At the height of her success, few actresses could compare with Lindsay Lohan’s career. Beginning her career as a child actor, Lohan worked her way into the hearts of millions of film audiences, quickly rising to become a teen idol. By the mid-2000s, Lindsay Lohan was arguably one of Hollywood’s most bankable actresses. By the late-2000s and early 2010s, her personal life choices began to affect her career.
Fans and film audiences watched in horror and sadness as the actress, once dubbed an American sweetheart with a promising career and future, walked in and out of rehab centers and jailhouses. Thankfully, after more than a decade of career setbacks, Lindsay Lohan returned to movies in a Netflix Christmas movie and a two-movie deal with Netflix, which began in 2022. Although her comeback movies have received mixed to average critical reviews, Lindsay Lohan’s career could benefit a lot more if she stepped out of the rom-com genre.
Lindsay Lohan’s Netflix Deal Has Been Her Career’s Silver Lining
Everyone deserves a second chance, especially when you’re Lindsay Lohan. Hate or love her life choices, Lindsay Lohan is proof that not everyone who hits rock bottom in Hollywood fades into oblivion. Thanks to her movie deal with Netflix, Lohan is a blast from the past for a newer generation of film audiences. Although she no longer commands a hefty paycheck like she did in the past ($7,500,000 for Herbie Fully Loaded, Just My Luck, and Georgia Rule), these Netflix family movies are a good enough place to start.
Lindsay Lohan’s first Netflix movie was the 2022 Falling for Christmas, where she was cast as the lead character, Sierra Belmont. She played a spoiled hotel heiress who lost her memory in a skiing accident. The injured and amnesiac Sierra is found by the proprietor of the Northstar Lodge, a bed and breakfast hotel, Jake Russell (Chord Overstreet). While the Christmas romantic comedy might have bitten off from every romantic trope, Falling for Christmas was one of the best and most-watched Christmas movies of 2022. Irrespective of critics’ take on the movie, Lindsay Lohan’s performance stood out for everyone and received special praise.
With Lindsay Lohan’s career upturn, expectations were high on her future career trajectory. In 2024, Lohan starred in her second Netflix movie (from the deal), Irish Wish (2024). Without going into details about its plot, Irish Wish is embellished with all the rom-com clichés. While critics were not too pleased with the unoriginal story, Lindsay Lohan’s performance proves, yet again, that the actress’ talents are being wasted away in romantic comedies. Her upcoming third Netflix movie, Our Little Secret, would be no different as Netflix hopes to release it as another Christmas romantic comedy.
Playing Against Type Could Ultimately Be A Game Changer for Lindsay Lohan’s Career
From the first time film audiences watched Lindsay Lohan in her film debut, The Parent Trap (1998), it was evident she was born to be a star. While the rom-com genre is experiencing a modern renaissance on streaming platforms, the genre isn’t the best place to revamp one’s career in the 2020s. Movie audiences’ tastes have evolved since the 2000s, and feel-good movies are just what they are—a passing, never-to-be-watched-again film. Although Lindsay Lohan continues to have an unwavering and dedicated fanbase and admirers, rom-coms have generally been relegated to a pass-time genre, which hardly gets serious recognition from major award associations and industry giants.
Unarguably, Lindsay Lohan is super-talented and has a strong screen presence. Besides, today’s film audiences are more open and accepting of actors daring to be cast in against-type roles. With the rise in the popularity of independent films, Lohan needs not settle for being typecast in the 2020s. With the success and popularity of the production and distribution company A24, Lindsay Lohan’s career would greatly benefit (with a wider audience) if she could star in one of their films. Inadvertently, over the years, Lindsay Lohan has typecast herself to only play romantic/comedic characters.
Lohan’s IMDb page reveals that in the past, the actress turned down several notable roles outside the confines of the rom-com genre. Although she stated she’s not a fan of horror movies or movies with killers in them, now may be a good time to explore other genres. While Lohan would naturally make a good Scream Queen, even if she doesn’t want to do horror, she would be great in the action genre (in a supporting role). And no, for obvious reasons, her supporting role in the 2010 low-budget exploitation action film Machete does not count as a reference point for Lindsay Lohan in the action genre.
Lindsay Lohan’s Career Would Benefit Extensively From Television
In the last decade, the small screen has experienced exponential growth, thanks, in no small part, to the success of miniseries and streaming platform’s never-ending original series. With these original TV shows springing up every month, now’s a good time for Lindsay Lohan to consider expanding her career into television. From Western, crime, fantasy, science fiction, sports, superhero, biographies, and thrillers, there are a lot of choices for Lohan to get started. Imagine the effect it would have had on her career if she was cast as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, Kim Bauer in 24, or became a series regular in Stranger Things.
Anyone who believes Lindsay Lohan wouldn’t have been able to fit into these roles clearly underestimates her talent as an actress. Lohan may have sold herself short all these years by downplaying her versatility as an actress but she is still too talented to settle only for the rom-com genre. If multi-season TV shows may require a commitment she is unable to fulfill at the moment, miniseries are always a great place to get started. Think about it; Lindsay Lohan would have felt right at home starring in miniseries projects like Mare of Easttown, Fargo, Beef, or even break into the superhero genre by starring in projects like WandaVision and Hawkeye.
Lohan can follow in the footsteps of Kate Winslet, who has had success starring in HBO miniseries. If an Oscar nomination or win isn’t something worth fighting for anymore, Lindsay Lohan deserves to have an Emmy nomination and win. No one deserves an all-round career comeback more than Lindsay Lohan, but it cannot be achieved in these Netflix-style rom-coms. If you enjoyed reading about Lindsay Lohan’s career, here are 10 things you didn’t know about Lindsay Lohan’s sister, Aliana Lohan.
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