Actors whose careers went downhill after winning an Oscar

[TMC]

So which celebrities won an Oscar, and then eventually saw their careers end up on the crap heap from making bad career choices?

[gidgetgrape]

Pretty much all them right? There are exceptions like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, but the Oscar seems to be the capstone of a Hollywood career. I don't think there's anything wrong with that and usually by the time an actor wins an Oscar he or she is overexposed anyway. I do feel sorry for the peak too sooners like Tatum O'Neal and Timothy Hutton.

I don't think it's the statue itself, but what you have to do to get it. Generally, you have to radically change yourself and once the audience sees you that way, they never forget it.

[HuntingtonM15]

Originally Posted by gidgetgrape

Pretty much all them right? There are exceptions like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, but the Oscar seems to be the capstone of a Hollywood career.

I'd say this mostly only applies to the supporting acting categories. The actors in these categories are often ones who are not as well known and who do not often break out into many mainstream roles.

The lead acting categories are typically a different story. Looking back at the last decade of winners, for the actors, Jean Dujardin is the only one who hasn't really hit it big in America. For actresses, Brie Larson is the only one who hasn't become a household name yet but she's well on her way.

[IllinoisTVFan]

One often has to go back and see who won and whether they were a "name". Many actors/actresses weren't names (mostly the foreign performers) and are often in more artistic films so that makes a difference. Two that come to mind are Kim Basinger and Halle Berry. Both are names but after won they seem to be in more flops. Probably the best example would be Luise Rainer who won twice in a row in the 30's then seemed to disappear.

[opus]

Cuba Gooding Jr. was a go to reference for this for awhile, but he rebounded a bit with the OJ miniseries.

Nicolas Cage also takes some heat for his recent choices.

[Penny Lane]

I haven't seen much of Helen Hunt(As Good As It Gets) lately.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by Penny Lane

I haven't seen much of Helen Hunt(As Good As It Gets) lately.

She seems to have gone to behind-the-scenes work. She has directed episodes of "Life in Pieces", "This is Us", "House of Lies" and "Revenge".

She has a starring role in the Fox limited series "Shots Fired" premiering on March 22nd.

[TMC]