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20 Actors That Were Forever Changed By One Role

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Entertainment - June 28th 2025, 19:00 GMT+2
Cropped About

About this gallery:

To create this gallery, we gathered actors and actresses who, whether due to being typecast by the industry, because the role took its emotional toll on them, or simply because it was so terrible that we never heard from them again, were never the same after that role.

If you think we missed an actor/actress with a role that changed them forever, why not mention it in the comments? | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped Jake Lloyd Star Wars The Phantom Menace

Jake Lloyd – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Jake Lloyd's life was turned upside down after playing young Anakin Skywalker. The fame that comes with being part of Star Wars wasn’t exactly a gift – he was bullied relentlessly and ultimately quit acting. Turns out, being the future Darth Vader wasn’t a path to galactic greatness in real life. | © Lucasfilm

Cropped Brandon Routh Superman Returns

Brandon Routh – Superman Returns (2006)

Being Superman isn’t all about flying capes and saving the world. After Superman Returns, Brandon Routh’s career struggled to take off as people only saw him as the Man of Steel. It’s hard to escape the shadow of Superman when the world expects you to leap over tall buildings all the time. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

The exorcist

Linda Blair – The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist might be a horror classic, but for Linda Blair, it brought more nightmares than fame. After playing the possessed child, Blair struggled to escape the typecasting trap and was haunted by the role for years. It's tough to shake off a movie that scared an entire generation. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped Shelley Duvall The Shining

Shelley Duvall – The Shining (1980)

Shelley Duvall’s role in The Shining was iconic, but the experience on set was anything but fun. Director Stanley Kubrick pushed her to the limit, causing emotional distress that she never fully recovered from. Turns out, screaming for help in a haunted hotel wasn’t just acting – it was real. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped Mark Hamill Star Wars The Original Trilogy

Mark Hamill – Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (1977–1983)

Mark Hamill will forever be Luke Skywalker, but that came with a price. While Star Wars launched him into superstardom, it also typecast him, making it hard for audiences to see him as anything other than a Jedi. The Force was strong with this one… maybe too strong. | © Lucasfilm

Cropped Heath Ledger The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight (2008)

Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker was so intense, it became legendary – but it also took a heavy toll. The role was a career-defining performance that sent shockwaves through Hollywood, but tragically, the emotional depths he explored left a lasting impact on his mental health. Ledger's Joker wasn’t just a villain, it became a haunting legacy. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped Macaulay Culkin Home Alone

Macaulay Culkin – Home Alone (1990)

Macaulay Culkin was the ultimate child star after Home Alone, but being the most famous kid on the planet isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. He went from Hollywood darling to tabloid target, and by his teenage years, he had stepped away from acting completely. Not many people recover from being left home alone – especially in real life. | © 20th Century Fox

Cropped Hayden Christensen Star Wars The Prequels

Hayden Christensen – Star Wars: The Prequels (2002–2005)

Playing Anakin Skywalker turned Hayden Christensen into one of the most talked-about actors in Hollywood – for better and for worse. While Star Wars fandom can be passionate, the backlash to his performance in the prequels was brutal, and it became a role he couldn’t shake. The dark side was definitely calling. | © Lucasfilm

Cropped Taylor Lautner Twilight

Taylor Lautner – Twilight (2008–2012)

Taylor Lautner’s abs were almost as famous as his Twilight character, but after the series ended, his career hit a serious slump. He was forever tied to Jacob Black, and it turns out, people just couldn’t take him seriously outside the world of sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves. | © Summit Entertainment

Cropped Shia La Beouf Transformers

Shia LaBeouf – Transformers (2007)

Shia LaBeouf’s career exploded with Transformers, but so did his reputation for erratic behavior. After years of being in blockbuster after blockbuster, his off-screen antics overshadowed his talent, making it harder for Hollywood to focus on his acting instead of his outbursts. Maybe those giant robots were a bad influence. | © Paramount Pictures

Cropped Tobey Maguire Spider Man

Tobey Maguire – Spider-Man (2002)

Tobey Maguire was Peter Parker for a generation, but the web-slinging came with a web of problems. His Spider-Man fame was so overwhelming, it was hard for audiences to see him as anything else. Even after the suit came off, he couldn’t quite swing his way into other big roles. | © Columbia Pictures

Cropped Jennifer Grey Dirty Dancing

Jennifer Grey – Dirty Dancing (1987)

Jennifer Grey became a household name after Dirty Dancing, but an ill-fated nose job left her nearly unrecognizable. She went from being the star of a cult classic to being a Hollywood mystery – quite literally. It’s hard to be "Baby" when no one puts her back in the spotlight. | © Vestron Pictures

Cropped Judy Garland The Wizard of Oz

Judy Garland – The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Judy Garland will forever be Dorothy, but the role took a heavy toll. Behind the scenes, she was subjected to grueling hours and controlled by studio executives. The pressures of fame at such a young age eventually led to a lifetime of struggles, and she was never quite able to escape the yellow brick road. | © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Cropped Elijah Wood The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Elijah Wood – The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001–2003)

Frodo Baggins might have destroyed the One Ring, but Elijah Wood couldn’t shake his image as the small, wide-eyed hobbit. Despite his range as an actor, the shadow of Middle-earth loomed large, and audiences struggled to see him beyond the Shire. | © New Line Cinema

Cropped Elizabeth Berkley Showgirls

Elizabeth Berkley – Showgirls (1995)

Elizabeth Berkley took a bold step with Showgirls, but it wasn’t exactly a graceful leap. The film bombed and left her career in tatters. Going from a wholesome teen star on Saved by the Bell to Showgirls was a career gamble that, unfortunately, didn’t pay off. | © MGM/UA

Cropped John Travolta Battlefield Earth

John Travolta – Battlefield Earth (2000)

John Travolta has had his ups and downs, but Battlefield Earth was a very low point. The film was a critical disaster, and his commitment to the role left fans and critics scratching their heads. He may have survived disco and Pulp Fiction, but this one was hard to bounce back from. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

Cropped Andrew Garfield The Amazing Spider Man

Andrew Garfield – The Amazing Spider-Man (2012–2014)

Andrew Garfield donned the Spidey suit after Tobey Maguire, but the Amazing Spider-Man franchise never quite swung to the heights of its predecessor. While Garfield’s acting chops were solid, the underwhelming reception of the films put his superhero future in doubt. Turns out, even Spidey can get tangled up on the web of expectations. | © Columbia Pictures

Cropped G I Jane

Demi Moore – G.I. Jane (1997)

Demi Moore’s role in G.I. Jane was a bold choice, but it also marked the beginning of a career downturn. The film didn’t perform as expected, and Moore found it difficult to recover her leading-lady status afterward. Shaving her head for the role? Bold. Shaving down her career prospects? Ouch. | © Scott Free Productions

Cropped Björk Dancer in the Dark

Björk – Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Björk’s performance in Dancer in the Dark was nothing short of mesmerizing, but it came at a cost. The emotional intensity of the role, combined with a notoriously difficult on-set experience, left her swearing off acting for good. While her portrayal earned her critical acclaim, the experience was so draining that she chose to focus solely on her music career afterward. Some roles just hit too hard. | © Fine Line Features

Cropped Jared Leto Suicide Squad

Jared Leto – Suicide Squad (2016)

Jared Leto’s method acting approach to Suicide Squad’s Joker was... let’s just say, controversial. Despite all the hype surrounding his twisted take on the Clown Prince of Crime, the final result left fans underwhelmed. Leto’s performance didn’t land the way anyone expected, and it didn’t help that much of his screen time ended up on the cutting room floor. Let’s just say, this Joker wasn’t laughing all the way to the box office. | © Warner Bros. Pictures

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Some roles are so powerful, they don’t just change the course of a movie – they change the actors themselves. Whether it’s the physical demands of the part, the emotional toll of the character, or the overwhelming fame that follows, these performances left a lasting mark on the actors who brought them to life.

In this list, we’ll explore 20 actors whose lives and careers were never the same after taking on a role that truly transformed them, for better or worse. Prepare to dive into some unforgettable performances that left an indelible impact!

Some roles are so powerful, they don’t just change the course of a movie – they change the actors themselves. Whether it’s the physical demands of the part, the emotional toll of the character, or the overwhelming fame that follows, these performances left a lasting mark on the actors who brought them to life.

In this list, we’ll explore 20 actors whose lives and careers were never the same after taking on a role that truly transformed them, for better or worse. Prepare to dive into some unforgettable performances that left an indelible impact!

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