10 Breakout Movie Performances That Ultimately Went Nowhere

The Big Break:

A model and TV presenter in her native India, Freida Pinto beat a huge number of rivals to the part of love interest Latika in Danny Boyle's 2008 inspirational romantic quiz show drama Slumdog Millionaire.

At first the movie was not even certain of getting a theatrical release, but it gradually grew into the biggest sleeper hit of its time, ultimately going on to scoop $377 million on a $15 million as well as winning the major awards at that year's Oscars. Pinto herself picked up nominations for a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA and a Breakthrough Performance award at the MTV Awards.

Frequently listed among the most beautiful and stylish actresses around and referred to as India's biggest global star, Pinto had her pick of glamorous and exotic roles.

But Then:

The tendency to cast her as a glamorous exotic beauty has ultimately seen Pinto pigeon holed into minor love interest roles rather than ever giving her a chance to show much acting range.

Slumdog's success saw her given roles in blockbusters like Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Immortals. But the former saw her learn the same thing as Adrien Brody on King Kong - playing the secondary human lead in a film focused on Andy Serkis's ape acting is a thankless task - while the latter was completely overshadowed by 300 in the visually stylised Greek mythology stakes.

Meanwhile, the reception of Slumdog within India itself was far more muted, with many feeling that it pandered to foreign stereotypes of the country, meaning that Pinto was never able to use the movie as a way in to her home country's lucrative Bollywood film industry.