17 Famous People Who Took A Massive Step Back From The Spotlight (And Whether It Was Their Choice Or Not)

Recently, I rounded up actors radical deliberation Hollywood tried — and failed — to marque into A-listers. In the comments, members of the BuzzFeed Community shared adjacent much examples.

Here are 17 of their apical responses (and what whitethorn person stunted each actor's ascent to the A-list):

1. "Mia Sara was expected to beryllium immense aft Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but it ne'er happened."

Sara was an '80s teen prima and had occurrence done the '00s, but she felt uncomfortable successful the spotlight. She slowed down successful the 2010s and retired aft 2013's Pretty Pretty. She didn't program to enactment again, but past manager Mike Flanagan persuaded her to articulation the formed of 2024's The Life of Chuck.

In 2025, she told Yahoo Life, "I emotion Mike Flanagan, similar truly adore him conscionable arsenic a person, and we are friends, and I'm conscionable a immense fan. When we met [and had dinner], Mike said, 'Why don't you enactment anymore?' And I said, 'Oh, it's truly complicated,' and helium said, 'Would you ever enactment again? What if I offered you something?' ...[The Life of Chuck] was a truly healing experience. Mike creates an incredibly cohesive and truly terrific feeling connected set. It felt similar truly bully closure. It did maine a satellite of good."

2. "I miss Billy Zane, excessively — precocious rewatched Demon Knight, and he's truthful overmuch amusive successful it."

In 2019, Zane reportedly told the Mirror, "I joined and divorced young and had to wage a batch of maintenance, truthful I took roles conscionable for the money. They astir apt didn't assistance my career. Despite that, I've ever felt my solid is much than fractional full. It's a bejewelled, studded goblet overflowing – it overfloweth into galore espresso cups!"

3. "Julia Ormond from Legends of the Fall. She had 2 oregon 3 large movies and past conscionable faded into the background."

In 2023, Ormond filed a suit against movie shaper Harvey Weinstein, Miramax, Disney, and the Creative Artists Agency. She alleged that, successful 1995, Weinstein sexually assaulted her aft a dinner. The suit stated, "That intersexual battle connected Ormond could person been prevented if Miramax oregon Disney had decently supervised Weinstein and not retained him portion knowing that helium was a information to the women helium encountered astatine work."

She besides alleged that CAA didn't pass her astir Weinstein and "suggested that if she reported Weinstein to the authorities, she would not beryllium believed, and helium would earnestly harm her career." The suit continued, "Still worse, not agelong aft Weinstein's battle connected Ormond and her reporting of the battle to them, CAA mislaid involvement successful representing her, and her vocation suffered dramatically... The harm to Ormond's vocation due to the fact that of Weinstein's battle and the aftermath was catastrophic some personally and professionally."

4. "Devon Sawa was pushed connected teeny bopper girlies backmost successful the day, acceptable to beryllium the adjacent heartthrob, but, IMO, it didn't stick."

Sawa roseate to fame arsenic the quality mentation of the titular shade successful 1995's Casper, and helium struggled to get distant from associations with the role. In 2022, Sawa told the Independent, "I had to fume cookware successful movies, and I had to beryllium successful a hip-hop video. That's what I felt similar I had to bash to get distant from 'Can I support you?' Everybody wanted to hear, 'Can I support you?' It drove maine nuts."

He enactment his vocation connected clasp from 2004-2009 aft his dense intoxicant usage prompted his agents to suggest a interruption from acting. He said, "It wasn't wholly my prime to instrumentality the break. I was burnt out; I was drinking excessively much. I was partying excessively much. And truthful I went backmost to Vancouver and got sober. After a mates of years, I met my wife, and we went distant to southeast Asia. I wrestled with the thought of ne'er acting again. I had started doing a small spot of existent property successful Vancouver. I bought a small aged gathering and started to renovate it myself... I don't cognize who didn’t get the memo that I was not successful the concern anymore, but I decided to enactment myself connected portion for [Max Payne]. And the casting [office] called backmost – they truly liked maine for it."

He didn't get the role, but the acquisition inspired him to get backmost connected the horse. He said, "All of a abrupt I had a caller manager, and I thought, 'Let's springiness it different shot.' I felt similar I had a reset... The doors didn't unfastened precise quickly. There was a batch of, 'Oh, I retrieve helium didn't amusement up to the audition due to the fact that helium was partying the nighttime before,' oregon immoderate it was." Eventually, helium caught a interruption with Nikita, and he's gone connected to look successful projects similar Chucky and Hacks.

5. "Thought Adrian Grenier would've been immense aft bagging The Devil Wears Prada and Entourage, but past the Entourage movie happened, and Vinny went backmost to being Vinny. Sucks 'cause he's really an awesome guy."

By the clip Entourage ended, Grenier felt overwhelmed by the gait and pressures of Hollywood. So, successful 2016, helium bought immoderate onshore extracurricular of Austin and a '60s camper to unrecorded in. Over the adjacent year, helium experienced a "dark nighttime of the soul." He changed and grew arsenic a idiosyncratic and got much invested successful environmentalism and entrepreneurship. Eventually, helium moved to Texas full-time.

He told Austin Lifestyle, "My onshore says, 'You're welcome' – I don't person to combat for it anymore. I bash consciousness wholly astatine peace. My enactment connected the workplace is present, immediate, apparent. The enactment I utilized to bash got created implicit time; you marque something, but you don't ever cognize if it volition beryllium good. Acting is simply a dissociative acquisition wherever you don't adjacent cognize if you're doing it close — you request a manager to archer you! It's a mask-wearing process — you're not adjacent you, you're conscionable playing! So conscionable to beryllium here, to beryllium me, to beryllium rooted, to consciousness the earth, to excavation successful the dirt… it's truthful grounding. I'd been stepping connected factual my full life, separated from the earth. Here and now, I consciousness truthful overmuch much centered and balanced."

He continued, "I person been doing biology enactment for the past 20 years, I've started organizations and tally non-profits, each designed to archer radical to unrecorded much successful enactment with quality – and yet, I wasn't surviving that way. In my mind, it was an ideal, but it wasn't successful my regular experience. I was inactive surviving everywhere, successful the process of accumulating, getting things and stuff, fancying myself a mini mogul of thing and everything. In galore ways, I reached the apex of that committedness – if you enactment hard, you go famous, past you marque a batch of money… but it was lackluster astatine the top."

6. "Kaya Scodelario. From Skins (UK) to The Maze Runner and each of the autarkic films she’s been in, they've shown she's an incredibly versatile histrion with an implicit presence."

When Skins ended, Scodelario went to an audition for a BBC adaptation of Emma, wherever she was up against "posh, gorgeous" actors. She experienced truthful overmuch anxiousness that she walked out, and she continued to look class-based barriers to introduction successful her UK auditions. Because of her background, she would lone beryllium formed arsenic a maid successful a play drama. However, she recovered much opportunities successful the US.

In 2024, she told the Guardian that she's done "three back-to-back British jobs successful the past 3 years." She continued, "I deliberation things person changed for the better. It seems similar the manufacture is yet catching up with the thought that a British histrion doesn't look oregon dependable a definite way."

She besides has a idiosyncratic penchant for enactment roles. She said, "In action, it doesn't substance that I'm the woman, and it doesn't substance that there's nary emotion story. I don't person to snog anyone, I don't person to bat my eyelids – I get to conscionable bash what I request to bash to past successful that moment. I fell successful emotion with the powerfulness that came from it, of screaming astatine the apical of my lungs, of sidesplitting things. There is thing truly amusive astir it."

7. "Taylor Kitsch was phenomenal successful Lone Survivor. Criminally underrated movie and performance, IMO."

The post-Friday Night Lights projects that positioned Kitsch arsenic the adjacent large movie prima — Battleship, John Carter, and Savages — were each container bureau flops. So, helium refocused connected smaller movies and, temporarily, TV, starring successful a play of True Detective. However, by his 30s, helium felt lost. In 2023, helium told the New York Times, "Whatever it is that motivates different radical — fame, money, celebrity, much followers, I don't [expletive] cognize — it was ne'er similar that. I conscionable wanted to beryllium a quality histrion that buzzed into definite things and, hopefully, made you evoke something."

He besides took clip disconnected to attraction for his small sister, Shelby Kitsch-Best, who was dealing with cause addiction astatine the time. She said, "He virtually enactment his beingness connected clasp to assistance me. I don't adjacent cognize however to enactment it successful words."

Kitsch went connected to prima successful miniseries similar Waco and American Primeval, going to large lengths to hole for his roles. Then, successful 2023, helium took the relation of Glen, a antheral who deals with addiction, successful Painkiller to grant his sister's journey. He brought her connected acceptable with him arsenic an advisor, and she besides cameoed arsenic a nurse. He's continued to instrumentality less roles truthful helium tin absorption connected ones helium truly wants. He said, "I pridefulness myself connected being picky, due to the fact that it is truthful overmuch vigor and sacrifice. If I can't beryllium each successful and truly beryllium successful work of thing and beryllium frightened and beryllium uncomfortable, past I don't privation to bash that... What happened [to Taylor Kitsch]? I was doing quality stuff."

8. "Lee Pace. Guy is simply a fume amusement — the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. A large histrion and versatile. He's been a portion of respective palmy franchise movies and TV shows. Just ne'er truly took disconnected for immoderate crushed — I get the feeling it's conscionable not a precedence for him. He likes his workplace successful upstate NY."

Pace chooses his roles based connected however connected helium feels to them, not however they'll boost his career. In 2014, helium told BuzzFeed, "The roles I deliberation about, and can't halt reasoning astir — connected the subway, erstwhile I'm riding my bike, erstwhile I'm moving — are the things I link to... It's not my concern to deliberation astir the business; it's my concern to deliberation astir the character. Sure, determination person been times successful my vocation wherever I wished I was much popular, oregon much this, oregon much that — but that's conscionable stupid. The older I get, the happier I americium with the mode my vocation has gone. Although, successful galore ways, it's been done nary plan of my own."

Over the years, his feelings towards his vocation remained the same. In the meantime, helium built a location and plot connected his workplace successful upstate New York. In 2022, helium told Mr. Porter, "I don't privation to beryllium evil with being well-known. The gimme, gimme, gimme – the faces of that are beauteous disfigured successful our world. I deliberation erstwhile I look successful that direction, I spot a batch of anxiety, and I spot a batch of radical pushing each other... I don't consciousness I beryllium anyone an explanation. I don't consciousness anyone owes anyone anything, really... Playing characters who are interesting, moving with chill directors and collaborators – that's the portion I love. I didn't privation to execute myself for people. I person much state with what I do, the little radical cognize astir me."

9. "For me, it's Édgar Ramírez. He is truly talented, yet helium lone gets mild roles successful the US."

Ramírez is selective with his roles. In 2020, helium told L'Officiel, "The manager is fundamental. If helium doesn't person a precise precise, precise beardown constituent of view, the movie doesn't work. Because the creation of telling a communicative comes from an affectional urgency that you person to rationally resolve. Then, of course, the communicative is besides important, adjacent if sometimes I conscionable take to person amusive with enactment movies."

He besides takes his time, diving profoundly into each role. In 2020, helium told Brief Take, "I'm precise inquisitive arsenic well, and I emotion to inquire questions and to effort to get not lone arsenic heavy arsenic possible, but to get astatine arsenic galore angles arsenic imaginable into my character, and that's what I utilized to bash arsenic a journalist. I don't needfully judge successful objectivity arsenic a worth for journalism. I deliberation what's much important is to judge that subjectivity is what makes america human. There are galore antithetic angles and points of view, and for maine arsenic an actor, it is precise important to person arsenic galore points of presumption that tin pass maine astir my quality arsenic possible."

"For example, if I'm portraying a quality that has been based connected a existent idiosyncratic specified arsenic Gianni Versace oregon Carlos oregon different characters that I've had the accidental to play successful my career, not lone bash I effort to papers for myself arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable astir them astir however they went down successful history, but I besides effort to way down radical who were adjacent to them. For instance, erstwhile I was doing Gianni Versace, I was tracking down his champion friend. It took maine 4 months to summation his spot until helium would unfastened up and share, and of course. I won't uncover who helium is, arsenic a journalist, I won't uncover my source, but it was investigative work. I was tracking this feline down, uncovering radical who were adjacent to him truthful that they could enactment successful a bully connection for maine and archer him that I volition respect his privacy. I conscionable wanted his input truthful that I could constitute the character. And that is thing that I utilized to bash successful composing a story, arsenic a journalist," helium said.

10. "Ben Barnes. He's a truly bully histrion and, IMHO, truly bully looking, but he's ne'er made it bigger mainstream than playing Prince Caspian arsenic a broadside quality successful The Chronicles of Narnia. He was truthful bully arsenic Dorian Gray, and I'm truly enjoying his enactment connected The Institute. But he's ne'er made the benignant of high-profile detonation I expected helium would erstwhile helium was younger."

Rather than beryllium typecast arsenic a phantasy hero, Barnes sought retired antithetic kinds of roles. In 2025, helium told the New York Post, "I deliberation my vocation started retired — determination was a batch of 'boy with sword' benignant of arcs." He said that helium past enjoyed playing "naughty" characters — Logan successful Westworld, "murderous and narcissistic" Jigsaw successful Punisher, and "just benignant of a axenic villain" arsenic General Kirigan successful Shadow and Bone. Most recently, arsenic Tim Jamieson successful The Institute, he's "playing a quality that you’re rooting for." Barnes added, "It was amusive aft rather a fewer years of playing manipulative liars to play idiosyncratic who tells the truth."

In 2021, helium began releasing music. Upon releasing his archetypal full-length medium successful 2025, helium told Atwood magazine, "I've spent 20 years connected sets, playing different radical and reasoning astir what their choices and their decisions would be. This was my accidental to conscionable marque my ain decisions and marque my ain choices, and link straight from bosom to mouth, alternatively than filter it done my encephalon excessively heavily."

11. "Anyone retrieve state vocalist Cheyenne Kimball? She had a world TV amusement called Cheyenne successful the mid-aughts. This was close earlier Taylor Swift blew up. I swore Cheyenne would beryllium huge. Sadly, it ne'er worked retired for her."

Kimball was conscionable 15 erstwhile her MTV amusement was filmed, chronicling the motorboat of her solo career. Then, astir the clip she turned 18, she joined the state set Gloriana (who opened for Taylor Swift connected the Fearless tour) — lone to permission 3 years later. In 2025, she told Us Weekly, "I struggled a batch conscionable trying to find myself. It wasn't adjacent astir the information that I'd already had anterior occurrence oregon anything. I thought I would person thing to subordinate to, but I didn't consciousness similar I had anyone to subordinate to. I felt precise lonely sometimes. … I don't deliberation a batch of radical realized however young I was. I didn't recognize however young I was. By the clip I was 21, I had conscionable gotten to a constituent wherever I needed a break. That’s wherefore I disappeared for a while."

"I didn't truly person those mean experiences of uncovering myself. I had different radical benignant of telling maine what I was. … I snapped a small bit, and I didn't person thing other to give," she said. During her break, she took respective kinds of therapy. She continued, "I had immoderate brutal talks with radical who made maine recognize that I had a disguise on. I had nary thought that I was conscionable this each the time. I went full-blown Hannah Montana. I dyed my hairsbreadth acheronian and conscionable was like, 'I'm hiding you.' People didn't admit maine anymore. And I deliberation that was astir apt steadfast for maine astatine the time... I'm healed. I did the work. I deliberation I could grip astir of thing that beingness threw astatine maine astatine this point."

12. "Garrett Hedlund. When I saw him successful Troy, I conscionable knew helium was going to beryllium massively famous.

Hedlund was successful information for the relation of Steve Rogers successful Captain America, but helium passed connected it due to the fact that of scheduling conflicts with the TRON franchise. In 2010, helium told Fadeinonline, "I met with the manager past twelvemonth earlier going to sprout Country Strong. Then, erstwhile they'd travel successful and talked to maine astir it, we'd conscionable continually walk connected it due to the fact that of scheduling. Also, to beryllium successful thing that had a 2nd and a 3rd movie pursuing it, we felt that TRON already had that, you know. To premix successful different heroic quality with that was not necessary. In short, we benignant of ever passed connected it. I didn't truly deliberation that was my gig."

Aside from the 2011 abbreviated movie Tron: The Next Day, Hedlund ne'er returned to the relation of Sam Flynn. He reportedly declined to instrumentality for the 2025 sequel Tron: Ares. Chris Evans, connected the different hand, went connected to play Steve Rogers successful 3 Captain America movies and 4 Avengers films from 2011-2019.

13. "Guy Pearce. Dude has steadily worked, but aft Ravenous and past Memento, helium was acceptable to beryllium HUGE. Never happened, and I inactive don't cognize why. He's bully and tin elevate adjacent different meh movies (Iron Man 3, Lockout, The Count of Monte Cristo). 🤷‍♂️"

Pearce alleged that a workplace enforcement blocked him from moving with manager Christopher Nolan. In 2024, helium told Vanity Fair, "[Nolan] spoke to maine astir roles a fewer times implicit the years. The archetypal Batman and The Prestige. But determination was an enforcement astatine Warner Bros. who rather openly said to my agent, 'I don't get Guy Pearce. I'm ne'er going to get Guy Pearce. I'm ne'er going to employment Guy Pearce.' So, successful a way, that's bully to know. I mean, just enough; determination are immoderate actors I don't get. But it meant I could ne'er enactment with Chris."

Additionally, his acquisition connected The Time Machine dissuaded him from moving connected a large workplace diagnostic again. In 2024, helium told GQ, "I deliberation the process of it felt mode excessively large for me. I can't marque [sense of] this thought of workplace films wherever you conscionable get told what to bash by radical acrophobic to suffer their jobs. I retrieve determination were discussions astatine the opening astir however I was going to look. A mates of the executives say, 'No, he'll conscionable chopped his hair, and he'll conscionable bash this, and he'll bash that.' And I'm successful the country going, Hello? I'm instantly feeling similar my intuition doesn't mean thing here. That's a slayer for me... It was the archetypal clip I truly felt that determination was not conscionable a disconnect, but a benignant of greater powerfulness up determination that you couldn't adjacent truly speech to."

After The Time Machine wrapped, helium had to spell bash reshoots connected The Count of Monte Cristo, but past helium appeared successful a play and took a two-year break. When helium returned to Hollywood, helium chose his roles much carefully, opting for characters helium could truly dive into. He said, "I retrieve seeing The Proposition with my cause Chris [Andrews, of CAA] astatine the Toronto Film Festival successful 2005. And erstwhile we came retired of the screening, Chris said to me, 'Okay, I present get what it is you're trying to do.' And that was a existent important infinitesimal for me…to person him recognize the vocation that I'm trying to create."

14. "Emmy Rossum. She's perfectly superb arsenic an histrion and has a well-rounded and impactful assemblage of work. She's been successful the biz for decades now, with respective notable roles. But, with the objection of Phantom of the Opera, thing has garnered her overmuch attention. Belatedly, her relation arsenic Fiona successful Shameless has been gaining immoderate attraction connected societal media, but that was aft she near the show."

In 2018, Rossum announced she was leaving Shameless aft 9 seasons. On Facebook, she wrote, "Until 'Shameless' came into my beingness 8 years ago, I led that benignant of transient fantastic beingness of an actor. And I ne'er realized however overmuch I really craved the benignant of continuity that this amusement has fixed me. And fixed each of america successful the crew... I cognize you volition proceed connected without me, for now. There is overmuch much Gallagher communicative to beryllium told. I volition ever beryllium rooting for my family. Try not to deliberation of maine arsenic gone, conscionable deliberation of maine arsenic moving down the block."

Since leaving the show, Rossum has worked arsenic a manager and shaper arsenic good arsenic an actor, astir notably starring successful the miniseries Angelyne and appearing successful The Crowded Room. She besides took clip off to commencement a family, welcoming children with her husband, Sam Esmail, successful 2021 and 2023. ​She besides occasionally substituted astatine her daughter's preschool. When she returned to theatre successful the 2024 off-Broadway play Walden, she told Today it felt "incredible."

15. "I deliberation Charlie Hunnam is astir to person a comeback infinitesimal since helium has 2 shows coming retired soon. He's playing serial slayer Ed Gein successful Netflix's Monsters Season 3 and starring successful an Amazon Prime amusement called Criminal, which besides features Emilia Clarke."

In 2023, Hunnam told On Demand Entertainment, "I americium doing what I wanted to do, and I've achieved what I wanted to execute to an extent. But I'm doing a large pivot successful my vocation close now, stepping distant from acting and truly focusing connected writing. I've sold and acceptable up a fewer projects... Basically, I've spent each of this twelvemonth writing, obviously, isolated from the 5 months the WGA was down due to the fact that I'm a WGA member. So that's the aboriginal for me. I'm inactive gonna act. I'm attached to enactment successful each of the things that I'm writing, but you know, I went to movie school. I ever wanted to beryllium a filmmaker, so, now, successful my mid-40s, it's clip to get my enactment unneurotic and halt coasting connected my devastating bully looks and really effort to usage my encephalon for a second."

16. "Someone who SHOULD person been an tremendous prima and successful galore much things is histrion Evan Peters."

Peters took a year-long interruption from acting aft his Golden Globe-winning relation arsenic the titular serial slayer successful Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. In 2023, helium told Vanity Fair, "I truly wanted to decompress and marque definite that immoderate I signed connected to bash next, I was acceptable to springiness it my each again... I truly did larn my limits. I pushed myself to my implicit bounds conscionable to spot wherever it was — what I could do, and wherever I could go."

17. And finally: "What astir Michael Biehn? He was Kyle Reese successful The Terminator, and helium was acceptable up to beryllium the caller large enactment star. He had a fewer further roles, similar successful The Abyss, past vanished."

In 2019, Biehn told The Hollywood Reporter, "People ever speech astir maine being an '80s star. I was not an '80s star. Bruce Willis was an '80s star. Tom Cruise was an '80s star. Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Mel Gibson. Those guys were making $20 cardinal [a picture]. I ne'er adjacent got $1 million. I benignant of liked it that way."

He prioritized his household implicit chasing fame. In caller years, helium chiefly stars successful VOD projects, galore of which are produced by Blanc Biehn Productions, the institution helium runs with his wife. He said, "I person 5 boys, and that was ever important to maine that I was going to beryllium person to them than I was to the movie business."

Are determination immoderate different actors you're amazed haven't had a bigger career? Why? Let america cognize successful the comments!

Note: Some responses person been edited for length/clarity.

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