10 Movies That Made Actors QUIT Forever

Playing the lead in the found footage horror hit The Blair Witch Project, Heather Donahue's might not be a name you're familiar with, but you're sure to recognise her face thanks to the film's iconic poster.

The marketing campaign for the film was a brutal and methodical affair, with the studio asking Donahue and the other actors not to appear in any other movies or TV shows for a year after the film's release. For twelve months, her IMDb page had her listed as "Missing and Presumed Dead", and her mother even received cards from people who believed her daughter had died.

The campaign paid off, since the horror was massive hit and helped usher in a whole new wave of horror filmmaking.

Unfortunately, though, her association with the project and its deceptive marketing campaign actually led to her struggling to find work. She managed to land a role in the rom-com Boys and Girls (2000), and featured in a slew of short movies in hopes of getting her career off the ground.

Following her role in the 2008 direct-to-DVD horror The Morgue and a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Donahue officially retired from acting and took up growing medical marijuana in California. She released a book about her new career in 2012, and has no plans of returning to acting.