ONTD Original: Actors Who Are One Hit Wonders
We often talk about one-hit wonders in music but there are acting one-hit wonders too! For the purposes of this post, these are actors who only had commercial success with one (main) role.
Josh Holloway
Halloway made his acting debut in Aerosmith's 1993 music video for, Cryin'. From 1999 to 2003 he had small TV appearances in shows like "Angel," "Walker, Texas Ranger," and "CSI." It wasn't until 2004 when he finally caught his big break playing James "Sawyer" Ford in ABC's mystery-thriller, Lost. Coming off the momentum of the show, Halloway was originally cast as Gambit in X-Men Origins until studio execs decided that they wanted someone younger. Since then Halloway has starred in two short-lived series that gained little traction.
Brandon Routh
Prior to 2006's Superman Returns, Routh only had two small roles to his credit including the movie "Karla" which is based on the crimes of Canadian serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Though Routh was excellent in Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," the movie was not a commercial success. Routh stays active in the acting world, but no other role has brought him as much success.
Rachael Leigh Cook
Cook has been consistently acting (every single year) from 1995 up until 2021's "He's All That." She has several Hallmark movies under her belt, has voiced Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII) in quite a few Square Enix games, and owns a production company. That being said, no other role has been as successful as Laney Boggs in “She’s All That.” Though “Josie and the Pussycats” is a much beloved movie, it was not a commercial success.
Lacey Chabert
Chabert was a child actor with a long list of credits before securing her biggest role in the 2004 high school comedy "Mean Girls." Since then, Chabert has focused almost exclusively on Hallmark Channel movies, with 27 to her name.
Hayden Christensen
Christensen's star began to rise after 2001's "Life as a House." Despite the movie's mixed reviews, he was nominated for several awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and won the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor. However, 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 Christensen into international stardom. Despite how people felt about the movies, they were commercial successes. Christensen ended up leaving Hollywood and buying a farm but continues to act here and there.
ONTD, who's your favourite acting one-hit wonder?
Sources of inspiration:
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Josh Holloway
Halloway made his acting debut in Aerosmith's 1993 music video for, Cryin'. From 1999 to 2003 he had small TV appearances in shows like "Angel," "Walker, Texas Ranger," and "CSI." It wasn't until 2004 when he finally caught his big break playing James "Sawyer" Ford in ABC's mystery-thriller, Lost. Coming off the momentum of the show, Halloway was originally cast as Gambit in X-Men Origins until studio execs decided that they wanted someone younger. Since then Halloway has starred in two short-lived series that gained little traction.
Brandon Routh
Prior to 2006's Superman Returns, Routh only had two small roles to his credit including the movie "Karla" which is based on the crimes of Canadian serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Though Routh was excellent in Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," the movie was not a commercial success. Routh stays active in the acting world, but no other role has brought him as much success.
Rachael Leigh Cook
Cook has been consistently acting (every single year) from 1995 up until 2021's "He's All That." She has several Hallmark movies under her belt, has voiced Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII) in quite a few Square Enix games, and owns a production company. That being said, no other role has been as successful as Laney Boggs in “She’s All That.” Though “Josie and the Pussycats” is a much beloved movie, it was not a commercial success.
Lacey Chabert
Chabert was a child actor with a long list of credits before securing her biggest role in the 2004 high school comedy "Mean Girls." Since then, Chabert has focused almost exclusively on Hallmark Channel movies, with 27 to her name.
Hayden Christensen
Christensen's star began to rise after 2001's "Life as a House." Despite the movie's mixed reviews, he was nominated for several awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and won the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor. However, 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 Christensen into international stardom. Despite how people felt about the movies, they were commercial successes. Christensen ended up leaving Hollywood and buying a farm but continues to act here and there.
ONTD, who's your favourite acting one-hit wonder?
Sources of inspiration:
1 2