View Full Version : What the Hell Happened to Christian Slater?


TMC
11-06-2012, 02:41 AM
http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/09/20/what-the-hell-happened-to-christian-slater/

When Christian Slater came onto the scene, he was compared to a young Jack Nicholson. In the late 80′s and early 90′s he starred in a string of cult classics and box office hits. He also made headlines with his run-ins with the law. Eventually, the hits dried up. In 2011, the internet was buzzing with rumors that he was dead. What the hell happened?

In 2006, Slater co-starred in a direct-to-video sequel to The Hollow Man. No further commentary should be needed.

As a rule, I don’t generally cover voice work or direct-to-video movies in these articles. For the last several years, that has been the bulk of Slater’s film work. He has gotten a surprising amount of TV work considering that all of his shows have been canceled after one season.

In 2008, he starred in the aptly titled TV show, My Own Worst Enemy which lasted 9 episodes. In 2009, he starred in The Forgotton which lasted 17 episodes. It was, however, forgotton. In 2011, he starred in Breaking In which failed to break into … aw screw it. It got canceled too. It lasted a personal best, 20 episodes.

In 2013, Slater returns to the big screen opposite Sylvester Stallone in Walter Hill’s action film, Bullet to the Head.

So, what the hell happened? Slater’s fame definitely got the better of him. He imploded personally and professionally before he really got a chance to establish himself as an A-list actor. Hollywood will tolerate some of that kind of behavior. But unlike Val Kilmer, Slater hadn’t made his Batman yet. So when the arrests started piling up on each other, he was pretty disposable.

These days, Slater has managed to keep his nose clean. And he’s been rewarded with several chances to reinvent himself as a TV star. A comeback seems unlikely, but you never know.

catlover79
11-06-2012, 02:59 AM
Yikes. If not for his many brushes with the law and temper, who knows where his career might be now?

Then again, taking a TV role did wonders for the career of another hothead, Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), so who knows what may happen?

Fun fact: Christian's father, Michael Hawkins, acted on many soap operas from the 60s into the 80s. He may be best known as the original Frank Ryan on ABC's Ryan's Hope, on which he starred from its debut in July 1975 until about November 1976. The woman in the second photo is his RH wife, Ilene Kristen (Delia), who went on to play Roxy Balsom on One Life to Live for over a decade until its demise earlier this year.

A decade later, Christian joined RH in the minor role of DJ LaSalle, who was a peer to the show's ingenue, Ryan Fenelli (a pre-Baywatch Yasmine Bleeth). RH was his first role, and later on in 1985, he hit big with The Legend of Billie Jean, and the rest is history.

Also, Christian Slater's ex-wife's first name is Ryan - how about that?

Schmoopie
11-15-2012, 04:58 AM
The last I heard he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend but haven't heard a thing about him since. Weird how he just disappeared like that.