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What is a role that saved an actor’s career when they were on a downward trajectory?
Some examples
Natalie Portman – Closer
Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
ReplyStretching the definition a bit
Nic Cage and his financial woes got a big boost from The Croods, and now Pig.
Brendan Fraser who we’re all delighted for deserves a career boost and with his tv work and now Whale he’s back to remind us how likeable he is. Plus he can act (God’s and Monsters, Quiet American)Alan Arkin was largely invisible after a great early start and then, Little Miss Sunshine. He takes a fair amount of crap for that Oscar win but I loved his grandpa.
Most iconic example for me is Marlon Brando. Rumor has it that he auditioned for The Godfather, where he stuffed cotton balls into his mouth. The rest is history. He was one of the GOATs.
ReplyCopy URLThe Sunne in Splendour.
I prefer my roses whiteI feel like Big Little Lies really pulled Nicole Kidman back onto the a-list from that tricky phase from the mid-aughts to the mid 2010s, and she hasn’t slowed down since.
And I wouldn’t say A Star is Born saved Gaga’s career, but it did seem like she had possibly reached her limit as a popstar with a couple of underwhelming albums and largely mocked performances (looking at you AHS) but then ASIB proved that there actually was a person underneath the character and I think basically overnight changed the way millions of people saw her.
ReplyCopy URLI feel like Big Little Lies really pulled Nicole Kidman back onto the a-list from that tricky phase from the mid-aughts to the mid 2010s, and she hasn’t slowed down since. And I wouldn’t say A Star is Born saved Gaga’s career, but it did seem like she had possibly reached her limit as a popstar with a couple of underwhelming albums and largely mocked performances (looking at you AHS) but then ASIB proved that there actually was a person underneath the character and I think basically overnight changed the way millions of people saw her.
I agree about Gaga. It seemed her career in Pop was dying and Hollywood give Lady Gaga a NEW life
ReplyCopy URLSpencer saved Kristen Stewart. No one thought she could ever get close to the Oscar before Spencer happened
Na…her critics sweep for Clouds suggests otherwise…
ReplyCopy URLFYC 2023:
Zar Amir Ebrahimi - Shayda (Best Actress)
Helen Mirren - Golda (Best Actress)
Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer (Best Actor/Actress)Spencer saved Kristen Stewart. No one thought she could ever get close to the Oscar before Spencer happened
She was terrific in Clouds of Sils Maria and was recognized for it. She also opened more than a few eyes with Welcome to the Rileys. So she was building to Spencer, and it’s just beginning for her. Jmho
ReplyCopy URLThe Sunne in Splendour.
I prefer my roses whiteI feel like Big Little Lies really pulled Nicole Kidman back onto the a-list from that tricky phase from the mid-aughts to the mid 2010s, and she hasn’t slowed down since.
I don’t have the link right now, but Nicole once told Vanity Fair in an interview that she felt abandoned by Hollywood before Big Little Lies premiered and went on to have so much success.
ReplyCopy URLReese Witherspoon in Wild (2014).
Reese went through a period of bad movies before Wild, and decided to take charge of her own career by launching her own production company and securing roles for herself. That started with Wild, and it paid off for her because she got nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award. She also enjoyed success as a producer by producing David Fincher’s Gone Girl (Rosamund Pike was nominated for an Oscar).
Reese’s production company is called Hello Sunshine, and she built it into a media empire and has a devoted book club on Instagram called Reese’s Book Club. Every month, she reveals her new book pick and some of the books have been adapted for film or television (Reese starred in Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere alongside Kerry Washington. Reese also produced an upcoming Netflix TV show called From Scratch starring Zoe Saldana, as well as the upcoming film Where the Crawdads Sing that stars Daisy Edgar-Jones. All three were based on Reese’s Book Club picks).
ReplyCopy URLI feel like Big Little Lies really pulled Nicole Kidman back onto the a-list from that tricky phase from the mid-aughts to the mid 2010s, and she hasn’t slowed down since.
I disagree that Nicole Kidman was ever not on the A list. She worked very consistently throughout the period you mention, often having 2 movies (or projects) released in the same year. She continued to play a variety of different characters in a wide variety of genres.
During the phase you mentioned she was nominated for 2 Oscars for Rabbit Hole and Lion.
ReplyCopy URLPhiladelphia Story for Katharine Hepburn. After a string of film flops in the late 1930s she had been labeled box office poison and RKO dropped her from her contract. She commissioned the play Philadelphia Story, which became a hit on Broadway for her, and then she produced the movie of the play, relaunched her film career, and never looked back.
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