Hollywood is a dog eat dog business. When an actor strikes big with a movie that resonates with critics and audiences, it helps defines their legacy and create buzz about their careers going forward. However, sometimes, actors never escape the shadow of their biggest role.
In fact, being known for such an iconic role can often hinder an actor career in the long run. There’s plenty of names that have come and gone in Tinseltown, but these five names have not been able to escape the shadow of their most infamous role. Despite having numerous after their starring role, these actors have been unable to shake off the character they brought them into the limelight. This list isn’t a worse of as these names are very talented and have proven in multiple films that they’re dynamic performers.
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
To be honest, I came easily put Emma Watson and Rupert Grint on this list as well. However, Daniel Radcliffe was the protagonist of the highly success franchise so his name gets special attention. Harry Potter is one of the most success brands on the market. Despite Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II coming out in 2011, the series has raked in over $15 billion worldwide thanks to the books, toys, and games sold around the world.
This remains a hot commodity because J.K. Rowling created something special when she first crafted these books about a young wizard who grows up in the world of Hogwarts. Daniel Radcliffe was a relative unknown when he was first cast as the lead. However, it wasn’t just the fact that Radcliffe looked exactly like the kid from the books, but his performance throughout the series was incredible. He embodied what most readers though about Harry through the books, and audiences literally watch him grow throughout the span of ten years.
Daniel Radcliffe is set for life financially, but the actor just hasn’t been able to come close and match the success he had in Harry Potter. He’s done some horror films and most notably, was a farting corpse in The Daniels quirky indie feature, Swiss Army Man, but he’s yet to find another role that truly defines him as a diversion actor.
Taylor Lautner (The Twilight Series)
Twilight was a strange phenomenon that dominated the mainstream throughout it’s time in theaters. Twilight and Harry Potter are the main reason that the Young Adult adaptations became such a huge thing in films for a while. Kirsten Stewart already had a footing in the industry by the time she was cast as Bella, but Lautner and Robert Pattinson were relative unknowns at this time. As you can imagine, there names skyrocketed the moment the first film dropped in theaters on November 21, 2008.
It took a long string on the independent circuit and Batman for Robert Pattinson to finally escape The Twilight shadow. Stewart has managed to achieve success in her own right and garnered an Oscar nomination for performance as Princess Diana in Spencer. However, Taylor Lautner just hasn’t been able to find the same groove as his two co-stars. It didn’t help that his first starring film, Abduction, was a critical and financial bomb. The actor never recovered from that film and has mostly been stuck in supporting roles ever since.
Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct)
Sharon Stone is an interesting case because she received an Oscar nomination following her sexy turn as Catherine Tramell in the steamy 1992 thriller. Since then Stone would reach the highs of being featured in Martin Scorsese’s Casino, nabbing a Best Supporting Actress nomination following that year. Sadly, Stone hasn’t been able to move past the role that really moved her career forward. Even the sequel, Basic Instinct II, flopped hard at the box office!
The veteran is surely a talented performer (like all names on this list) but she’s just not a draw in the mainstream. Her second most notable role was in the dead-on-arrival Catwoman; however, that film isn’t remember for particularly good reasons. Stone has danced between television and movies, but nothing has been able to grab audience’s attention.
Linda Hamiliton (Terminator)
Despite Terminator being a tarnished brand these days, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day are still iconic films in the eyes of fans. A big part of that is due Linda Hamiliton’s Sarah Connor, a compelling protagonist in both entries of the James Cameron series. Hamiliton masterfully displayed a flawed hero with a massive chip on her shoulder throughout her time in the Terminator franchise. It’s understandable why the actress has no interest in returning to the series after Dark Fate flopped hard.
However, the veteran has done anything of note following her incredible turn as Sarah Connor. Even Edward Furlong has American History X to fall back on (though John Connor still remains his biggest role). Again, this isn’t a knock on her as an actress as there isn’t a particular role following Terminator that derailed her career, but it’s genuinely shocking that the Hamiliton didn’t get better opportunities following her star making turn in The Terminator films.
Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense)
One of the classic quotes in cinema is, “I see dead people”. M. Night Shyamalan film is considered one of the best ever made and Haley Joel Osment is a big reason for that notion. Osment was 10-year-old at this time, and it’s remarkable how someone so young could played such a complex role authentically. However, that instant fame wasn’t particularly a good thing for the actor himself. He was a kid who was suddenly thrusted into the spotlight, so Osment has been laying low ever his star-making role as Cole Spears. The actor mainly does indie films and pops up on television every now and then, along some notable voiceover roles in shows and video games. Osment really hasn’t done anything as big or notable as The Sixth Sense however.
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