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(#7) Brandon Routh
- 39
Iowa native Brandon Routh was yanked from obscurity to play the coveted titular role in the 2006 film Superman Returns. He had only a few television and movies credits when he won the role of arguably the most popular superhero of all time. But while Superman Returns received praise from many critics, some diehard fans were disappointed with the film - including its director, Bryan Singer.
Despite Routh's movie-star good looks and considerable talent, he has yet to match the pace he established with Superman Returns, continuing to work on lower-profile roles and projects. He does lament not getting to don the blue tights and red cape again.
"I would have liked to done another movie," Routh told ABC News in 2016. "I love the character."
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(#5) Mark Hamill
- 67
Outside of Star Wars and its various incarnations, Mark Hamill hasn't really made a splash. Luke Skywalker is easily one of the most beloved and recognizable performances in all of movie history, so beating the Luke image would be tough for anyone to accomplish.
While Harrison Ford was able to do it with Han Solo, Hamill just never found the right films or roles to take him to that next level of fame. He did, however, find success as a voice actor, famously voicing the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series along with other shows and video games. He also reprised his role as Luke Skywalker in more recent Star Wars sequels, starting with The Force Awakens in 2015.
He married Marilou York in 1978, and they have three adult children.
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(#6) Jack Gleeson
- 26
King Joffrey was the baby-faced tyrant king on HBO's Game of Thrones, and it was a role that brought Jack Gleeson a significant amount of exposure and notoriety. Coming from a performing background and appearing as a child in a few films, the Irish actor was just 19 years old when he won the role of Joffrey.
After several successful seasons on GoT, however, Gleeson retired from mainstream acting and got a degree in philosophy and theology. He also started a small theater company called Collapsing Horse.
Gleeson has a refreshingly straightforward view of his brush with fame: "My whole life, I wanted to be a big famous successful actor," he told the Herald Sun in 2016. "I suppose something just changed. I still love acting, and I see myself acting in the future, but that kind of spark is not there anymore, and I don’t know why."
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(#4) Lacey Chabert
- 36
Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls was actually one of the nicer mean girls, but she was a complete and utter dunderhead - and we loved her for it. The actress who played her, Lacey Chabert, was a child actor with a long list of credits before scoring her biggest role in the 2004 high school comedy penned by Tina Fey.
More recently, Chabert has focused almost exclusively on Hallmark Channel movies; indeed, she seems to be their resident star, headlining several of their televised films over the years - a role she's seemingly happy with.
"One of the things I love about it is you're guaranteed a happy ending," she said about Hallmark's movies. "To be a part of a project that adds a little love and light and levity into the world is something I'm very proud of."
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(#1) Hayden Christensen
- 37
In the early 2000s, Hayden Christensen seemed poised to be the next big thing. Christensen had a handful of small roles before gaining considerable notice - and several major award nominations - for his performance in 2001's Life as a House.
But it was his role as Anakin Skywalker in 2002's Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and 2005's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith that launched him to what many thought would be superstardom. But that's not how things played out for Christensen. Instead, he left Hollywood and bought a farm.
He said his exodus from Hollywood was his own doing. "I guess I felt like I had this great thing in Star Wars that provided all these opportunities and gave me a career, but it all kind of felt a little too handed to me," he said. "I didn't want to go through life feeling like I was just riding a wave."
Christensen still acts, but to many, he'll always be Anakin Skywalker.
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(#12) Robert Pattinson
- 32
Robert Pattinson became a star with the release of the Twilight movies, portraying dreamy vampire Edward Cullen with just the right mix of bravado and aloofness. But in the years since the blockbuster series of films, Pattinson has kept a relatively low profile while building a resume of smaller but critically acclaimed movies.
After Twilight, the actor probably doesn't need the work, but it will be interesting to see if he lands another huge box office success. In his personal life, Pattinson tends to keep out of the spotlight, but he was reportedly engaged to singer FKA Twigs before the couple split in 2017.
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About This Tool
When talking about miracles that have become popular, we often think of musicians and singers, while few people think of actors or actresses. Nevertheless, looking back at the history of movies, there are still many actors who performed well in a certain movie or TV show, and then rarely appeared on the screen, or they cannot successfully shake off the stereotypes of the popular roles they have played.
The random tool introduced 12 actors and actresses who were famous for a certain role and gradually lost their fame. One-Hit Wonders are common nowadays, even if they have made breakthroughs later, there is not much they can do.
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