10 Actors Who Blew Their Big Chance Before They Got Going

2. Alicia Silverstone

Perhaps Alicia Silverstone should have seen the signs. Batman Forever had been a box office success but wasn't exactly critically acclaimed, and Batman (Val Kilmer in the previous instalment) had once again been replaced €“ but that replacement was George Clooney, and Silverstone's other co-stars, including Uma Thurman, were hardly slouches either. Of course, the rest is history: Batman & Robin was infamously panned by critics and Silverstone won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress. Since then, she's starred in a few TV pilots which haven't been picked up and has popped up in bit roles in mediocre films, and she has some theatre credits to her name as well. Silverstone carried the 1995 comedy Clueless, a loosely adapted version of Jane Austen's Emma which has now achieved cult classic status, but it's her bland co-star Paul Rudd who's gone on to have the most profitable career. Batman & Robin now has a notorious reputation as a career-killer for both Silverstone and Chris O'Donnell (Robin), but Silverstone couldn't have known that in signing on the dotted line she was also signing away her chance at the big time. It's the best example of how bad luck and terrible timing can send an actor's career trajectory spiralling down into the abyss.