10 Actors Who Have Never Made A Sequel

When you're as famous as Leonardo DiCaprio, you don't need a franchise - you ARE the franchise.

Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained Hand
TWC

In a time where recognisable properties - not movie stars - rule over the box-office, it's difficult for actors to thrive in Hollywood without playing the sequels game.

Just look at some of the hottest names in the business right now: Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, and Scarlett Johansson have all enjoyed major standalone successes in their time, sure, but it was franchises like Fast & Furious, Mission Impossible, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe that helped them rise to the top of the pack.

That being said, where there are rules... there are exceptions.

Some of the most famous and talented actors in the industry have managed to chart a lucrative career path without ever returning for a sequel to one of their own movies - and one or two of them have never been in a sequel, full-stop.

Whether it's selective project choices or simply bad luck getting in the way, these rare few have achieved impressive levels of stardom while keeping the sequels and franchises to a bare minimum. That followup fever might kick in one day, but for now, they're doing just fine without it.

10. Maggie Gyllenhaal

Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained Hand
Warner Bros.

With 2008's The Dark Knight, Maggie Gyllenhaal starred in one of the most beloved movie sequels of all time, yet she herself has never reprised a single one of her roles.

She has starred in a few movies that could've potentially given her sequel roles, but underwhelming box-office results (Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang) or the death of her character (The Dark Knight) have consistently got in the way.

Aside from the handful of big blockbusters she's starred in throughout her career, she tends to favour more dramatic roles, which don't usually lead to sequels - so the lack of followups on her filmography does make a certain level of sense.

Her brother, Jake, is also quite averse to reprising roles (and starring in sequels generally), although given his recent gig as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, that's bound to change in the future. After all, nobody stays dead in the MCU.

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.