Celebrities | Pop Culture | 80s | 00s | 90s

15 Actors We Thought Were Destined For Fame, But We Literally Haven't Thought About Them Since

Just like music has "one-hit wonders", Hollywood has their own version when it comes to actors who make a huge splash on the big screen before disappearing into obscurity. You will likely recognize most of these artists for their iconic (or borderline iconic) roles, but find yourself wondering what ever happened to them.

1. Dakota Fanning

Indie Wire

Dakota Fanning was a huge success as a child actor with staring roles in I Am Sam, War of the Worlds, Man on Fire, and Charlotte's Web. She hasn't been nearly as successful as an adult. After her appearances in the Twilight saga we haven't seen much of her.

2. Chad Michael Murray

thehairstyler.com

A teen heart-throb who stared in the WB teen drama series One Tree Hill from 2003 - 2009, everyone was expecting huge things for his career. He hasn't had a blockbuster role in over a decade and has predominantly been relegated to television.  

3. Danny Masterson

Screener

I loved That 70's Show. Danny Masterson played one of the leading roles of Hyde, one of the gang who lived in the Foreman's basement. Since then he hasn't had a great run of things, appearing in a few minor roles (Dracula 2000).

4. Eric Bana

Real Heroes - Blogger

Eric Bana had a ton of potential. His portrayal of Bruce Banner in Marvel's first iteration of The Hulk was enjoyable to watch, even if the rest of the movie wasn't. His career seemed to suffer due to this movie flopping. He should be a leading man in Hollywood.

5. Megan Fox

YouTube

At one time Megan Fox was one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood. She stared in the first two Transformers movies, but ended up comparing director Michael Bay to Hitler, and she was persona-non-grata. She also stared in the extremely strange Jennifer's Body, and had a big role in the two TMNT movies, but hasn't done much else.

6. Mischa Barton

The Daily Beast

If you remember The O.C., then you remember Mischa Barton. Entertainment Weekly even named her the "It Girl" of 2003 because of her role in the show. After the leaving the show at the end of season three she disappeared from the spotlight, only entering it for the wrong reasons.

7. Taylor Lautner

US Weekly

Another star who flamed out after the blissful end to the Twilight movie series. Lautner was considered one of the hottest things in Hollywood for several years, but after a few movie flops we haven't seen much of him at all.

8. Shailene Woodley

Into The Gloss

When the YA movie series The Divergent Series hit the big screens, everyone assumed that Shailene Woodley would become a house-hold name. Unfortunately the first three movies bombed at the box-office and producers decided to finish the series on television. Hearing this Woodley left the project. She has recently been on HBO's Big Little Lies.

9. Carrie-Anne Moss

CNET

Carrie-Anne Moss played Trinity in The Matrix trilogy. The Matrix set the standard for what we could expect from a sci-fi movie moving forward, yet after the trilogy was done we didn't see much of Moss. Recently she has been on several Netflix Marvel shows as the recurring character Jessica Jones.

10. Taylor Kitsch

Vanity Fair

Kitsch had every opportunity to become a massive Hollywood icon. He has stared in several major projects including John Carter, Battleship, True Detective, and Savages. While he likely made a nice sum of money for his work, it never turned him into a massive star.

11. Alex Pettyfer

YouTube

Starring in movies like Magic Mike and I Am Number 4 should have cemented Pettyfer in Hollywood as a leading man. Word started to spread that he was cocky and a bit of an a**hole, now he doesn't do much of anything.

12. Sam Worthington

Den of Geek

Being the lead in Avatar, one of the greatest movies of the last decade plus, would make you think Worthington would be a hot commodity on screen. He also stared in Clash of the Titans, and Terminator Salvation, but without real name-recognition he will always only be "Jake Sully from Avatar."

13. Phoebe Cates

Maxim

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a cult-classic, and few scenes are as immortalized as when Phoebe Cates undid her bikini. Afterwards, Cates appeared in two Gremlins movies before disappearing.

14. Fairuza Balk

Scary For Kids

Balk's film credits are quite good; The Craft, American History X, and The Waterboy. She always played goth/punk/hardcore roles in these movies and she should have stayed in those areas. Now she is gone, and who knows if we shall ever see her again.

15. Kellan Lutz

Entertainment Tonight

Yet another casualty of Twilight, Lutz has never been able to recapture his popularity once he was finished playing Emmett Cullen. He has had some roles as large strongmen in a variety of flavors, but at this point he has been virtually typecast.

Do you think any of these former stars will see themselves making a comeback in Hollywood?

More Throwbacks

Pop Culture

Bet You Didn't Know Julie Andrews Was The Reason Why Mia's Dad Was Killed Off In "The Princess Diaries"

Although we knew that the movie adaption of Meg Cabot's "The Princess Diaries" book series was a work of fiction, we still couldn't help but wish that we had a long-lost grandmother who would one day show up to rescue us from our boring life, and inform us that we were the princess of a European country called Genovia. VarietyThe dream has been slowly dying since the 2001 movie and its sequel were released. However, we still won't hesitate to watch the movie any chance we get and live vicariously through Mia Thermopolis. DisneyAnyway, in our quest to learn more

00s

Josh Hartnett Was A Massive Star In The Early 2000s, So Why Haven't We Seen Him Since?

It seemed like Josh Hartnett was in every movie in the early 2000s, but now it's hard remember the last movie you saw him in. Touchstone PicturesWhere did he go? You probably remember him from the movie Pearl Harbor, where he played Captain Danny Walker, or Black Hawk Down as the character Eversmann. He has been in a lot of very successful movies, and was one of the biggest heartthrobs of the early 2000s. BravoSeriously, his IMDB page is just a big reminder of all the great things he's done. One of his first big movies was The Virgin SuicidesAmerican

90s

The True Story Of The Murder That Shook A Generation Of Pop Fans

Just as her star was on the rise, the singer known simply as Selena was tragically murdered and fans are still mourning the loss of the young star two decades later. On March 31, 1995 the life of the promising young pop star ended. The Texas-born beauty Selena Quintanilla captured people's hearts with her style, sex appeal and instantly recognizable voice. The queen of Tejano music, a fusion of polka, country and jazz, was popular across northern Mexico and throughout the southern United States. She never had the chance to expand her stardom to other areas of the world, because

80s

Which Major '80s Event Happened The Year You Were Born?

We are all products of our time, and many of us are who we are today because of the environment we grew up in. Which is interesting because we have no memory of the year we were born in. So for all those 80s kids out there, check out the biggest things that came from the decade (besides you)!1980 - Disco's PeakRolling StoneThis was the first, and only year that the award show offered a Grammy for Best Disco Recording. Might have been a good decision.1981 - A Royal WeddingDaily ExpressIt was a big year for British royalty,

Pop Culture

She's A Little Bit Country, He's A Little Bit Rock & Roll, But What Was Really Going On Behind The Scenes?

Donny and Marie Osmond were the siblings that we all longed to be like. Why couldn't we get along with our brothers and sisters like they did? What was it about this singing and dancing family that just seemed weirdly delightful?  The show only ran for three years, but in that time, they managed to gain an enormous audience. They had both already seen some success in the business, with Donny singing with his brothers in their band The Osmonds, and Marie breaking out on her own topping the charts with "Paper Roses." ABCBut when 18-year-old Donny and his

90s

Does Seeing What Your '90s Crush Looks Like Now Make You Question Your Teenage Self's Taste In Men?

There was no better decades for heartthrobs then the '90s. From the odd fashion to tribal tattoos and some hair styles that make us question our sanity now, it was a magical time for teen boys. Who was on your crush list in the '90s? From movie stars, to boy band members and TV series regulars, we had our pick of the litter for who to pin up in our locker. Have you wondered what these boys looks like now? While they may no longer fit on the cover of Tiger Beat some of these celebrity crushes may surprise you.