It’s hard to imagine a more brutal profession than acting.
Sure, the A-listers have it easy, living lives of opulence and rarely raising so much as a callous on their hands from manual labor. But getting to that point – and staying there – is undeniably hard. Just ask every other waiter working in Hollywood, or all the actors who briefly found fame only to see their stars sink in short order.
So here are five actors who are currently starring on the big screen – but likely won’t be for long. Yes, they may still land supporting roles in lesser screen projects, but this critic senses their current gigs will dry up in short order – for a variety of reasons.
- Megan Fox: Beauty in Hollywood comes with an unforgiving expiration date. Simply put, there’s always another gorgeous young actress vying for the role you want. Fox simply hasn’t shown the talent needed to beat back that competition, and her penchant for insulting the people who hire her won’t help her no matter how stunning she looks in slow-motion glamour shots.
- Josh Duhamel: This choice hurts. Duhamel is both uncommonly handsome and comfortable on screen, a rare combination that usually leads to a lengthy film career. But he simply hasn’t chosen the right projects yet, and I fear his time is running out. Starring in those “Transformers” movies is a good way to introduce oneself to the public, but it’s all in the follow through – the subsequent projects meant to show you’re the real deal. Sadly,”When in Rome” wasn’t it. His newest film “Life As We Know It” could be the game changer he needs, although co-star Katherine Heigl’s ability to pick film projects all but dried up after “Knocked Up.”
- Kristen Bell: The star of TV’s “Veronica Mars” keeps getting plum acting gigs, but she hasn’t shown she truly deserves them. Her work in “When in Rome,” “Serious Moonlight” and “Couples Retreat” didn’t stand out, and her upcoming comedy “You Again” looks like it’ll be stolen by Betty White. She’s attractive but in a brittle way, and while that may sound cruel I’m guessing rom-com queens should be more warm, more appealing in order to break through, Meg Ryan style.
- Robert Pattinson/Taylor Lautner: The “Twilight” co-hunks seem like they’re on top of the world right now, but they may come crashing down to earth soon. It might not even be their fault. Pattinson proved he could act sans fangs in “Remember Me,” but critics and audiences alike ignored the movie. And Lautner’s work in the “Twilight” series shows he’s all abs, no charisma. It could be the venue for Lautner – the actor is stuck in a teen vehicle with directors who don’t put much emphasis on nuanced emoting. But hearing about the projects he’s lining up to take, including a movie based on the “Stretch Armstrong” toy, tells me Lautner isn’t here for the long haul.
- Readers’ choice: Who strikes you as having a short shelf life in Hollywood at the moment – and why?
(Photo: Katherine Heigl as Holly Berenson, holding Sophie, and Josh Duhamel Eric Messer in Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures’ romantic comedy “Life As We Know It,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Peter Iovino)
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
We won’t have to suffer through Megan Fox movies much longer? There is a God.
Would Jennifer Aniston count as someone who’s on their way out? She’s no spring chicken as far as actresses are concerned and you never hear people clamoring to see her next movie.
1.) Shia LaBeouf: Hey Hollywood, stop shoving this no talent down our throats.
2.) Jane Lynch: Plays the same character all the time and appears in everything. Though, she may be around a while since she runs with the right crowd.
3.) Dane Cook: Enough said.
4.) Christoph Waltz: I hope I’m wrong here. He’s a MAJOR talent. But his next few movie choices are going to be crucial. Is he a star or a one hit wonder?
5.) Peter Sarsgaard: Who needs Ambien with this guy walking around. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ – oh sorry, I nodded off.
Micheal Cera & Jessie Eisenberg – How many times can these guys play the nerdy virgin?
Jennifer Anniston – Yawn, it’s Rachel in every movie.
Ashton Kuchner
One can only hope Will Ferrell begins (continues?) his descent into irrelevance, but success of The Other Guys and running with the right, er, Hollywood in-crowd pretty much scratches that.
Justin Long — is the demand for middle-age nerd really that great?
@ Grofe — Shia in non-blockbusters actually isn’t all that bad. Caught A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints recently and when the project’s more low-key, the talents he displayed early in his career (Even Stevens, Tru Confession) more easily displayed.
Kate Hudson- her profile got a big boost with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but when’s the last time anyone said they were looking forward to one of her movies? Not only that, but she seems to get more annoying every year, which is not a good sign for an aging starlet.
Jessica Alba- I liked her on Dark Angel (and in Sin City), but other than that she’s picked one awful script after another, and shown no acting range at all. Her last-ditch attempt to redefine her image as “edgy” in movies like Machete and The Killer Inside Me seems to have fallen flat as well.
Sam Worthington- how he’s managed to snag lead roles in three big-budget films is anybody’s guess, but he hasn’t shown any acting range or charisma in any of them. I can’t imagine him ever becoming a box office draw.
Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Michael Cera, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Hartnett and Gloria Stuart.
Josh Hartnett may be MIA already re; his big screen career. He got plenty of chances at the brass ring, and seems like an awfully nice fella, but he couldn’t land that breakout hit. Bloom’s been quiet, too.
I must say Shia isn’t easily dismissed and he seems able to tap some of the big directors of late. That will only help him.
Cera is in trouble, methinks.
As for Christoph Waltz, he may be the case of Hollywood having no idea what to do with such an immensely talented fellow. See: Kevin Kline.
Michael Cera and Jonah Hill- Both need to escape the acting corners they have painted themselves into.
Will Ferrell- Same as above.
I think it is very possible that Matt Damon is on the ropes. It seems to have been a while since he was in a hit.
Tom Cruise- There was a time when thinking of replacing his character as the lead in a franchise would have been unthinkable. That time has passed.
I would perhaps agree in one way or another with most of the choices here. Michael Cera hasn’t shown any range, even when he played his own alter-ego. Will Ferrell has no range but he’ll still get plenty of work simply because people buy into his product. Why? Who knows?
Shia Lebeouf will continue to work but I would agree about the action roles. Some of his eariler work was soo much better.
Jennifer Aniston will continue to work simply because she’s tabloid fodder and not because she actually has talent.
Jane Lynch will be around because playing the same character over and over doesn’t disqualify. (i.e. Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford)
I completely agree with Megan Fox, who will most likely end up in porn with other stunning no talent hacks.
Miley Cyrus, because she can’t act, or sing so what else is there?
Gabourey Sidibe. I don’t need to explain.
Brad Cooper. I like him, but I wonder how long he can sustain it.
But for now, most of these entertainers will get work, which makes one wonder, who could have been discovered in the meantime?
Concur with most of the above, save the long-standing stars – Aniston, Cruise, et al – as I do not think that they fit with the theme of the Original Post.
What is more interesting is drewster’s observation of talent that is overlooked/under-exposed as a consequence of continually presenting these Usual Suspects instead.
I would’ve chosen the ever-dreadful Kate Hudson over Kristen Bell, who can be winning given the right opportunity (I’m convinced Almost Famous was a fluke for Hudson given she’s been a total washout ever since)- and how did Ashton NOT make your Top 5? As for those citing Jonah Hill, check him out in Cyrus before you’re so quick to write him off..
Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford both play the same kind of character over and over. Jane Lynch plays the exact same character over and over, and it’s getting real old.
Yeah, Ashton should be here, too, but I don’t even consider him someone who struck it big and then faded away. He’s never had a real film smash to call his own, if memory serves, and I’m stunned he still gets leading man roles. I found him perfectly acceptable in “Valentine’s Day,” but that’s about the best I can say about his recent roles.
Also thought Jonah Hill shed his one-note shtick nicely in “Get Him to the Greek” and I really can’t wait to see “Cyrus.”
Eric, you are right about Shia. He stole the every scene he had in Even Stevens as Louis Stevens, the youngest in a family of three whose favorite pasttimes were slacking off, crazy get-rich schemes, and pulling crazy pranks on his sister. I watched the show when it came on and loved it. Especially Louis Stevens. Throw in Beans and Twitty, a brat and (slightly off) best friend.
He is a comedy actor who, for some reason, Hollywood seems to think deserves to be in action roles. Just don’t get it.
And toss in Margo Harsman and Christy Carlson Romano and you got a (pre-)teen kids dream show
Kit, don’t forget Shia’s brief, but ever-so-effective scenes on Freaks and Geeks.
I, too, would say Kate Hudson rather than Kristen Bell. I believe the right project and right director could do wonders with Bell.
Ashton Kutcher.