Klein on Rollerball
Chris Klein humored us through the American Pie franchise, and co-working with Reese Witherspoon, in "Election", allowed him to benefit a good deal from the spotlight. It only took him a careful step or two afterward to make it big in Hollywood, with moviegoers’ hearts already half-sold to his boy-next-door charm.
But "Rollerball" was such a bad decision, it was a major setback to Klein’s progress. The film was rated phenomenally poorly, at 3%, by Rotten Tomatoes. Klein’s career stalled, as itsy-bitsy parts settled over him, until he appeared in the TV series "Wilfred", in 2011, and reprised the role of Oz in 2012’s "American Reunion".
Taylor Lautner in Abducted
The Twilight saga’s success was so enormous, that it catapulted Taylor Lautner to being labeled as the next breakout star. It’s the kind of kickstart every young actor craves, and Lautner was in high demand, seemingly overnight. Agents were clamoring to land him a leading man role, he was the center of a storm of attraction.
Lautner was keen to follow up his successful work without much delay, choosing "Abducted" from among a long list of proposals. The outcome, however, was a fail, even in the eyes of his most loyal fans. The movie was basically torn to pieces by critics. He settled for Adam Sandler’s "Grown Ups 2" and "The Ridiculous 6" to stay busy.
Sofia Coppola Had a Rough Debut
There’s a reason why casting in a movie is vital. The actors must be able to prove they are fit for the role, skill-wise, and their addition must add value. Film critics accuse Sofia Coppola of pulling the ranks to land a role in the movie "The Godfather: Part III". With no acting resume to show, they believe she would not have gotten the role if the movie had not been directed by her father.
Instead of gaining all the advantages from starring in a very popular movie, Coppola was panned by critics and chastised for bad acting. It jeopardized her father’s career as well, for his purported role in casting his daughter.
Susan George in Mandingo
Going sexy in the film industry can bring much-needed attention to an actress’ fledgling career, and that can be used to jump-start something of more value, as the starlet strives to rake in better roles moving forward.
This was a strategy Susan George used when she starred in "Mandingo". Unfortunately, it backfired badly. The sexy image she wanted to portray, led her to be typecast in similar roles in a string of made-for-TV series. Luckily, she was able to snag better roles in films like "Straw Dogs", and "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" which helped her realign her acting career with her goals.