10 actors who were everywhere in the 1990s that you completely forgot existed
Nostalgia for the 1990s hasn’t brought back every former star.
In some ways, it seems like the 1990s never left because there aren’t any younger actors born in the 21st century who have been able to rival the star power of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, and Denzel Washington, all of whom reached the peak of their careers during the decade.
Films from the decade are frequently remade and sequenced as well, serving as inspiration for many of the younger artists working today, which has led to countless low-budget neo-noirs inspired by Quentin Tarantino, slice-of-life dramedies in the style of Richard Linklater, psychological thrillers modelled after The Silence of the Lambs, and action films that draw from The Matrix, Speed, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
While not every ‘90s star is as popular today as they were at that time, many of them have still found a way to retain their relevance, such as Tim Robbins, who may not be headlining films like The Shawshank Redemption and The Player anymore, but he still has a recurring role on the Apple TV series Silo and will occasionally pop up in smaller films like Dark Waters.
Similarly, Sarah Micheel Gellar will likely never reach the same degree of popularity as when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was at its peak, but she delivered a fun performance this year in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, and has done some admirable voice-over work in various animated projects. What’s most beguiling is to think back and remember larger-than-life actors who have been quiet for some time now.
10 forgotten actors who were everywhere in the 1990s:
James Marshall
David Lynch had an unparalleled talent for selecting bright young actors for roles in Twin Peaks, and James Marshall became an instant heartthrob as James Hurley, the secret lover of Laura Palmer before her death, who also became an ally to Kyle MacLachlan’s Agent Dale Cooper, and the other officers as they searched for the Black Lodge.
Marshall also had a memorable role in A Few Good Men and made a case for himself as an action star in the underrated B-movie Gladiator, so while his disappearance was once seen as inexplicable, he was involved in a lawsuit in 2010 in which he sued the pharmaceutical company Roche after developing side effects from a drug, which significantly impacted his career. He’ll hopefully have a comeback, but the only recent project Marshall has been involved with was Twin Peaks: The Return.
Linda Fiorentino
Linda Fiorentino exploded onto the screen with her dynamic performances in the 1985 films After Hours and Vision Quest, which announced her as a major actor and sex symbol. Even after the flop of William Friedkin’s Jade, Fiorentino had a major role in Men in Black and earned acclaim for her performance in the provocative erotic thriller The Last Seduction. Her career began to decline as she developed a reputation for being difficult to work with and received a significant amount of press for clashing with Kevin Smith during the making of Dogma.
Fiorentino’s retirement from the industry came shortly after the ending of the first Men in Black film, which had teased that she would be the new partner of Agent J, played by Will Smith, but Tommy Lee Jones refused to reprise his role as Agent K if she was involved, which led to her being written out of Men in Black II.
Bridget Fonda
Being the daughter of Peter Fonda and the granddaughter of Henry Fonda certainly gave Bridget an advantage in the industry, and she had a tremendous run in the ‘90s that included the hit erotic thriller Single White Female, the Nicolas Cage romantic dramedy It Could Happen To You, Sam Raimi’s brilliant thriller A Simple Plan, and Jackie Brown, a film that initially received mixed reviews, but has subsequently been hailed as a masterpiece.
Fonda didn’t necessarily have a flop that caused her to quit, but she admitted to being overwhelmed by fame, especially since she had grown up in a famous family. She started a family with her husband, Danny Elfman, and decided to retire early in order to raise her children. She was also involved in a 2003 car accident that left her with critical injuries, making a return to acting a challenge.
Phoebe Cates
There weren’t many teen film stars in the ‘80s who were as idolised as Phoebe Cates, who became a sex symbol thanks to her breakout roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Gremlins, and Bright Lights, Big City, which led her to returning to an even bigger role in Gremlins 2: The New Batch in 1990, which was released the same year that she co-starred with her husband, Kevin Kline, in the Lawrence Kasdan comedy I Love You To Death.
The pair had married a year prior, and Cates’ ‘90s renaissance grinded to a halt in 1994 when she decided to quit acting to start a family, and later became an entrepreneur. Cates made a brief return to acting in 2001’s The Anniversary Party, which was directed by her Fast Times at Ridgemont High co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh, but she has since retreated from public view.
Mia Sara
Mia Sara is another star who began her career in the 1980s before getting even more popular in the next decade. While none of Sara’s ‘90s films were as popular as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Legend, she was a familiar face for many low-budget B-movies and thrillers, and even had a role in the cult classic Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Timecop, which won her a Saturn award.
Sara’s roles began to dry up once the 21st century hit, as she starred in the unsold pilot Lost in Oz and the DC show Birds of Prey, which was cancelled after only one season. Although Sara had appeared to have retired after not making a film since 2013, she made a brief return to acting last year with an acclaimed performance in Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck.
Jake Lloyd
Jake Lloyd was already a notable child actor before Star Wars, due to his breakout performance in Unhook the Stars and co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Christmas comedy Jingle All the Way, but his performance as a young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace was sharply criticised, and he admitted to struggling to fit in upon returning to school.
Lloyd also has bipolar disorder and was hospitalised in 2024 upon suffering a breakdown after the death of his sister, and although thankfully appears to be doing better upon receiving treatment, and has developed a friendship with fellow Star Wars actor Daniel Logan (who played a young Boba Fett in Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones), Lloyd hasn’t expressed any interest in returning to acting. Nonetheless, his story is a reminder that actors on the receiving end of criticism might be dealing with deeper issues.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Disney produced many child stars in the ‘90s, but few were as dominant as Jonathan Taylor Thomas, whose recurring role alongside Tim Allen on the sitcom Home Improvement helped him nail the role of a young Simba in The Lion King, a massive hit that made even more in merchandising. By the end of the ‘90s, Thomas had co-starred with Chevy Chase in Man of the House, played a classic literary character in Tom and Huck, landed guest roles on more sitcoms, and earned his own Christmas star vehicle with I’ll Be Home For Christmas.
Thomas’ exit from Hollywood wasn’t a result of controversy or scandal, but because he had decided to enrol at Harvard University, studying philosophy and history. His only recent projects have been reunions with Allen on Last Man Standing, a series that he also directed several episodes of.
Dennis Franz
Television is as reliable a job as an actor could ask for in the ‘90s, especially if it meant being involved with a network show that shot 22 episodes per year, but Dennis Franz had a steady gig on NYPD Blue and still had the time to make regular appearances in hit ‘90s movies. He was famously enough to face off with Bruce Willis’ John McClane in Die Hard 2, square off with Dustin Hoffman in the adaptation of David Mamet’s play American Buffalo, and appear as himself in Robert Altman’s scathing Hollywood satire The Player.
Franz decided to not take on other acting jobs outside of NYPD Blue at the end of the decade and made his last film appearance alongside Nicolas Cage in City of Angels. Ever since NYPD Blue reached its finale in 2005, Franz has been enjoying retirement with his family.
Dan Hedaya
New York character actor Dan Hedaya was a true jack-of-all-trades who was beloved by directors in the ‘90s, which may explain why he always managed to pop up in great films. Although he had a pre-existing relationship with the Coen brothers, Hedaya managed to appear in Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family, Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects, Oliver Stone’s Nixon, John Schleisinger’s Pacific Heights, Frank Oz’s In & Out, Steven Zaillian’s Searching For Bobby Fisher, Gus Vant Sant’s To Die For, and Marvin’s Room, for which he received a Screen Actors Guild nomination.
Despite being a true character actor, Hedaya had many major roles, such as the father of Alicia Silverstone’s Cher Horowitz in Clueless and President Richard Nixon in Dick. He has continued working, albeit slightly less frequently, but it would be hard for any actor to top his unprecedented ‘90s run.
Sean Patrick Flanney
Harrison Ford wasn’t the only actor to play Indiana Jones, as Sean Patrick Flannery had more screentime as the character after landing the role of a younger Henry Jones Jr in the Lucasfilm-produced ‘90s series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. It was enough to announce Flannery as a potentially new leading man, which seemed even likelier when he played Sarah Michelle Gellar’s love interest in Simply Irresistible. His greatest claim to fame was appearing in The Boondock Saints, a film that became a cult hit after being only given a limited theatrical rollout due to concerns about depicting gun violence in the wake of the Columbine shooting.
The Boondock Saints still couldn’t have been considered a success, and its 2006 sequel was a complete failure. While his co-star, Norman Reedus, was consistently working as a lead on The Walking Dead, Flannery has regressed to only being in B-movies.
