7) Robert Forster
In the 60s, Robert Forster flirted with becoming a new kind of leading man. Major roles in 1967’s Reflections in a Golden Eye (in which he was cast, as a complete unknown, alongside Marlon Brando) and 1969’s iconic Medium Cool should have led to great success, but alas, Forster never quite capitalized on any goodwill he took from the decade. Stints in TV and bit-parts in film followed.
Jackie Brown saved Forster the same way it saved Grier: Forster didn’t become a leading man anew, but he’s barely been seen off the big and small screens since. Nominated for an Oscar for playing lonely bond broker Max Cherry, Forster followed up Jackie Brown with Mulholland Drive, Lucky Number Slevin and more recently, The Descendants and Olympus Has Fallen.
Rumor has it he’ll be in the new Twin Peaks, too.