While many actors strive to land coveted roles, others may find themselves in a position where they feel the role is beneath them or not worthy of their talents. Someone recently asked, “what actor or actress stupidly left a movie franchise or tv series thinking they were too good for it, only to be never popular again?” and here are the top 21 answers.
Terrence Howard (Iron Man Movies)
“He was going to become War Machine, but he got bounced for asking for crazy money, so Don Cheadle replaced him in Iron Man 2 and all the movies beyond.”
“Howard is completely insane; he wanted more money than RDJ and a contract that guaranteed him a raise to ensure he would always be paid more than RDJ (the lead!).”
Topher Grace (That 70’s Show)
“He left to be in Spider-Man 3, and it definitely didn’t launch him into stardom.”
“He got so lucky with that show; it made him so much money in acting salary and syndication royalties. Why give that up?”
Sean Connery (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy)
“He turned down the role of Gandalf for $30M +15% of profits which would have got him about $450M. He said he didn’t understand the script.”
“Next time he was offered a script he didn’t understand (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), he took it but was so disappointed in the film he retired from acting!”
Marcus Chong (The Matrix)
“He asked for one million dollars per film to return for the sequels because Tank was such an integral character; the studio said, “No way!” and killed Tank off in 2 lines.”
“Dude could have literally just shut up, been cool and thankful, and made himself loads of money and a bigger career. He thought way too highly of himself and Tank.”
Katie Holmes (The Dark Knight)
“She took a pass on it to go be in a movie called Mad Money; no, I haven’t seen it either.”
“My stepmother is some relation to Katie Holmes. She won’t shut up, but I keep asking her what Katie has been in, and she can’t answer.”
Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey)
“She was one of the first people I thought of. She’s done a few things since she left, but none of them seem bigger to me than Downton Abbey did.”
“When her character Sybil died was one of the few times I cried over a tv character’s death. Her helpless family around her was so devastating. Then the actress just disappeared.”
Ja Rule (The Fast And The Furious Franchise)
“He had that sweet Fyre Fest gig to go to! He literally left a multi-million-dollar movie franchise to speak about it, and the only upshot was he was clearly too stupid to have had any actual role in planning the scam.”
“Didn’t he ask for the same rate as Paul Walker? That’s crazy confident!”
Shelley Long (Cheers)
“They even made an inside joke on the show while at a drive-in movie; Woody says, “Why would an actress leave right in the middle of a successful series?” Cold.”
“They mock her in The Simpsons as well; Moe’s tavern becomes Cheers, and his waitress leaves to go be a movie star, but he thinks she should’ve stayed.”
McLean Stevenson (MASH)
“Perfect one! After a string of high-profile flops, Stevenson famously lamented, “I thought people loved McLean Stevenson. Turned out they loved Henry Blake.” Poor man.”
“I’m not familiar with his other work outside of tv, but I always enjoyed him in that role.”
Leonard Nimoy (Star-Trek)
“He originally requested that Spock be killed off during Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He was tired of playing an unemotional, inhuman character. At the last minute, he added a trap door in the dialogue, just in case he wanted to return.”
“Wrath of Kahn made millions, and his character graciously returns. He did a few other roles in his later life, but nothing memorable.”
David Caruso (NYPD Blue)
“Him leaving was the best thing that could happen. Dennis Franz, as an interesting and flawed main character, as opposed to David playing a supercop, made the show for me.”
“NYPD is one of my favorite shows ever, and he almost ruined it completely with the supercop spiel. What has he been in since then? I don’t know.”
Stuart Townsend (Lord Of The Rings Trilogy)
“He was the original casting for Aragorn, but during preproduction, he refused to practice swordplay, horse riding, action choreography, etc. Peter Jackson decided he couldn’t work with him and brought Viggo in on the first day of shooting. What an idiot!”
“He was unmotivated, and Ian McKellen asked him if he even wanted to do the movie.”
Ed Skrein (Game Of Thrones)
“He left to star in The Transporter reboot, thinking it would spawn sequels. It didn’t.”
“Fool! He left GOT after season 3 right as it became a phenomenon status, playing a character with guaranteed screen time who wouldn’t be killed for at least a few more seasons. Patience would’ve benefited him.”
Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill)
“He was so popular until he left that show, and his career fizzled after that. I wonder if he regrets leaving?”
“He’s been in some hallmark/lifetime movies in the last couple of years, but that’s all.”
“He used to be THE teenage heartthrob at my school. And then he just vanished.”
Alexis Bledel (Veronica Mars)
“It got canceled so she could do Gilmore Girls; then Alexis Bledel quit Gilmore Girls, so it got canceled as well. A great show like Veronica Mars died just so Alexis Bledel could have a completely forgettable movie career. I bet she regrets it.”
Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order)
“He left Law & Order to capitalize on his ‘stardom’ but hasn’t been in much since The Cleaner and Miss Congeniality. Both are terrible.”
Matt Damon (Avatar)
“He turned down the lead role; James Cameron wanted him so badly he offered him 10% of profits, but Damon still said no. The film made billions, losing Matt Damon around $250m.”
“In an interview, Matt said that he turned down more money than anyone else he knows has ever done.”
Lacey Chabert (Family Guy)
“She was replaced by Mila Kunis, who has made a lot of money between new episodes and syndication.”
“Family Guy was canceled after the third season. She left because the ratings were poor, and it seemed like the show was done for good. Big mistake!”
Farrah Fawcett (Charlie’s Angels)
“She was huge when she left to “expand her career” and, while she did some interesting and critically acclaimed work, her overall body of work is small and sporadic compared to what a major star she was.”
“She’s one of the few who were too good-looking to be taken seriously. Shame.”
George Lazenby (The James Bond Franchise)
“Dude with zero acting experience landed the role of James Bond and was offered a multi-film deal for the foreseeable future. His agent told him people didn’t want spy movies anymore, so they brought Connery back, and Lazenby’s acting career ended on the spot.”
“Imagine turning that down as a nobody after a single appearance, thinking you could do better. Nobody has heard of the guy because of what a flop he was.”
Crystal Reed (Teen Wolf)
“She had them kill off her character, only for her career to flop outside of Teen Wolf, and, ten years later, she came back, and they revived her character for the movie.”
“She did absolutely nothing for two years after leaving, only to re-appear in an episode as Allison’s great-great-great grandmother in 2016. What a poor decision!”
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