10 Hit Movies Actors Thought Would Kill Their Careers

No one truly knows if a film is going to be a hit until the box office money has been counted and the Rotten Tomatoes score has been totted up.

Actors more than anyone take this leap of faith when signing on to a new film, having to rely on a first draft script and a director they met an hour ago. Therefore any reservations they have before, during or after the filming of their latest release is excusable because it only takes a few bad films for an actor to be deemed 'uncastable' in the eyes of Hollywood.

With this in mind it is no real surprise that even the biggest movie stars in the world have thought their next big move might have been their last.

How wrong they were.

Such was Dustin Hoffman's self doubt during the filming of Rain Man, the 1988 classic he co-starred in with Tom Cruise, he began calling it 'Two Schmucks In A Car'.

Understandably playing an autistic man, Hoffman was nervous about potentially misrepresenting or offending the autistic community. All through the making of the Best Picture winner he made his feelings known to director Barry Levinson telling him early on "this is the worst week of my life".

Hoffman even began listing other actors who would be able to play the role of Raymond Babbitt better than him, notably recommending Jaws' Richard Dreyfuss. Believing this would end his impressive career - which aged 50 included four Oscar nominations and one Oscar win for Kramer v Kramer - it is no surprise he wanted to preserve his name and constantly attempted to exit the project throughout production.

The irony of course is that not only did Rain Man become the highest grossing film of 1988, it also became one of the most acclaimed performances of Hoffman's career earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. His nuanced performance also managed to raise awareness as well as dispel common misconceptions around autism.