10 movies that sent great actors on a downward spiral

Being an actor is a risky business. In terms of job security, few professions in Hollywood are less stable. Even the biggest stars face the ever-present risk of going from “hot” to “not” in the blink of an eye. One bad film can be enough to undo years of hard work for some actors—or, in extreme cases, throw an entire career into chaos.

These ten actors all found that out the hard way. Some of them made extremely bad decisions, signing on to projects that were simply never going to work. Others got very unlucky, ending up in movies that were utterly awful, but not because of anything they did.

While some of these performers have since made comebacks, others vanished from our screens for good. Ultimately, they’ve all managed to come out alright in some form or other, but it was certainly touch-and-go for a few of them. 

Hollywood is a fragile business, and the world of making movies rarely suffers fools for too long. The actors listed below delivered some awful work and, therefore, were sent packing, if only for a little while. Naturally, however, the beauty of art is that some of the pictures mentioned will have their devoted fanbase, meaning that even in their worst moments, some good can come from any movie.

10 movies that almost ruined actors’ careers:

Mike Myers – The Love Guru (Marco Schnabel, 2008)

With the combined successes of the Shrek movies, the Austin Powers series, and various one-offs, Mike Myers ruled the 2000s comedy roost. He seemed utterly untouchable, but every empire must fall, and Myers’ kingdom of laughs came crashing down thanks to the incredibly ill-judged 2008 film The Love Guru.

Myers’ portrayal of an Indian mystic isn’t just offensive in hindsight; it was also poorly received at the time. The backlash from Hindu viewers—combined with the fact that the movie was just no good—severely damaged Myers’ credibility and basically led to him taking an eight-year break from live-action acting.

Dana Carvey – Master of Disguise (Perry Andelin Blake, 2002)

Myers’ Wayne’s World co-star Dana Carvey was also riding high in the 2000s, off the back of the aforementioned movie and his successful stint on Saturday Night Live. He decided to try to cash in with The Master of Disguise but ended up tanking his own reputation instead.

The film, about a man who comes from a family of ‘disguisers’, was welcomed like a hand grenade in a submarine. Critics hated it, panning the unfunny gags and Carvey’s overreliance on stupid facial expressions. After this embarrassment, the comedian not only stepped away from films but from public life entirely, taking time away from the spotlight to focus on his family. 

Rupert Everett – The Next Best Thing (John Schlesinger, 2000)

As either a closeted gay figure in a more ignorant time or the gay best friend of the female lead in a romcom, Rupert Everett was everywhere for a time. Unfortunately, when he teamed up with Madonna for 2000’s The Next Best Thing, this winning formula finally ran out of luck.

The film, which is about a gay man and a straight woman who have a child together, was a disaster. Everett described the period after its release as “career death”, and although he has been able to find work since it came out, he’s never quite reached those same heights again.

Alicia Silverstone – Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997)

Chris O’Donnell’s film career was also kind of ruined by the polarising Batman & Robin, but he didn’t have to deal with half the crap that Alicia Silverstone did. As Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, the Clueless star was given a major role in an era where female superheroes were few and far between.

Sadly, when the movie flopped, Silverstone was ruthlessly body-shamed and criticised for her portrayal of the heroine. She was never taken seriously again, all because of a terrible movie that wasn’t her fault and some acid-tongued commentators who had no right to be commenting on someone’s physique that way.

Kevin Costner – The Postman (Kevin Costner, 1997)

In 1990, Kevin Costner directed and starred in the ‘Best Picture’-winning Dances with Wolves. By the end of the decade, his career had seen a dramatic decline, thanks in most part to a horrible post-apocalyptic movie called The Postman.

Costner directed himself as a nomad wandering a desolate version of the United States. The movie was viewed as massively self-indulgent and really took the shine away from the Waterworld star. He fell out of favour with both audiences and critics and hasn’t come close to regaining his popularity since.

Lori Petty – Tank Girl (Rachel Talalay, 1995)

Fans of Orange is the New Black will recognise Lori Petty as Lolly Whitehill, but she’s also known for her roles in A League of Their Own and Free Willy. In 1995, she appeared in the sci-fi flick Tank Girl, and it almost killed her burgeoning career. 

Aptly, the movie tanked, taking Petty’s growing reputation with it. Though her performance was praised, she struggled to get work in the film space, returning instead to her old TV stomping grounds. Tank Girl has since become a cult favourite, but that was of little comfort to its star when it tore her career apart.

Lea Thompson – Howard the Duck (Willard Huyck, 1986)

As Lorraine Baines (later McFly), Lea Thompson was a key part of the original Back to the Future, but just one year later, her career was in tatters. All because of one lousy duck. 

Thompson appeared as love interest Beverly Switzler in the ill-fated Marvel adaptation. “[I]n the course of a year I was in the biggest hit and the biggest bomb so that probably destroyed my film career,” she said of her volatile output in the mid-1980s. She returned for the other two ‘Back to the Futures’, but that was pretty much it.

Greta Garbo – Two-Faced Woman (George Cukor, 1941)

The name Greta Garbo is still synonymous with the height of Hollywood, the glitz, the glamour, and the other-worldly presence of a movie star. Sadly, Garbo’s esteemed career ended in upsetting fashion with 1941’s Two-Faced Woman.

Her stint as a woman pretending to be her own twin to woo back her husband drew negative backlash from the critical elite and put Garbo off acting for good. She never graced the screen again, spending her remaining days as a reclusive art collector before her death in 1990 at the age of 84.

Sean Connery – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Stephen Norrington, 2003)

Having already been James Bond, Sean Connery really didn’t need The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He definitely didn’t need it to cause him so much stress, as he desperately fought for creative control of the final edit. The lacklustre end result severely affected him and led to some staggeringly bad decisions.

Shortly after this movie, Connery turned down both Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Dumbledore in Harry Potter. He would effectively retire after this infamous literary mish-mash, never to return to live-action performing ever again.

Elizabeth Berkley – Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995)

Few films have undergone as big a critical 180 as Showgirls. Now considered something of a camp masterpiece, Paul Verhoeven’s erotic thriller was slammed upon its release, described by many as one of if not the worst movie ever made.

The consequences were dire for its star, Elizabeth Berkley, who critics savaged for everything from her performance to her physical appearance. Her career and confidence took a massive hit, but she was able to bounce back in the end and can hopefully now enjoy the movie that supposedly ruined her life.

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