10 Actors Whose Careers Never Rebounded

3. James Woods

Charlie Sheen
Hemdale Film Corporation

There are some occasions in which a celebrity's downfall is merited. Woods was at the top of his game following sleazy turns in the late 70s in films like The Onion Field and Night Moves - always the scum of the earth. In recent years, though, he appears to have taken up seclusion, only appearing once in a while in odd roles like his awful Southern accented vigilante in the Straw Dogs remake and refusing to do interviews to prevent journalists from "twisting [his] words." One might interpret that as a sort-of self-imposed retirement.

That is, until actress Elizabeth Perkins laid an accusation of sexual assault at him during a #metoo march - an accusation that actress Amber Tamblyn also made years earlier, before Hollywood really paid attention.

He was once respected - a quirky, off-beat character actor who engendered con men, hitmen and hard-boiled cops better than any of his generation. He even received an Oscar nomination for his work in Salvador based on a scene he largely improvised.

In Salvador, he's a leftist, broke, boozy photojournalist, and he's so good it's hard to distinguish the actor from the character. But one look at his twitter feed will clue you into just why Hollywood has largely blackballed him. His pro-Trump tweets, loaded with untrue conspiracy theories don't align with the supposed leftist city. Add in sexual harassment, you have a fairly ill-mixed cocktail.

Contributor
Contributor

Kenny Hedges is carbon-based. So I suppose a simple top 5 in no order will do: Halloween, Crimes and Misdemeanors, L.A. Confidential, Billy Liar, Blow Out He has his own website - thefilmreal.com - and is always looking for new writers with differing views to broaden the discussion.