Actors Who Inexplicably Disappeared

[Deck Rickard]

Ever wonder how some actors are seemingly ubiquitous and then they just evaporate into thin air? This is a thread to discuss what exactly happened.

For example, where has Joseph Gordon Levitt been? I feel like he was in everything for a while, and then he just disappeared. Did Snowden kill his career?

 

[Web-Head]

I think JGL has been focused on hitREcord and he has a few movies on the way. Is pretty curious where he went for a while.

Rick Moranis is a popular one. He just stopped acting all of a sudden

 

[Micromind]

Luke Wilson appeared in many movies but I haven't seen him in any movie nowadays, same for Jeff Daniels.

 

[AverageMan]

Iron Man 2 killed off Mickey Rourke's comeback.
Shame, as the Wrestler was fantastic.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

I still wanna know what happened to Clive Owen.

 

[TMP98]

Edward Norton between Birdman and Motherless Brooklyn was like a 5 year absence outside of the critically panned flop Collateral Beauty and some voice work

 

[jolldan]

Realise he's having a bit of a resurgence now with Doom Patrol but he's always been a crazy one to think about for me as I grew up with him in so many roles that 92 to 02 era he had to be one of the biggest guys in Hollywood

• The Mummy
• The Mummy 2
• California Man
• Blast From The Past
• Bedazzled
• George of the Jungle
• Dudley Do Right
• Monkeybone

 

[Deck Rickard]

I think JGL has been focused on hitREcord and he has a few movies on the way. Is pretty curious where he went for a while.

Rick Moranis is a popular one. He just stopped acting all of a sudden

Moranis semi-retired to take care of his kids, though she passed away in 1991 and he didn't really quit until 1997. Still, good on him for being a good father. He's done some voiceover work over the years (one even as Darth Helmet in The Goldbergs, apparently) so maybe if that Spaceballs reboot ever happens we'll see him don the helmet again.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Realise he's having a bit of a resurgence now with Doom Patrol but he's always been a crazy one to think about for me as I grew up with him in so many roles that 92 to 02 era he had to be one of the biggest guys in Hollywood

• The Mummy
• The Mummy 2
• Encino* Man
• Blast From The Past
• Bedazzled
• George of the Jungle
• Dudley Do Right
• Monkeybone

Yeah, I read an article a little while ago that partially explained what happened to him. If I recall correctly, he got royally screwed in his divorce. But I also think some of his poor film choices that you listed above kinda hurt him. He became known as "that guy in all those bad movies" and I think it hurt him professionally. I remember that he was in the running to play Superman at one point in the early 2000s but the studio either passed on him or the movie (like all Superman projects) fell apart. Shame, I think he would have done a good job.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Realise he's having a bit of a resurgence now with Doom Patrol but he's always been a crazy one to think about for me as I grew up with him in so many roles that 92 to 02 era he had to be one of the biggest guys in Hollywood

• The Mummy
• The Mummy 2
• California Man
• Blast From The Past
• Bedazzled
• George of the Jungle
• Dudley Do Right
• Monkeybone

Love Fraser. He could have made a good Superman when he was considered. The guy has had a rough decade though. There's a GQ article that goes in depth with it and it's pretty damn sad.

 

[THORin]

I still wanna know what happened to Clive Owen.

I think he was in this tiny movie called Ophelia this year, which also starred Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts. Unless I’m thinking of a different Clive, but I highly doubt that.

 

[TMP98]

I still wanna know what happened to Clive Owen.

He's the bad guy in Gemini Man

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Molly Ringwald is one I thought I'd be seeing an awful lot more after The Breakfast Club. I guess she's worked but I really thought she'd be huge.


Edit: I'll add Alicia Silverstone.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

I feel like Jeremy Renner sorta came in and stole Brendan Fraser's thunder.

Kirsten Dunst also is on the MIA list. She did those Spidey movies, cashed out and became a mom.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Kirsten Dunst also is on the MIA list. She did those Spidey movies, cashed out and became a mom.

I remember seeing Dunst in Interview with the Vampire when she was just a kid. I thought she was phenomenal and was going to be a major, major star.

 

[Dr.]

Luke Wilson appeared in many movies but I haven't seen him in any movie nowadays, same for Jeff Daniels.

Daniels has remained pretty active. I believe he's currently on Broadway (in To Kill A Mockingbird).

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

I remember seeing Dunst in Interview with the Vampire when she was just a kid. I thought she was phenomenal and was going to be a major, major star.

She was great as Claudia. She used to be queen of the 90s/Early 00s teen movies and now her career is just not even in the stratosphere.

Same with Sarah Michelle Gellar, I would've thought she could've been Miss Marvel back in the day.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I feel like Jeremy Renner sorta came in and stole Brendan Fraser's thunder.

Kirsten Dunst also is on the MIA list. She did those Spidey movies, cashed out and became a mom.

Jeremy Renner...? Not really seeing the connection between him and Fraser. Can you elaborate?

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Same with Sarah Michelle Gellar, I would've thought she could've been Miss Marvel back in the day.

Yes, SMG's another who didn't reach the heights of movie-stardom that I thought she might after the massive success of Buffy. I think she took time out to have kids, but I don't know if she took advantage of a career-lull to do that that, or whether the lull was due in-part to her taking the break.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I think JGL has been focused on hitREcord and he has a few movies on the way. Is pretty curious where he went for a while.

Rick Moranis is a popular one. He just stopped acting all of a sudden

I have been quite surprised that Moranis hasn't appeared in any projects from Wes Anderson or Woody Allen.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Jeremy Renner...? Not really seeing the connection between him and Fraser. Can you elaborate?

Basically, Jeremy Renner is in the same roles that Fraser used to be in. If they made Avengers a couple years earlier, Fraser totally could've been in the running to be Hawkeye. I used to think that they look alike.

Yes, SMG's another who didn't reach the heights of movie-stardom that I thought she might after the massive success of Buffy. I think she took time out to have kids, but I don't know if she took advantage of a career-lull to do that that, or whether the lull was due in-part to her taking the break.

It's weird with her. A lot of the movies and other projects she did Post-Buffy were good on paper, but they were just flops or direct to video. I personally thought she did really well in this movie called 'The Air I Breathe' and 'Veronika Decides To Die'.

 

[Ninjablade]

I had no idea Cameron Diaz retired until recently. The last thing she did was the Annie remake back in 2014.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Eddie Murphy until Dolemite but before then where the hell was he?

 

[lime]

Jack Nicholson's last movie was in 2010.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Eddie Murphy until Dolemite but before then where the hell was he?

He was...

But he hasn't had a real high profile role since Dreamgirls in 2006. He was cheated out of that Oscar.