The Academy Awards has officially come and gone! This year, Oppenheimer turned out to be the big winner; with Christopher Nolan finally receiving the Best Director Oscar and Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy winning in their respective acting categories as well. However, the careers of these men will surely be fine going forward as Downey, Murphy, and Nolan have been in the business for over thirty years.
Winning an Oscar is supposed to be the pinnacle of an actor’s career. It’s supposed to open doors for bigger and better roles. Hell, even being nominated is a huge accolade that’s meant to propel someone’s career. Unfortunately, some nominees didn’t get that luxury. Some of the past nominees either completely fell off the radar. Or have been reduced to minor roles in film or television. These five actors suffered a major downfall following their historical Oscar nomination.
Uma Thurman (Nominated For Best Supporting Actress In Pulp Fiction)
No one will ever forget Pulp Fiction. It’s a downright classic and Uma Thurman is one of the reasons it’s such an infamous movie. In truth, Thurman’s career spiraled after the Batman & Robin disaster. Though she would go on to star in another iconic Quentin Tarantino film, Kill Bill, her roles have been seriously downgraded to forgettable supporting characters or trashy films Movie 43.
Even before Batman & Robin, Uma Thurman wasn’t particularly starring in memorable roles following Pulp Fiction. Beautiful Girls, A Month By The Lake, and The Truth About Cats and Dogs had some positive reception from critics, but nothing on the level of Pulp Fiction (or even Kill Bill). Thurman isn’t particularly a box office draw and has garnered several Razzie nominations that may have hampered her appeal in the mainstream. These days, we barely see Thurman in film and television roles, which is a shame as she’s truly one of the best and most diverse actors in Hollywood.
Mickey Rourke (Nominated For Best Actor In The Wrestler)
One of the biggest comebacks in the early 2000s was Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. The boxer-turned-actor started his career in the early 70’s, but his name had fizzled by the time The Wrestler came around. He stunned everyone with his gripping performance as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, and it was genuinely considered an upset when Sean Penn grabbed the Oscar over him at the 2009 ceremony.
Rourke got a nice boost by playing big roles in Iron Man 2 or The Expendables, but not much has come out of his star-making performance since then. Rourke is still an active performer, but he’s mainly in C (or sometimes D) level films and a supporting character in mainstream ones.
Gabourey Sidibe (Nominated For Best Actress In Precious)
Gabourey Sidibe came out from nowhere and blew everyone away in the searing drama, Precious. The newcomer won the Female Spirit Independent Award for Best Female Lead. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe. It was rare that a newcomer would garner such high accolades following their first film, but Gabourey’s performance was mesmerizing in Precious. She did an amazing job of capturing the pain, trauma, and struggles of the young mother who lives with an abusive parent.
Though she didn’t win, big things seemed to be on the horizon for Gabourey. Unfortunately, that was the last time that the actress got the lead in a major motion picture. Gabourey has had more work than most, but following her star-making performance, she’s mostly been in television projects such as Empire and American Horror Story. When she’s in a movie, it’s usually a minor supporting that doesn’t have too much impact on the story. Gabourey is indeed a talented actress, so it’s a shame that she hasn’t been given a chance to lead another Hollywood feature. She doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold of what Hollywood wants out of their actors, sadly, so it’s not too surprising.
Barkhad Abdi (Nominated For Best Supporting Role In Captain Phillips)
Like Gabourey, Barkhad Abdi came out of the gate with a strong performance in his very first film. While there was some controversy regarding the details of Captain Phillips, many agreed that Abdi gave a commanding performance as one of the Somali pirates who highjacked the American Cargo ship.
Abdi was nominated in a tough category that also featured Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street). Though he didn’t win, his career still should’ve resulted in success following his tremendous debut. Unfortunately, Abdi has been mainly relegated to television work and extremely minor supporting roles in mainstream films. Abdi has yet to be given the same opportunity to deliver a commanding performance on the big screen and has mainly fizzled out in the eyes of the mainstream since Captain Phillips.
Djimon Hounsou (Nominated For Best Performance In A Supporting Role In America and Blood Diamond)
Djimon Hounsou is an incredibly gifted actor. It’s why he’s been nominated twice. Thankfully, the acting is starting to finally reap the rewards of his talents thanks to the increase of notable roles as of late. However, it took him a long time to get his career going despite his two Oscar nominations. He’s been relegated to forgettable rom-com affairs and C-level action pieces for a good stretch of his career. Worse yet, he hasn’t been given the lead of a major motion picture since his Blood Diamond nomination. It’s great that his level of fame is starting to rise, but it’s ridiculous that Djimon Hounsou wasn’t given better opportunities after nabbing his second Oscar nomination.
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