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We all have those moments when we're watching a movie and suddenly realize that the leading actor of our favorite flick seemed to randomly just... disappear. Whether it's a bad career move, a movie that bombed at the box office or personal life problems, there's unfortunately a lot of reasons directors stop casting actors that were once at the top of the A-list.Your guide to what happened to some of your former faves? Right this way.
[Photo: Splash News]
Taylor Lautner
While everyone was expecting Taylor Lautner to continue appearing in films after his Twilight success, some argue he waited too long to break out of the role, unlike his co-stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, who worked on several outside projects during Twilight.
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Jessica Biel
Despite being cast in tons of love interest roles early on in her career, many argue that she was typecast into love interest roles too soon in her career for directors to be willing to pick her for any other type of role.
[Photo: Splash News]
Eddie Murphy
Hollywood saw the height of Eddie Murphy's career in the '80s and '90s with blockbusters like Dr. Doolittle and The Nutty Professor, but unfortunately, most of his more recent roles have been met with poor reviews.
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Tobey Maguire
Unfortunately, while Tobey Maguire was still riding off the success of the critically-acclaimed Spiderman 2, Spiderman 3 was released and was a major flop.
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Katherine Heigl
After the disasterous move to pull her name from the list of Emmy nominees for her work in Grey's Anatomy in 2008, Katherine Heigl was subsequently written out of the show and has starred in few films since.
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Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin is a pretty good example of child actors that just didn't make it as adults. Despite Christmas classic Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin hasn't appeared in a major film since 1994.
[Photo: Splash News]
Mel Gibson
Following a very public breakdown in 2010 that involved some racist comments, it's understandable that few directors were willing to cast Mel Gibson, even after his success in movies like Braveheart.
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Hilary Swank
We all bawled our eyes out at P.S. I Love You in 2007, but Hilary Swank has yet to appear in another major movie since then.
[Photo: Splash News]
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Hits like Ocean's Twelve and The Legend of Zorro put Catherine Zeta-Jones on the map, but some say her decision to go the indie flick route wasn't exactly the best career move.
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Brendan Fraser
After his much-hyped The Mummy series fizzled out with its final release in 2008, Brendan Fraser appeared to be staged to make a comeback with the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth. Unfortunately, his comeback was cut short when the actor was replaced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the movie's sequel.
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Mischa Barton
Mischa starred in Fox's "The O.C." from 2003 to 2006, but hasn't had a hit TV or movie role since. After a decade out of the limelight, Mischa was cast on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2016--here's hoping that we'll be seeing more of her in starring roles after this!
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Meg Ryan
Some say that too much plastic surgery is the reason why Hollywood agents stopped putting former America's Sweetheart Meg Ryan in movies. “Meg Ryan destroyed her career with plastic surgery," an insider told the UK Mirror. The 53-year-old star of "You've Got Mail" is just not as recognizable anymore! What a shame...
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Josh Hartnett
Thought he was cast in major films like "Black Hawk Down” in the early 2000s, Josh Hartnett has been noticeably absent at the box office since (the 34-year-old hasn’t had a hit since 2007’s “30 Days of Night”). He explained to the press, "I know what it’s like to be in that whole world. I was up there for a couple of years and it was uncomfortable. I think trying to stay at the top is a shortcut to unhappiness. I spent a bit of time really thinking about whether this was the right thing for me. I took some time out of the business.”
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Hugh Grant
There was a time when Hugh Grant was in back to back hits ("Notting Hill," "Love Actually," "Bridget Jones") but the British actor has totally hit a lull in his career in recent years. His last film--"Did You Hear About The Morgans?" with Sarah Jessica Parker in 2009--was a box office bomb.
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There was a time in the early 2000s when Colin Farrell's career was white hot (and his personal life--remember that tryst with Britney Spears??). Now he's no longer an in-demand actor--what happened?? He had so much potential.
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Adam Sandler
With a few exceptions, Adam Sandler tends to be a repeat offender when it comes to bad reviews from the critics.
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John Travolta
While he was once a legendary actor, Travolta's film Battlefield Earth was widely considered to be a huge career mistake for him.
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Cameron Diaz
It has widely been said that the Annie remake and Bad Teacher weren't great career moves for Diaz.
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Nicholas Cage
According to many critics, films like Knowing, which did poorly at the box office, were the nail in Cage's coffin.
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Kristen Stewart
Taylor Lautner isn't the only "Twilight" star on this list (is it a curse??), Kristen Stewart's career has also been incredibly spotty since starring in the films. Is it because she's been pigeon holed as YA star, or because she pubicly cheated on Robert Pattinson and her fans turned on her? We're not sure, but it does seem like she might have reached her career peak.
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Mike Myers
Mike Myers' career could not have been hotter in the 2000s--the Austin Powers films, especially "Goldmember," were huge box office hits, and Meyers not only starred in them (playing Austin Powers, Dr. Evil AND Fat Bastard), but he also wrote and produced the films. Then he had the successes of the first two Shrek films--but that's where his career took a down turn. After Shrek 2 came out in 2004, Meyers hasn't been in anything of note. What's going?
The actor has been spending his down time getting divorced from his wife of twelve years. Ouch! Let's hope he recovers and makes some more funny films soon.
Amanda Bynes had an incredibly successful acting career as a young child and adolescent--she had a contract with Nickelodeon and landed starring roles in films like "She's The Man," "Syndey White," and "Easy A."
But Bynes' career stalled after the actress suffered a personal breakdown in 2013. She hasn't acted in a single film since 2010, and has even enrolled in fashion school and stayed out of the limelight for the past three years. Oh no, all that acting talent!
Mo’Nique
Mo’Nique was at the top of her game in 2010 when she was nominated for and won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in "Precious," but many have wondered why we haven't seen more of her since (once you get an Oscar your career should be hot hot hot, right??).
Wrong! The actress claims that director Lee Daniels had her "blackballed" from Hollywood following her win, due to diva-like behavior on set. “I got a phone call from Lee Daniels,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “And he said to me, ‘Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed.’ I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because you didn’t play the game.’” Ouch!
[Photo: Splash News]
Mandy Moore
The teen pop star also showed a very promising actor career, with roles in cult or box office hits like "A Walk To Remember," "Tangled" and "Saved!" But why did she stop getting roles? We're not sure, but her marriage to rocker Ryan Adams crumbling couldn't have helped her headspace much.
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Antonio Sabato Jr.
After calling President Obama a Muslim and making other outrageous claims at the Republican National Convention, Antonio Sabato Jr. claims that he was "blacklisted" by Hollywood directors. He told Variety, "I’ve had fantastic directors who have said officially to my agents and managers they will never hire me again. They will never even see me for projects. That’s unfair. It’s just like Communism."
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Jesse Metcalfe
Jesse's hard partying ways let to him being blacklisted as "difficult to work with" and unable to book jobs, following his breakout role as Eva Longoria's object of lust on "Desperate Housewives." Luckily, Jesse put himself in rehab in 2007, cleaned up his image and has been cast in several television series, including TNT's "Dallas" since.
Tim Allen
Tim was THE TV and movie dad of the 90s--whether it was on his own show "Home Improvement" or in classic films like "The Santa Clause." But where is he now? Beyond the Toy Story sequels (of which he voices the character Buzz Lightyear), the only thing Tim has done lately is a random sitcom called the "Last Man Standing."
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Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke made one of the most epic Hollywood comebacks EVER by coming out of near-obscurity to star in 2005's "The Wrestler," ... but then what happened? The incredible role nabbed him a Golden Globe, but then he went on to star in an Iron Man sequel. The role probably had a good pay off... but what about more serious roles that will nab him more award noms? Mickey tell your agent you need a comeback comeback.
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Mark Hamill
After landing the role of a lifetime--Luke Skywalker in the original “Star Wars”--Mark Hamill should have been in demand for decades. That's not exactly how things played for him, though. The 61 year old has done some voice work over the years... but he's not exactly a modern movie star.
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Kelly McGillis
In the late eights McGillis was one of Hollywood's favorite leading ladies to book--notably across Tom Cruise in “Top Gun," Harrison Ford in “Witness,” and Jodie Foster in “The Accused”--but in today's day most moviegoers wouldn't even know who she is.
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Drew Barrymore
Unfortunately, Barrymore's biggest recent film Big Miracle, did pretty poorly at the box office.
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Edward Norton
Ed was your favorite creepy film actor of the 2000s--but why hasn't he been making back to back hits anymore? According to his Wikipedia page, "Norton has a reputation of being a perfectionist. He managed to receive final cut of American History X, clashed with the director while shooting Red Dragon, and (with the director) clashed with the studio during the shooting of The Incredible Hulk (and refused to do promotion for it)." Well, that will do it!
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Ashley Greene
Oh no! Ashley Greene is the third "Twilight" star to make our list. What happened to the actress after appearing in the vampire flicks? We're not exactly sure... she continues to book random work, but no blockbuster films. I think the curse is real!!
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Jonathan Taylor Thomas
JTT had an incredible child and pre-teen acting career--he was killin' it with films like "The Lion King" and shows like "Home Improvement." But how did he go from being on the cover of Tiger Beat every week to being nowhere to be found? He told People magazine "I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.” Well, good for him I guess!
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Michael Cera
While Cera's career appeared to be off to a great start, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World did terribly in the bo office, despite the fact that critics loved the film.
[Photo: Celebrity Monitor/Splash News]
John Cusack
A recent series of low-budget films hasn't meant great news for Cusack's career.
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Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer was such a major star in the 1980s and early 1990s that some might consider him a Tom Cruise rival. Movies like "True Romance" and "The Doors" made him a Hollywood golden boy. But in recent years his phone hasn't exactly been ringing off the hook. Now that the Top Gun sequel has been announced with Kilmer reviving the role of Iceman, maybe the future will be looking bright for this actor again!
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Kellan Lutz
Eek! This is the fourth "Twilight" actor on this list. The curse IS real. Kellan's star was on the rise when he played Emmett in the film, but his career choices have been questionable since. His 2014 film "The Legend of Hercules" had pretty bad reviews, and ditto for 2015's "Extraction." Kellan--please choose a great film next time! You are better than this.
Leelee Sobieski
The Helen Hunt lookalike starred in a string of hugely successful films in the late 90s, including "Deep Impact," and "Never Been Kissed." But after a supporting role in "Eyes Wide Shut" in 1999, she's had only minor roles in a minor films and television series since. She had so much potential, we're sad to see her become just a blip in Hollywood history!
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Freddie Prinze Jr.
Aside from She's All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer, much of Freddie Prinze Jr.'s career has been met with bad reviews.
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Taylor Kitsch
With the two big bombs of John Carter and Battleship in a row, Kitsch's career is hurting a bit.
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Tim Robbins
The actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Mystic River" in 2004--but he hasn't done much since (except divorce Susan Sarandon, that is). It makes you wonder if there is an Oscar curse...
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Sean William Scott
Sean William Scott has frequently suffered from being typecast as the "sleazy college guy," and unfortunately for him, he's aged out of that role.
[Photo: Jason Webber / Splash News]
Phoebe Cates
Thanks to films like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Phoebe Cates was a mega-babe of the 80s. But after retiring in the 90s, Cates has led a pretty quiet existence. Fun fact: she's married fellow actor Kevin Kline and has 2 children with him.
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Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr was the star of her own long-running television show ("Roseanne" had nine seasons and is believed to be one of the top 20 television shows of all time!), but then she just kind of fizzled out. She later became a nut farmer (no joke) and made small appearances on shows like Portlandia.
[Photo: Splash News]
