12 Actors Whose Careers Were Destroyed By A Single Movie
2. Hayden Christensen - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
The Actor: When Lucas decided Attack Of The Clones was going to be set ten years after The Phantom Menace, a new actor was needed. Hayden Christensen had already had some fame in his native Canada, starring in a succession TV films, but was in a similar rut when he moved to the US, until he eventually gained a Golden Globe nomination for Life As A House. Lucas could have gone for a lot worse.
The Film: Attack Of The Clones had the unenviable task of regaining the love of the increasingly fickle fans after The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan playing detective and an all out Jedi assault did that, but left an even bigger problem for the final prequel; so many loose ends needed to be tied up. And while it succeeded in most things (if a little forced at times), popular consensus is that Anakins turn to the dark side was just too whiney.
What Happened Next: I feel like I'm writing the Chris O'Donnell entry again. While many of his co-stars survived, Christensen (and his director) both did very little following Revenge Of The Sith. The representation of the Anakin was heavily lambasted, despite the behind the scenes documentaries showing it was much more Lucas direction than Hayden's acting that was at fault. He headed up a couple of light sci-fi films, before dropping into obscurity.