12 Actors Whose Careers Were Destroyed By A Single Movie
5. John Travolta - Battlefield Earth
The Actor: It was originally Grease that ended John Travolta's career, until Quentin Tarantino made the brilliant decision to pair him up with Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Now his failings at looking like a high schooler had been negated by actual acting ability, the future looked bright for Travolta.
The Film: Enter Battlefield Earth. If you ever wondered what the point was when his style went from Vince Vega to identikit Euro action look no further than this misguided sci-fi you should be ridiculed for even watching. Travolta was instrumental in the film getting made - as a Scientologist he had a big desire to see a novel by its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, on the big screen - and really should have realised he was onto a loser when no major studio would plump up any money for his script. The film was universally panned and performed terribly, bankrupting its production company in the process.
What Happened Next: Hairspray. And just about nothing else. Travolta's heavy involvement in the film hurt him bad, leading to a decade of cheap films necessary only to pay the bills. His role in Hairspray got some plaudits, but mostly as part of the bigger cast. Look out for him later this year in Killing Season alongside other has-been Robert De Niro. Boy, I can wait.