One-hit wonders: Movie edition

He's been solid of late. Horrible Bosses, Fright Night and the upcoming Total Recall remake. He didn't do much for the last two or three years, but he's not a straight-to-DVD guy yet.

 

Justin 'sofa city sweetheart' Henry in Sixteen Candles. He was great as Sam's shithead little brother. Also as the little kid in Kramer vs. Kramer. So ... two-hit wonder then.

 

Actually, I don't remember the guy who played Jake Ryan being in much of anything else.

 

Two birds with one photo.

 

Since a lot of actors generate good word of mouth in a performance before a film gets wide release you see some come out of the gates with five or six big films (like Colin Farrell coming off of Tigerland).
I'm hoping Riggins can survive John Carter and Battleship. He could be a no-hit wonder.

 

I thought Clive Owen would have a more prominent career. Forest Whitaker has an Oscar and hasn't been in too much of note since then. Don Cheadle's performance as Paul Rusesabagina was certainly Oscar-worthy, but he's not that high-profile at this point.

 

Cheadle is fantastic, one of those guys I'm convinced will end up with an Oscar at some point. But I'm convinced that the Oscar is more about the role than the actor at this point when you look at the characters who have been awarded Oscars.

 

Cheadle's a damn fine actor, but I don't think he can open a movie. He's perfect in a lead role for a movie that doesn't need to make a shit-ton of money, such as Hotel Rwanda (which was amazing), but he's never going to lead a movie that makes $300 million worldwide. He's like Ed Harris in that respect (The Abyss, notwithstanding).

 

Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda and Talk to Me was as good as it gets. I know those aren't "hit" movies per se but he certainly was a hit in them.

 

First noticed him in Devil in a Blue Dress. Pretty amazing when you upstage Denzel Washington. Then realized he was the main bad dude in Colors.

 

Also great in "Boogie Nights" and in a very against-type role as stone killer Rocket in "Colors."

 

Same with Jocelyne LaGarde, who played the queen in George Roy Hill's 1966 film "Hawaii."

She was a Tahitian native who didn't speak English or Hawaiian, learned most of her lines phonetically, and ended up with a Golden Globe as well as an Oscar nomination. She remains the only person ever nominated for an Oscar for her one and only appearance in front of the cameras.