Could or should Daphne Zuniga have been a bigger star than she actually became to be

[TMC]

This was a subject that was discussed on the old IMDb message boards. Daphne you can argue, was kind of the '80s version of Liv Tyler. Both were young, beautiful, blue eyed raven haired women who had an innocence about them that immediately made them alluring.





Of course, outside of Melrose Place, Daphne's most remembered for her role as Princess Vespa in Spaceballs. But Spaceballs is really more of a cult hit than an actual box office success. I'm assuming that flops like The Fly II and Gross Anatomy didn't help her career as a leading lady in theatrical movies.

In hindsight did appearing on Melrose Place have an adverse affect on Daphne's career? MP was a major hit but you can also argue that it didn't really take advantage of Daphne's talents. Also, the trashiness of the show probably presented a flag to casting directors when MP actors auditioned.

[TMC]

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.p...hatDidntHoldUp

Daphne Zuniga got her acting start in horror (specifically slashers), making her film debut in The Dorm That Dripped Blood before playing the lead in The Initiation. She quickly veered towards more light-hearted fare: with roles in Vision Quest (1985), The Sure Thing, and Spaceballs. After her film career took a beating when Last Rites and The Fly II flopped, she turned to television with better luck upon getting cast as Jo Reynolds in Melrose Place. She was a main cast member for the first four seasons before departing in 1996. She later had a recurring role on One Tree Hill beginning on season five in 2008, appearing on-and-off until it ended in 2012. Her acting output has been slight besides that, mostly comprising of single-episode parts and one Made-for-TV Movie after another.