After decades in the Hollywood doghouse, Judge Reinhold is getting another shot at “it man” status. The ‘80s icon starred in blockbusters during his heyday, but bad choices, and even worse actions, ended his mainstream career as quickly as it started.
The beloved actor’s current redemption arc got me thinking: how many Hollywood “it” actors let the fame go to their heads? Here are 5 actors who ended their careers, ranked from questionable decisions, to outrageous self importance.
Katherine Heigl
From 2005 to 2013, Katherine Heigl was the choice for any rom-com leading lady; she starred in 9 romantic movies, while simultaneously working on Shonda Rimes’ Grey’s Anatomy, where role as Izzy Stevens nabbed her numerous accolades. In 2008, Heigl infamously took herself out of the Emmy race, insisting she wasn’t “given the material… to warrant an Emmy,” and the attention took a turn for the worse.
That same year, she worked with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan in Knocked Up, a film the actress went on record to call “a little sexist,” infuriating her co-star and director. Rogan was quick to insist that the script development was a “very open process,” where actors were allowed to change anything at any time. The 27 Dresses star later apologized and emphasized how much fun she had on set, but the damage was done. She’s still acting, but Heigl hasn’t rebounded.
TJ Miller
Comedian TJ Miller had a decent run, a popular – if mediocre – comedic presence in How to Train Your Dragon, Big Hero 6, and Deadpool, but some bad behavior derailed the comedian. He was known for arriving on set intoxicated, which led to Mike Judge canning him from Silicon Valley in 2015. He was arrested and jailed for assaulting an Uber driver in 2014. But it was a sexual assault allegation that cost him his Disney big bucks.
As #MeToo gathered steam the following year, a former classmate accused Miller of choking, punching, and shaking her. The studios dropped him overnight, and in 2018, other companies followed suit after Miller phoned in a false bomb threat against an Amtrak passenger. Miller was arrested for making a fake bomb threat, but the charge was ultimately dropped when expert medical analysis suggested neurological damage from a 2010 brain tumor as a potential cause.
Jussie Smollett
Child star Jussie Smollett got his big break on The Mighty Ducks at just 10. The dual threat of actor and singer, he worked for years before turning heads on Empire. As a gay Black man, starring as a gay Black man the same year gay marriage was legalized, Smollett was on track to make history.
When Smollett was attacked on the street outside of his apartment in 2019, in what was at first deemed a hate crime, it seemed the whole country was on his side. Except attackers weren’t real – only actors Smollett had paid to accost him. The sham attack turned into a very real trial, and Smollett was found guilty of filing false police reports and felony disorderly conduct. He filed a countersuit, claiming he was the victim of “mass public ridicule and harm,” but it was dismissed just as quickly as the rest of Smollett’s career.
Alex Pettyfer
You might not recognize his name, but in the early 2010s, Alex Pettyfer was a Hollywood darling, with movies like I Am Number Four, Beastly, and Magic Mike, but the handsome Brit didn’t have enough magic to contend with his terrible attitude. Hating Hollywood culture is completely understandable, but going on record bashing everything and everyone is much less so.
His terrible temper led him to scream loud enough for the crew to hear him upon learning that Channing Tatum made more than him on Magic Mike, left his ex-girlfriend and former Glee star Dianna Agron “terrified of him,” and allegedly attacked Sebastian Stan at a Hollywood club.
Tatum, who also produced Magic Mike, was less than thrilled with the “bad boy.” In the end, Tatum’s worries were well-founded. Pettyfer stiffed the 21 Jump Street actor’s friend on rent money saying, “F*** them. What is money when life is so much more? I’m not dealing with this, and I’m not paying.’” With that, he sealed his fate as a former Hollywood “it man.”
Shia LeBeouf
Since his start as a child actor in 2000, Shai LeBeouf’s career has had plenty of ups and downs. He’s branched out into writing and political art, but diversifying his portfolio hasn’t launched him back into leading man status – it might have made his chances worse.
LeBeouf’s mischief started with an arrest at 21, but his real woes began in 2013, after he released his short film, Howard Contour.com. Viewers quickly realized that much of the script was lifted from the comic, “Justin M. Damiano” which led to a closer examination of his other projects.
When they were found to be just as problematic, LeBeouf’s demeanor changed from apologetic to mocking. LeBeouf used unattributed quotes online and in interviews, and according to the A.V. Club, his “official apology” was pulled from a Yahoo! Answers post from 2010. Shortly thereafter, he appeared on the red carpet with a paper bag reading, “I am not famous anymore,” which kicked off a series of weird and elaborate stunts and performance art pieces, including the “Just Do It” video.
LeBeouf was arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication several times over the following years. But his career decline accelerated in 2020, when his ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs sued him for sexual battery, assault, and emotional distress. Netflix dropped the actor, who admitted to being “abusive” to himself and those around him before checking into a rehab facility. The trial starts in October 2024, and as of now, LeBeouf’s calendar is completely clear of obligations.
