The big-shot industry of Hollywood can be viciously cutthroat – if you’re not good enough, you’re axed, and if you say the wrong thing or have the wrong view, you’re done for. So with the intense scrutiny of gossip and tabloid press nowadays, it’s no surprise that there’s a long list of once beloved and respected stars on Hollywood’s blacklist whose names have been pretty much crossed out and forgotten…
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba was once tipped for great things in Hollywood, but unfortunately, we haven’t seen her land any major roles in a while. Her biggest hits include 2003’s dance-drama ‘Honey’ and her role as Storm in ‘Fantastic Four’.
However, it seems Hollywood filmmakers don’t see the star-quality spark in Alba’s performances anymore, because it’s been a while since she landed a headline lead role.
Jim Caviezel
Towards the late 90s, Jim Caviezel’s acting career was going from strength to strength. His most notably successful roles were in blockbuster action movies, including 1997’s ‘G.I Jane’, 1998’s ‘The Thin Red Line’, and 1999’s ‘Ride with the Devil’.
However, after his casting as Jesus in 2004’s ‘Passion of the Christ’, Caviezel was warned by peers that the film’s unavoidable controversy may damage his career in the future if his performance and the film itself weren’t met with praise. Unfortunately, they were right.
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl’s somewhat damaged acting career often splits opinions. She was once a hotly desired actress by Hollywood’s TV and film producers, with standout performances in 2007’s ‘Knocked Up’, 2010’s ‘Life As We Know it’, and her Emmy-award winning role as Izzie Stevens in medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
However, Heigl is allegedly rather difficult to work with, giving out difficult demands, making unnecessary complaints, and once even locking herself in her trailer refusing to come on set.
Vince Vaughn
Some people love Vince Vaughn as an actor, but for others, he’s a bit of a one-trick-pony. He’s primarily starred in goofy comedies, most notably 2005’s ‘Wedding Crashers’, 2009’s ‘Couples Retreat’, and 2013’s ‘The Internship’.
Although he is still landing himself roles across TV and film, his career is definitely showing signs of slowing down due to his outspoken Conservative political views. His last standout role was in 2016’s Oscar-winner war-drama ‘Hacksaw Ridge’.
Thora Birch
Childhood prodigy Thora Birch was destined for big things. As a young actress, she starred in hit Hollywood films such as 1993’s ‘Hocus Pocus’ and 1994’s ‘Monkey Troubles’. Then as an adult, she still proved to be a huge talent, with acclaimed performances in the indie dramas of 1999’s ‘American Beauty’ and 2001’s ‘Ghost World’.
However, in more recent years, her career has somewhat been tainted by her father allegedly physically threatening one of her co-stars in ‘Dracula’s broadway revival back in 2010 – this incidentally got her fired.
Kirk Cameron
As the breakout star of late 80s sitcom ‘Growing Pains’, Kirk Cameron was once a sought-after teen heartthrob who was seemingly a Hollywood star in the making. However, after ‘Growing Pains’ was canceled in 1992, Cameron’s career never really took off like it was expected to.
Although he starred in a couple of successful films such as 2008’s ‘Fireproof’, his radical and controversially overt religious views are reportedly what’s held him back from landing any major roles in recent years.
Rose McGowan
‘Charmed’ star Rose McGowan has been a name on everyone’s lips in the last few years, but unfortunately, we haven’t been discussing her acting.
Instead, McGowan has rightfully been outspoken about the disgusting misogyny across the high powers of Hollywood, and therefore she’s unfairly been a name that most filmmakers have avoided. However, her career is still ongoing elsewhere, with her latest role being in 2017’s Canadian sci-fi ‘The Sound’.
CeeLo Green
Although CeeLo Green is mostly known for his music, he’s also had several different roles across TV and film, most notably starring as a voice-over artist in 2012’s ‘Hotel Transylvania’.
Although he still has business ventures lined up, including an autobiography and a rumored upcoming album, most of Hollywood has reportedly blacklisted him. This is due to a whole host of controversies being attached to his name including endless twitter rants and inappropriate comments.
Roseanne Barr
ABC’s comedy sitcom ‘Roseanne’ was and is still one of the most beloved shows of all time, so when a revival was announced in 2017, the world was excited to see what was next in store for its leading lady, Roseanne Barr.
However, things went badly wrong when Barr re-tweeted a highly offensive post that ABC’s president labeled as “abhorrent and inconsistent to our own values.” Barr has always been a vocal controversial figure, but perhaps this tweet was the straw that broke Hollywood’s back.
Taylor Lautner
When the ‘Twilight’ franchise mania took over Hollywood a few years back, Taylor Lautner’s career could have gone one of two ways. While co-star and future Batman Robert Pattinson continues to shine, Lautner’s career on the other hand is slowly dwindling.
After several flops to his name – most notably 2015’s drama ‘Traces’ and 2015’s Adam Sandler comedy ‘The Ridiculous 6’ – Lautner’s reputation and acting portfolio is simply not good enough for any significant roles.
Tippi Hedren
As one of the oldest stars on this list, Tippi Heddren first broke into Hollywood success by working with the one and only Alfred Hitchcock in his 1963 horror-thriller classic ‘The Birds’ and 1964 drama ‘Marine’.
However, the late Hitchcock is now controversially known to have had indecent relations with his female stars, including Heddren, so after she refused to work with him ever again, he threatened to destroy her career by preventing her from getting any more acting credits.
Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington was another one of the biggest stars in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ from 2004 to 2007. However, his contract came to an abrupt end when he made an offensive comment to one of his LGBT co-stars that he even repeated after the show won a Golden Globe just months later.
Although he’s since had several roles in TV and film, Washington is generally considered to be a name at the top of the Hollywood blacklist.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
After gaining entry into Hollywood as a child star of Disney, Jennifer Love Hewitt was once an A-List star being signed on to film after film, particularly around the mid-90s in hot movies such as 1997’s slasher ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’.
However, after more and more critics started to pan her acting skills on both TV and the big screen, Hewitt has failed to land any standout roles in recent years. Her latest credit is a recurring role in drama series ‘9-1-1’.
Amanda Bynes
Nickelodeon child star Amanda Bynes proved to be a huge comedic talent in her self-titled TV program, ‘The Amanda Show’, which ran from 1999 to 2002. In her early adult years, she also starred in hugely successful Hollywood teen films such as 2002’s ‘What A Girl Wants’, 2006’s ‘She’s the Man’, and 2007’s ‘Sydney White’.
However, Amanda has in recent years suffered an unfortunate career setback with her personal battles with mental health issues and substance abuse.
Mel Gibson
Considering his successful direction of 2016’s ‘Hacksaw Ridge’, you might be rather surprised to see Mel Gibson’s name on this list. However, allegedly, Hollywood has entirely blacklisted Gibson from ever appearing in front of the camera ever again.
Like a lot of celebrities on this list, Gibson is never shy to express his unpopular controversial views, meaning he mostly works behind the camera as a creative filmmaker these days.
Dakota Johnson
Unfortunately, the actress who landed the leading role in the controversial franchise ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ was always going to get a bit of a tough time with critics.
Despite having several other moderately successful credits to her name, including 2016’s ‘How To Be Single’ and 2018’s ‘Suspiria’, it seems Hollywood cannot look past Johnson’s ‘Fifty Shades’ reputation just yet – perhaps it never will. Her latest performance was in the 2019’s Brit-horror ‘Wounds’.
Mo’Nique
Actress and comedian Mo’Nique first hit our screens with her hilarious stand-up shows and her role as Nikki in the successful sitcom series ‘The Parkers’. When she won the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her role in 2009’s indie drama ‘Precious’, Mo’Nique was expected to excel even further.
However, it’s reported that she never had a positive relationship with the internal operations of Hollywood, with ‘Precious’ director Lee Daniels once describing her as someone who “never wanted to play the game”.
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen will always be known for his outstanding Emmy-winning role as Charlie Harper in the long-running sitcom, ‘Two and a Half Men’.
Despite having a range of other TV and film credits to his name, Sheen has unfortunately had a life-long battle with substance abuse that’s often negatively affected his relationships with Hollywood producers. On top of this, he’s known to be a bit of a loose cannon while on set too. No surprise there.
Natalie Maines
As a member of the beloved pop-rock trio ‘Dixie Chicks’, Natalie’s career should be nothing but soaring right now. However, Hollywood has never really forgiven her for being a loud-mouth when it comes to her political views, especially with her rants during live performances.
The most notable example of this was back in 2003 at a London concert – radio stations across the country decided to pull their records due to the opinions she expressed at the show being labelled as “highly unpatriotic”.
Megan Fox
At one point in her acting career, Megan Fox was the actress everyone was talking about. She’s starred in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters including the first two films in the hugely successful ‘Transformer’ franchise and also in acclaimed cult films such as 2009’s black-comedy ‘Jennifer’s Body’.
However, after getting fired from the third ‘Transformers’ installment in 2011, Fox’s career has never really hit the same heights since.
Tara Reid
As a breakout star in the hit teen comedy franchise ‘American Pie’, Tara Reid was another young starlet destined to move onto bigger and better things. However, her career never panned out that way.
Instead, she’s mostly known now as being a troubled party girl with a string of seriously bad movies – including the infamous franchise series ‘Sharknado’. Now, Reid primarily works as a television personality, including a 2001 appearance in the UK’s version of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.
Brendan Fraser
Over the years, Brendan Fraser has given hugely acclaimed leading man performances in a variety of different Hollywood blockbusters, including ‘The Mummy’ franchise, 1997’s ‘George of the Jungle’, and 2000’s ‘Bedazzled’.
However, as we got further into the new millennium, Fraser’s career lost a lot of steam – mostly due to his accusations against a Hollywood CEO. About this particular incident, he once said, “At some point, the phone does stop ringing, and you have to ask yourself ‘Why?’ Was this a reason? I think so.”
Cameron Diaz
No one can deny that Cameron Diaz has been part of some great movies, including 1998’s ‘There’s Something About Mary’, 2002’s ‘Gangs of New York’ and of course the ‘Shrek’ franchise.
However, it seems Hollywood is slowing turning its back on Diaz with some saying she “peaked too early”. Others have labeled her acting skills as way overrated, and it’s also become apparent that she only takes roles within her comfort zone. Plus, her most recent role in the ‘Annie’ reboot was described as “abysmal”.
Jessica Biel
Like a lot of other Hollywood stars, Jessica Biel has had an unexpected slump in castings that’s seemingly come out of the blue. After gaining roles in successful films such as 2003’s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, 2004’s ‘Blade Trinity’ and 2007’s ‘Next’, in the last decade, Biel’s career has taken a nosedive.
Why? Well, other than critics often criticizing her dull acting skills, she also now mostly focuses on TV as well as being a full-time mom. Who knows what the future holds?
