There are certain names you don’t tend to hear that often, even if they’ve been in the business for a little while and have starred in a few movies that people might recognize. Christopher Rydell is one of those that people might have forgotten or never known in the first place. Without meaning any offense, it’s likely that he’s been something of a jobber throughout his career, which tapers off around 2010 according to his filmography. There’s not much information on the guy, as it would appear that aside from a few notable roles if people were paying attention, he hasn’t done much that’s been worthy of note. That’s one of the big tricks of Hollywood though, those whose names become a part of the scenery are usually kept around for one reason or another, but are usually only noticed by those that happen to be looking around. Thankfully there are plenty of those types since otherwise folks like Chris would have been relegated to the archives a long time ago, where a lot of ideas and names go to rest until someone comes along with enough ambition to dust them off and see if they’re worth anything. This might sound horrible, but in the continuous business that is Hollywood, if a person isn’t rising then they’re either not moving, or they’re dropping like a stone. Those that aren’t moving upward or maintaining don’t stand much of a chance of being remembered by a lot of people unless they’ve done something phenomenal.
The argument of course is that they managed to get somewhere while the rest of us haven’t done something that noticeable in our lives, and it’s a good argument. But that argument fails just as readily as the career that a person might have thought was going to be rock solid at one point, since like it or not if a person does make their way into show business and doesn’t stick around long enough, then of course they made it, but for one reason or another they simply couldn’t hack it and found that out as they continued to eke out a living performing one minor role or another. It’s brutal, it’s kind of a hard lesson to learn, and it’s one of the reasons why a lot of actors wash out before they ever get to that point, but it’s the truth. If a person can’t get to Hollywood, get noticed, and then keep being noticed, then they’re not going to last long. Chris made it at one point and he hung around performing for a while and likely tried everything he could in order to keep going, but at some point, the realization that he wasn’t making a breakthrough had to come up that he’s bound to be a bit-player, a supporting actor at best, and someone that won’t be likely to take on a major leading role.
For some folks that’s just fine since a supporting role might be where they’re the most comfortable. But the thing is, calling Chris Rydell a popular actor isn’t a bad thing, but it might be kind of a stretch since the idea of asking what happened to him implies that while he’s still around, his popularity isn’t since asking a group of people who he is might yield a couple of folks that remember a movie he starred in or a TV show he was a guest on at one point. Make no mistake, he is an actor, and he is someone that has earned the distinction and respect due to those that have actually made it, but thinking that he’s even close to being an A-lister is something that was never intended to be mentioned in the same breath as Chris. He was given a lot of kudos for starring in On Golden Pond, but aside from that, a lot of the stuff he’s done has been entertaining but hasn’t really been remembered by a lot of people. It might sound rude to say this, but his star faded and dimmed years ago, and the memories that remain are held onto by those that realize he’s not that popular any longer and might think of him from time to time out of nostalgia and not much else.
There’s always a chance for an actor to come back, but after a certain point, one has to wonder if it’s ever going to happen or if they’re going to have to hold on to the fame that they had at one point and time. At the very least Chris can say that he made it, and to be fair he did manage to put in a few good performances that people are bound to remember. He is still around to be certain, but his career is at this moment kind of hard to comment on.
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