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15 Actors We Thought Were Destined For Fame, But We Literally Haven't Thought About Them Since
Just like music has "one-hit wonders", Hollywood has their own version when it comes to actors who make a huge splash on the big screen before disappearing into obscurity. You will likely recognize most of these artists for their iconic (or borderline iconic) roles, but find yourself wondering what ever happened to them.
1. Dakota Fanning
Dakota Fanning was a huge success as a child actor with staring roles in I Am Sam, War of the Worlds, Man on Fire, and Charlotte's Web. She hasn't been nearly as successful as an adult. After her appearances in the Twilight saga we haven't seen much of her.
2. Chad Michael Murray
A teen heart-throb who stared in the WB teen drama series One Tree Hill from 2003 - 2009, everyone was expecting huge things for his career. He hasn't had a blockbuster role in over a decade and has predominantly been relegated to television.
3. Danny Masterson
I loved That 70's Show. Danny Masterson played one of the leading roles of Hyde, one of the gang who lived in the Foreman's basement. Since then he hasn't had a great run of things, appearing in a few minor roles (Dracula 2000).
4. Eric Bana
Eric Bana had a ton of potential. His portrayal of Bruce Banner in Marvel's first iteration of The Hulk was enjoyable to watch, even if the rest of the movie wasn't. His career seemed to suffer due to this movie flopping. He should be a leading man in Hollywood.
5. Megan Fox
At one time Megan Fox was one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood. She stared in the first two Transformers movies, but ended up comparing director Michael Bay to Hitler, and she was persona-non-grata. She also stared in the extremely strange Jennifer's Body, and had a big role in the two TMNT movies, but hasn't done much else.
6. Mischa Barton
If you remember The O.C., then you remember Mischa Barton. Entertainment Weekly even named her the "It Girl" of 2003 because of her role in the show. After the leaving the show at the end of season three she disappeared from the spotlight, only entering it for the wrong reasons.
7. Taylor Lautner
Another star who flamed out after the blissful end to the Twilight movie series. Lautner was considered one of the hottest things in Hollywood for several years, but after a few movie flops we haven't seen much of him at all.
8. Shailene Woodley
When the YA movie series The Divergent Series hit the big screens, everyone assumed that Shailene Woodley would become a house-hold name. Unfortunately the first three movies bombed at the box-office and producers decided to finish the series on television. Hearing this Woodley left the project. She has recently been on HBO's Big Little Lies.
9. Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss played Trinity in The Matrix trilogy. The Matrix set the standard for what we could expect from a sci-fi movie moving forward, yet after the trilogy was done we didn't see much of Moss. Recently she has been on several Netflix Marvel shows as the recurring character Jessica Jones.
10. Taylor Kitsch
Kitsch had every opportunity to become a massive Hollywood icon. He has stared in several major projects including John Carter, Battleship, True Detective, and Savages. While he likely made a nice sum of money for his work, it never turned him into a massive star.
11. Alex Pettyfer
Starring in movies like Magic Mike and I Am Number 4 should have cemented Pettyfer in Hollywood as a leading man. Word started to spread that he was cocky and a bit of an a**hole, now he doesn't do much of anything.
12. Sam Worthington
Being the lead in Avatar, one of the greatest movies of the last decade plus, would make you think Worthington would be a hot commodity on screen. He also stared in Clash of the Titans, and Terminator Salvation, but without real name-recognition he will always only be "Jake Sully from Avatar."
13. Phoebe Cates
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a cult-classic, and few scenes are as immortalized as when Phoebe Cates undid her bikini. Afterwards, Cates appeared in two Gremlins movies before disappearing.
14. Fairuza Balk
Balk's film credits are quite good; The Craft, American History X, and The Waterboy. She always played goth/punk/hardcore roles in these movies and she should have stayed in those areas. Now she is gone, and who knows if we shall ever see her again.
15. Kellan Lutz
Yet another casualty of Twilight, Lutz has never been able to recapture his popularity once he was finished playing Emmett Cullen. He has had some roles as large strongmen in a variety of flavors, but at this point he has been virtually typecast.
Do you think any of these former stars will see themselves making a comeback in Hollywood?