17 Movie Roles That Nearly Destroyed These Actors’ Careers

Some roles make actors legends — and others leave lasting scars. In the high-stakes world of Hollywood, a single bad choice can derail an entire career. Whether it’s because of critical failure, behind-the-scenes drama, or unexpected backlash, these roles became more curse than blessing.

Dwayne Johnson, Black Adam

Black Adam was supposed to reshape the DC Universe — and cement Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a superhero powerhouse. But despite the hype and his marketing push, the film underperformed and was critically panned. He was swiftly cut from further projects. What should have been his superhero era ended almost before it began, hurting both his box office clout and reputation.

Camila Cabello, Cinderella

Camila Cabello became famous around the world when she was very young. She was in Fifth Harmony, one of the most successful pop groups in history. Later, she became a solo singer and was successful again. Her songs were on top positions in charts in the US, Great Britain, Canada, and other countries. In 2021, she debuted in cinema. Unfortunately, her first role was a failure, and at the moment, it’s also her last role.

Cinderella was absolutely bombed by critics and viewers. And even though she sang very well, she wasn’t able to play the character convincingly. Her character seemed flat and inconsistent. After this role, Camila Cabello returned to her music career. By the way, she’s going to be one of the judges in the American “Voice” in the next season.

Jared Leto, Morbius

Morbius was one of the biggest flops of 2022. Even though it was a box office success, it had a lot of negative reviews. And Jared Leto’s acting was heavily criticized.

By the way, after the failure, the shots from the movie went viral and became memes. The creators decided that it was good for them and released Morbius in movie theaters again. Of course, the viewers weren’t impressed again. But Jared Leto is serious about it: he decided to take part in the sequel. Maybe it will be better.

Anne Hathaway, The Witches (2020)

Anne Hathaway took on the iconic role of the Grand High Witch in the remake of The Witches, hoping to breathe new life into a classic. But the film was slammed for its strange tone, underwhelming effects, and one major controversy: disability advocates criticized Hathaway’s character design for promoting harmful stereotypes. The backlash was so strong, Hathaway had to publicly apologize. What should’ve been a fun family film turned into a personal headache.

Meg Ryan, Proof of Life

After the success of Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan was the queen of romantic comedies at the end of the 90s. The kind image of her characters attracted millions of viewers to the screens. But in 2000, the actress appeared in Proof of Life. The movie itself didn’t get good reviews, and also Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe had a romance. But she was still married to actor Dennis Quaid.

This awkward situation ruined the image of Ryan. After that, she had only 1 big role in a similar image, in Kate & Leopold. Later, she mostly appeared in independent movies.

Ezra Miller, The Flash (2023)

The Flash was supposed to reset the DC Universe, but instead, it turned into one of the most talked-about flops of the year. While the film’s failure wasn’t entirely Ezra Miller’s fault, their off-screen controversies—including multiple arrests and disturbing allegations—overshadowed the movie entirely. Some projects distanced from Miller, and the actor’s future in the industry remains highly uncertain. The once-promising role turned into a PR disaster.

Pamela Anderson, Barb Wire

The action film Barb Wire is considered to be the reason Pamela Anderson’s career ended. What’s interesting is that she was thrilled when she read the script. She dreamed of getting a big role that would bring her an Oscar.

The actress was so committed to the role that she even got a tattoo of barbed wire on her shoulder. She made the work of makeup artists easier. But her dreams didn’t come true. The film was a huge flop, and Anderson got the Golden Raspberry Award.

January Jones, X-Men: First Class

After the release of X-Men: First Class, the actress portraying Emma Frost had a ton of criticism. Even her colleagues said that she needed to forget about movies and return to TV series.

The situation was even spicier because of rumors that January Jones and the director of the film, Matthew Vaughn, had a romance. After that, the actress appeared in movies only a couple of times, the last one was released in 2014. And now, after a long break, Jones is returning to the big screens. In 2023, she starred in a criminal drama directed by Nick Cassavetes.

Dev Patel, The Last Airbender

Dev Patel became popular after he was in Slumdog Millionaire. Several years later, he was offered to try himself in the role of a villain, and he appeared in The Last Airbender. This film made him decide never to do superhero movies again.

The film was a box office failure. It is the lowest-rated Nickelodeon Movies film in history. In the following years, the actor worked really hard to fix this mistake.

Michael Bakari Jordan, Black Panther

The character of Michael Bakari Jordan in the Marvel universe is the rare type of villain, the viewers sympathize with. The actor was able to show a person with a history and a motivation for his actions. But it cost him a lot. It wasn’t easy for him to portray the enemy of Black Panther. He even had to get therapy because of the psychological problems he had after that.

Mischa Barton, The O.C.

Mischa Barton spent more than 3 years working on one of the most popular teenage series of the 2000s. This is a case when an actress was too good. She became famous worldwide, and she couldn’t bear it. She not only left the project, but also left Hollywood for several years. The next time she appeared on the screens was only 3 years later.

Taylor Lautner, Abduction

After his Twilight fame skyrocketed, Taylor Lautner was supposed to be the next big action star. Abduction was supposed to launch him as a leading man. Instead, it was a box office flop and earned him criticism for his wooden acting. Critics said he was not ready to carry a movie, and the offers stopped coming. His career has not fully bounced back.

Jessica Alba, An Invisible Sign

At the beginning of the 2000s, Jessica Alba was extremely popular. She was in a great number of films, from comedies to action movies. But at some point, she just disappeared from the spotlight.

Around the end of the 2000s, she did a series of unsuccessful movies. One of them was An Invisible Sign with 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even though there were many people responsible for the movie, the flop was mostly associated with Alba. After that, she started doing way fewer projects.

Hugh Grant, Did You Hear About the Morgans?

The terrible role in Did You Hear About the Morgans? made Hugh Grunt take a 3-year-long pause, until everyone would forget it. Critics said that his duo with Sarah Jessica Parker had no chemistry whatsoever.

During those years, Grant said that this film cost him the status of a demanded and well-paid actor. He restored his reputation only in 2012, thanks to Cloud Atlas, where he played 6 characters.

Jessica Chastain, The 355

It was Jessica Chastain’s idea to do a spy movie, but with women leads. She shared the idea with director Simon Kinberg, and he agreed. Of course, the actress was immediately cast, and she also became the producer.

The 355 wasn’t anything special or memorable. As for Chastain, critics thought it wasn’t a good role for her. In order to put this past her as fast as possible, the actress started new projects, such as James Gray’s Armageddon Time and Michel Franco’s Memory.

Angelina Jolie, Eternals

If Angelina Jolie is in a film, it’s usually going to be successful. And Marvel universe movies are almost always box-office hits. It seems that nothing can go wrong with Angelina Jolie in a Marvel movie. But Eternals proved that it’s not true. The 2021 film was the worst Marvel movie. Critics called it boring and said that the story was underdeveloped.

Jolie got her fair share of criticism. The viewers said she acted terribly and that she probably regretted doing it.

Brendan Fraser, Monkeybone

After becoming a beloved star thanks to hits like The Mummy and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser took a risk with Monkeybone, a bizarre comedy blending live-action and animation. Unfortunately, the movie was a disaster. Critics trashed it, audiences ignored it, and Fraser’s career began to stall. Not only did the movie fail, but it also damaged Fraser’s reputation in Hollywood. It took him years — and an Oscar-worthy comeback — to recover from this misstep.

In Hollywood, every role is a risk. While some actors recover from a misstep, others never quite bounce back. These stories are a reminder that fame is fragile, and even the brightest stars can burn out when the wrong script comes along.