7 Actors Whose Careers Were Decimated by A Single Bad Role

No matter how hard you try, you’re not perfect, neither are people around you. Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s just the harsh truth that we have to accept, but sometimes a seemingly insignificant error may snowball into one of, if not the worst, decision of our lives. And since Hollywood stars are also human, this concerns them as well even in a much bigger way than us mere mortals. All it takes for them to fall from grace is one really bad role, and suddenly nobody wants to hire them anymore.

Here are 7 great actors whose careers were decimated by a single bad movie role.

Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls (1995)
Elizabeth Berkley, who used to be a series regular on Saved By The Bell for 75 episodes, was forced to look for a new place to show her pretty face due to the show’s cancellation. So what does a 23 year old beautiful woman decides to star in? A raunchy NC-17 movie about strippers, basically. For some reason the movie tanked really hard and even earned Liz a Razzie for “Worst Actress”. After that she couldn’t land a solid role.

Freddie Prinze Jr. in Scooby-Doo (2002)
It appears as if Freddie Prinze Jr.’s fame was tightly tied to the 90’s and the whole plethora of rom-coms and horror movies he was in. After the turn of the century Freddy’s luck just ran out, it seems. Remember Fred in the Scooby-Doo movie? Yeah, nobody remembers Fred, and that’s a bad thing for an actor.

Alicia Silverstone in Batman & Robin (1997)
What if I told you that 20 years ago starring in a Batman movie could destroy your career? Well, back then Batman was huge! Too bad Joel Schumacher had no idea what to do with the characters, including Alicia Silverstone’s Batgirl, who kinda just was there for most of the movie. This POS movie was the beginning of the end for Alicia’s acting career.

Adam Sandler in Jack and Jill (2011)
Jack and Jill went up the hill and tumbled all the way to hell, along with Adam Sandler. He never was the best at doing comedies, but he tried. Sometimes too hard. So, why out of all the bad movies “Jack and Jill” was the straw that broke the camel’s back? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but judging from the comments and reviews it was exceptionally horrible to the point where it earned him not one, not two, but TEN Razzie Awards.

Halle Berry in Catwoman (2004)
After getting an Oscar in 2002 Halle Berry could’ve chosen any role, and sadly she chose poorly. The Batman spin-off “Catwoman” was so bad I still feel confused after watching it 10 years ago. Just like Jack and Jill it got numerous Razzies and nigh universal hatred, almost completely destroying Halle’s career. Good thing X-Men were a thing!

Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Remember that dude who played Venom in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3? Me neither. Poor Topher’s career took a huge hit after this disaster of a movie.

Sean Connery in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
The career of the man who played James Bond for nearly 30 years, has met its fate from the proverbial hands of 2003 movie based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”. The movie wasn’t bad or anything, it just didn’t do as well as expected, finishing the year at #44. Ever since that year Connery hasn’t appeared in a single movie and officially retired 2 years later.