Five actors who ruined their lives with one movie
A large portion of the world’s population who aren’t already Hollywood stars would likely break their little pinkie just to be able to act to star in a big-budget movie, but the truth is that the industry isn’t quite as luxurious as the exterior of Tinseltown suggests. Whilst it has made superstars from unlikely individuals, such as Sylvester Stallone, Channing Tatum and Jessica Chastain, Hollywood has also destroyed its fair share of careers.
Movie directors have long had their careers derailed by one bad film, with the reign of the great John Carpenter coming to a grinding halt upon the release of Ghosts of Mars in 2001 and Georges Méliès failing to find success despite releasing A Trip to the Moon, one of the most seminal movies of all time.
But, this list will exclusively focus on actors who not only were derailed by one movie but whose lives were irreparably damaged by one certain role. So, whilst Mike Myers might have had a hard time with critics following the release of 2008’s Love Guru, he won’t be included on the list considering the later success of his career.
Explore our list of the five actors who ruined their lives with one single role below.
Movies that ruined the lives of their actors:
Elizabeth Berkley – Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995)
Back in the 1990s, American actor Elizabeth Berkley was a burgeoning star of the industry and was soon to make her transition from TV to movies. Showgirls, directed by Paul Verhoeven, was supposed to be the film that would dramatically elevate her career, but the movie, which told the story of an erotic dancer trying to get to the very top of her industry, ended up having a detrimental effect on Berkley’s career.
“It changed me,” she told People, “It was a life moment, and I cannot help but say I would be a different person had I not gone through the depths of what it taught me”. The film was widely panned and irreparably damaged her screen persona, leading to no starring roles since the release of the film.
George Clooney – Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005)
The career of George Clooney, one of Hollywood’s most formidable talents, was not destroyed by the release of Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana, but his personal life took a considerable hit. Whilst the film was a big success, even winning an Oscar for his excellent performance, the actor experienced a major injury on set that led to considerable brain damage.
Clooney began to experience long, severe headaches and other neurological effects, with the torment going so far that the actor considered suicide. After multiple brain surgeries and therapy, he has now recovered, but the trauma of the event will never disappear.
Geena Davis – Cutthroat Island (Renny Harlin, 1995)
The American actor and film producer Geena Davis was once an icon of Hollywood, appearing in such beloved favourites as Tootsie, David Cronenberg’s The Fly, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice and Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise. But, things changed for the actor come the mid-1990s, taking a fateful role in the Renny Harlin film Cutthroat Island, which would ruin her career and, momentarily, her life.
The film failed critically and commercially, putting strain on Davis’ marriage to the director Renny Harlin, with the pair later divorcing in 1998. As well as destroying her relationship, Cutthroat Island made it difficult for her to get other leading roles in the future.
Rei Hance – The Blair Witch Project (Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Myrick, 1999)
There’s no question that the found-footage horror masterpiece The Blair Witch Project is one of the best and most seminal independent movies of all time, changing how directors approach new projects and how studios fund them. Actor Rei Hance played one of the amateur stars of the film, appearing as Heather Donahue, the lead character in the movie that entirely took place in the woods of Maryland.
Considering that the film was sold as a factual documentary, fans worldwide began to send Hance’s mother condolences, but when they realised they were duped, they criticised the actor online. Severe harassment followed, and it got so bad that Hance told the Everything is Fine podcast, “Like I did not want to be alive anymore”.
Jake Lloyd – Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (George Lucas, 1999)
Plenty of careers were damaged following the release of the highly anticipated Star Wars movie Episode I – The Phantom Menace in 1999, with fans and critics tearing the film apart. This eventually led to the director selling LucasFilm to Disney, but he wasn’t the only one who took flak for the project. Jake Lloyd, the young actor who played Anakin Skywalker, was also berated by fans so much that he gave up on acting altogether.
Tragically, Lloyd was heavily bullied by his classmates due to the role, with the actor eventually throwing away all the memorabilia he owned from the project. In 2015, he was involved in a major car chase with the police, with his movie stardom long behind him.
