Famous Actors Whose Careers Were Destroyed By One Terrible Movie

By Samantha in Entertainment On 30th August 2015

Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, and Mike Myers struggle to get funding for movies right now, and it’s mainly due to one crucial movie that ended their promising careers. We take a look at 10 actors whose careers were killed by one terribly bad movie.

#1 Brandon Routh - 'Superman Returns' (2006)

Less of a bad casting choice and more of a terrible movie. Brandon Routh was cast in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, which was panned by fans and critics alike. The sad thing is Routh got hit the hardest, with everyone blaming the man of steel. It's sad really, as he wasn't that bad of a Superman or Clark Kent. It didn't kill his film career entirely though, as he had cameos in Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. So, maybe it did kill his movie career.

#2 Eddie Murphy - Every movie he's done since 'Shrek', but probably 'Pluto Nash' (2002)

Eddie Murphy is a king of stand-up comedians, and he was churning out solid box office hits throughout the '80s and '90s, but somewhere, some place, this comic got lost. Fans kept hoping that the funny-man would turn it around, but he continues to star in flop after flop. His latest was A Thousand Words, which had a plot that actually involved him learning not to talk as much. What could the writers be thinking when they hired one of the best talkers on the planet for this role.

#3 Geena Davis - 'Cutthroat Island' (1995)

We didn't see this one coming. Geena Davis was one of the hottest stars in the early '90s, with Thelma and Louise, A League of Their Own, and Beetlejuice becoming instant classics, but once she starred in 1995's Cutthroat Island, which was directed by her then husband Renny Harlin, it killed her entire career (along with other actors' as well). She's found some small success on TV, but has yet to make a feature film worth mentioning since the disastrous flop.

#4 Kevin Costner - 'Waterworld' (1995)

Kevin Costner remains a bonafide superstar, with dozens of films on his IMDB page that are still worthy of watching, but Waterworld certainly sunk his stardom ship at the time. Costner was one of the most famous actors on the planet, and now he's been making what seems to be just lots of sports movies which all have a similar feel. Costner still has to have a lot of talent left in him, so we're hoping he stays afloat by that pure gift alone.

#5 Mike Myers - 'The Love Guru' (2008)

Mike Myers was the voice of Shrek, and the star of the highly popular Austin Powers' franchise. He does The Love Guru, and literally disappears. The last time he was even seen was when he showed up on the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live in the Wayne's World skit, which he actually did a good job with. Rumor is, Myers is incredibly difficult to work with, so maybe his pile of money was more attractive than onset arguments.

#6 Halle Berry - 'Catwoman' (2004)

Sigh, Halle Berry was one of the most talented actresses in Tinseltown, but she just had to do a superhero movie (because everyone else was), and ended up giving one of the worst performances ever seen on the big screen. She's literally disappeared since this movie hit theaters over 10 years ago, with X-Men: Days of Future Past being her only recent success, which she was in for maybe 5 minutes. We have a feeling she'll be back, it's hard to suppress pure talent like hers.

#7 Terrence Howard - 'Iron Man' (2008)

Terrence Howard was a man with power in 2008, and he commanded more money than Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man. That may have been his downfall though, as he was recast when he was unwilling to take a paycut for the Iron Man 2. Don Cheadle replaced him (a good friend of his) and the rest is history. Cheadle will be appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Howard will be on his TV show, Empire, which is getting solid reviews. But, an Avengers sequel or a TV show - you decide.

#8 Chris O'Donnell - 'Batman & Robin' (1997)

Believe it or not, Chris O'Donnell was a pretty solid actor until he was sadly cast in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (the one with the infamous Clooney Bat-nips). After the release in 1997, O'Donnell never again starred in a feature film, and focuses on the small screen now, with some small roles previously on Grey's Anatomy and NCIS: Los Angeles. His days in the critically acclaimed Scent of a Woman and School Ties are long gone.

#9 Hayden Christensen - 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith' (2005)

Oh, Hayden. It was short and sweet, your film career that is. The actor was lucky enough (or unlucky enough) to play the teenage and adult version of Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas' Star Wars' prequels, the bad thing is? The dialogue in these films was so horrid that Daniel Day-Lewis couldn't have done it better. Christensen went on to do a few other films, such as Awake and Jumper, but those titles certainly don't ring too many bells.

#10 Cuba Gooding Jr. - 'Boat Trip' (2002)

He's never truly recovered from this debacle. While it may have been ahead of its time by taking on social issues in the LGBT community, Cuba just never quite made it back from this one failed trip at the box office. Prior to this his career was red-hot, he was getting $20 million a picture, but as soon as Boat Trip came into port, he flatlined. Think about it, when's the last time you saw the once beloved actor headlining a film?

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