15 Actors Who Broke Out In Big Budget Films

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel boasts an interesting cast -- it features Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White and, perhaps most importantly, Michael Shannon as General Zod. We know those people will all pull off magnificent performances, so I'm not really worried about them. The big question mark is none other than Supes himself -- Henry Cavill. Are we about to witness the birth of a new A-Lister? It's far too early to make an assessment on the guy's situation, but he must be biting his nails right about now. Man of Steel will definitely be a commercial success, no doubt about that. Despite our own Jonathan Lack's positive review though, the film is getting a slightly mixed critical reception. Will critics save or doom Cavill? There, there, don't start panicking just yet, Henry. There's 15 other actors who starred in insanely ambitious big-budget flicks and came out on top, so you probably have nothing to worry about! Although, there's about fifty others who didn't make it, too -- remember Jake Lloyd? Oh, you don't? Yeah, that's kind of my point. He played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, that big ol' fiasco. He's... not around anymore. But don't worry Henry, at least you got that juicy role in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. that Tom Cruise was going to play at one point! Who's directing that, by the way? Oh, it's Guy Ritchie... Wow. Ok, we might as well get this started before Henry Cavill starts reconsidering his career path. Continue reading on the next page… 1) Tom Hardy, Inception I was a fan of this guy before he got his breakout role. His performance in Bronson as the title character was intense and powerful, but the flick was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, which means it was a great film -- just not a high-profile one. It was a rather low-key movie at the time (although people are starting to check it out ever since Refn went mainstream with Drive), and Hardy was practically invisible to Hollywood producers. His career would never be the same though after Christopher Nolan cast him as Eames, a sharp-tongued conman, in Inception. Admittedly, he wasn't terrible in the film, but it's not like he was the highlight of it either. It seems filmmakers have taken a great interest in Hardy as of late, but I suspect it doesn't have a lot to do with his acting skills (which are actually quite impressive). After Inception, he starred in Warrior and This Means War -- those roles required a ton of physicality, and (in my humble opinion) ultimately didn't make good use of his acting talent. I'm afraid that's just how Hollywood works. "Can this guy act? Good, let's have him wrestle for a couple hours." He did redeem his image by playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and seems to be on the right track as of now, so I'm still hopeful that one day he'll find himself on stage at the Academy Awards. 2) Asa Butterfield, Hugo This kid shows genuine promise. I know, I know, he was already great in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, whatever. If he truly got his big break in that movie, why did he subsequently get mere supporting roles in The Wolfman and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang? That's right, this little guy wouldn't know what it's like to be a star until he played the title character in Hugo. He's undoubtedly a fine actor, but he possesses a trait that very few in the business own and most try (unsuccessfully) to obtain -- he's believable. It's the way he delivers his lines, the facial expressions, the passion that goes into owning the role. I can see him in Daniel Day Lewis roles when he grows older, because he just has that raw, unique talent. What's he doing next? Well, he's starring in this small, off-the-radar flick called Ender's Game, you might have heard of it. And if you haven't, you can check out the trailer below, it looks pretty awesome. Continue reading on the next page… 3) Hugh Jackman, X-Men The Australian actor wasn't Bryan Singer's first choice for the role of Wolverine. Back in 2000, Hugh Jackman he was a stage actor who had barely done any film work. In fact, Singer chose Russell Crowe to play Logan, but that fell through because the actor felt he wasn't going to be paid enough money, therefore Dougray Scott was cast. Jackman was a last-minute replacement for Scott, who opted to star in the atrocious Mission Impossible II (I bet he still rues his decision), and we're all glad that that's how things panned out. He recently got an Oscar nomination for playing Jean Valjean in Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Misérables. Not bad, huh? Daniel Day Lewis ended up winning for his role in Lincoln (duh), although Jackman is still a favorite of the Academy after he brilliantly hosted the Oscars back in '09, and I bet they've been secretly begging him to come back for a second gig. He's currently filming X-Men: Days of Future Past, in which he'll reprise his iconic role as Wolverine for the seventh time. Also, James Mangold's The Wolverine comes out in July -- aren't you excited? 4) Shia LaBeouf, Transformers Enough about people who deserve their success -- let's talk about someone who might as well have won the lottery. What's so special about Shia LaBeouf? Call in all the best mathematicians, engineers, philosophers, biologists and chemists in the world, and they still wouldn't be able to come up with an answer. So what if he was in Transformers? Any halfwit with a stutter can star in a Michael Bay-directed flick. Seriously, why do filmmakers keep on hiring him? Steven Spielberg, Lars von Trier and even Oliver Stone have cast him in their movies. I mean... Shia LaBeouf? Really? I'm not a spiteful person, but I sincerely resent Spielberg's decision to include him in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film was a real stinker, but it would have been more tolerable without LaBeouf playing Indy's son. What were they thinking? I bet it was Lucas' doing. Anyway, we'll see this guy in von Trier's The Nymphomaniac soon, but I sincerely doubt he's going to get any better. I just hope he doesn't come anywhere near a Star Wars set. Continue reading on the next page… 5) Daniel Craig, Casino Royale Some might argue that Sean Connery is the definitive James Bond, but when he finally stepped down from his most iconic role, his career didn't suffer at all-- the Scottish actor went on to get marvelous roles, and became an even bigger star. I'm afraid the same cannot be said about subsequent Bonds. George Lazenby quit after one movie. Roger Moore played 007 until he was 60, but then couldn't find the same success in other movies, and slowly vanished. Timothy Dalton... well, nobody remembers the poor guy except Edgar Wright, who was kind enough to cast him in Hot Fuzz. Pierce Brosnan was harshly criticized for his role in Mamma Mia, and some critics compared his singing voice to a "wounded raccoon." It seems Daniel Craig has broken this curse of sorts. He's had some hits (The Golden Compass, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as well as misses (Cowboys & Aliens, Dream House), but at least he's getting starring roles. He's demonstrated his ability to effectively separate himself from the Bond persona, and he's just an overall decent actor who hasn't shown us his true potential yet, but even his detractors found his performance in Casino Royale to be shockingly outstanding. Continue reading on the next page… 6) James Franco, Spider-Man Hollywood really lucked out with this man. Oddly enough, I actually found his breakout performance as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man movies rather stiff, and I would have laughed out loud if someone had told me back then he'd eventually be nominated for an Oscar. I'm so glad I was mistaken -- the guy is a true acting prodigy. This year alone he pulled off two extremely different (yet absolutely brilliant) performances in Oz, The Great and Powerful and Spring Breakers. Nevertheless, he'll never top his work on 127 Hours, in which he played Aron Ralston. Man, that was some intense acting. Did Colin Firth deserve to win the Academy Award for Best Actor that year? Well, that's highly debatable. Franco is not only one of the most versatile actors in the industry, but he's also an emerging director -- his most recent feature As I Lay Dying was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Continue reading on the next page… 7) Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds The day the Austrian actor and Tarantino met must have been a historic one. I'd normally say "their lives would never be the same," but we all know Quentin's life was already pretty awesome at that point. Waltz, however, wasn't doing so hot -- he was aware of his unappreciated talent, but he just couldn't find the right role. One day, he found himself auditioning for the role of Hans Landa in a movie called Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino had been searching for the right man to play the seemingly unplayable character, a charming SS detective with a hidden agenda. Both Tarantino and Waltz realized they'd found what they were looking for ten minutes into the audition. After winning an Oscar for his terrific performance as Landa, Waltz received countless job offers. He's since worked with several renowned directors, such Roman Polanski and Michel Gondry. He's also starring in the Terry Gilliam's upcoming feature The Zero Theorem, which I'm really excited about. The thing you need to understand about Waltz is... he's just a damn fine actor. If you don't believe me, just watch the brief clip below and you'll understand why. Continue reading on the next page… 8) Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds Fassbender had attracted interest from several producers when he starred in Steve McQueen's Hunger. Sure, he did a fine job then, but he still wasn't getting great job offers (Blood Creek, anyone?). Despite Christoph Waltz's scene-stealing performance, Michael Fassbender also managed to shine in Tarantino's WWII film. He played the role of Archie Hicox, a lieutenant in the British army and former film critic. Even though Waltz got all the awards, Fassbender's performance was noticed by several filmmakers, including Matthew Vaughn (who cast him as Magneto in X-Men: First Class). Fassbender went on to play Carl Jung in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, and Edward Rochester in Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of Jane Eyre. He didn't show his full potential until 2012 though, when he magnificently played the android David in Prometheus. Whether you love or hate the flick, you have to admit his performance was fantastic. Don't deny it, you know you can't fully hate the movie, and it's all because of David. But that wasn't it -- he teamed up with Steve McQueen once again for Shame, in which he played a sex addict. I can't do it justice, I couldn't possibly explain how great his performance is -- just do yourself a favor and go rent the damn movie. It's OK, I'll wait. Continue reading on the next page… 9) Christian Bale, Batman Begins Some of you might totally hate me for including Bale on this list. That's alright, though -- I'm right about this, and I'm going to prove it to you. You see, Christian Bale has been in the business for a LONG time. When he was just a kid, he starred in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. The film was critically and commercially well-received, but it was eventually forgotten by audiences and critics alike. It was somehow a lesser film than Spielberg's previous works, and Bale's performance hadn't been the most memorable one. In fact, it was rather annoying. Nevertheless, the British actor didn't quit acting. He polished and improved his skills, and subsequently delivered critically acclaimed performances in American Psycho and The Machinist. But still, he waited for that big break, that one chance to demonstrate his talent. Christopher Nolan gave him that chance when he cast him as The Caped Crusader in Batman Begins, and Bale's career completely changed. He'd been in a couple of big-budget films before, but I wouldn't consider, say, Reign of Fire the one responsible for his following success. Just take a look at the roles he got after Batman Begins, if you don't believe me -- he starred in Terminator Salvation and Public Enemies, among other movies. True, they might not be the best films in the world, but they're at least high-profile ones. Besides, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in David O. Russell's The Fighter, so that's something. Continue reading on the next page… 10) Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man This case is similar to Bale's, though not quite identical. Robert Downey Jr.'s career was practically reborn when Jon Favreau cast him as Tony Stark in Iron Man. RDJ became the face of an entire cinematic universe, and job offers consequently rained down on him. Funnily enough, it took him decades to become the star he was always supposed to be as he never quite managed to get his act together -- not until Iron Man. Let's back up a bit. RDJ started acting when he was five -- he was in Pound, directed by Robert Downey. Even though I normally loathe nepotism in Hollywood (I'm totally looking at you, Jaden Smith), we wouldn't have Robert Downey Jr. if it weren't for his dad's connections in the industry, and without RDJ, we would only have Tony Stark within the pages of his monthly comic book series. The actor showed prolific acting skills early on, but constant drug abuse kept him from getting the break-through he deserved. When he finally overcame his addiction, he was cast as the title character in Iron Man, and the rest is, as they say, history. Continue reading on the next page… 11) Chris Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger Didn't see this one coming, did you? Well, he hasn't broken through yet. Not really. But he's definitely on his way. Remember when he was cast as Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four, and everyone consequently hated him? Those days are gone now. I wouldn't necessarily say audiences worship Chris Evans, but he's got the looks and talent to make it big in Hollywood. Besides, he plays Steve Rogers! How cool is that? And he nails it, too. Ok, let's say he's not a star yet. He certainly looks like one -- he's already starred in two blockbusters, just wrapped filming Bong Joon-ho's great-looking Snowpiercer, and currently finds himself filming Captain America: The Winter Soldier. What was he doing before he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Push. Street Kings. The Nanny Diaries. He did get one or two supporting roles in good flicks such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Losers, but now he's finally climbing the ladder to stardom. Continue reading on the next page… 12) Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone The problem with Daniel Radcliffe is that he'll undoubtedly always be Harry Potter, much like Rupert Grint, who will never shake off the Ron Weasley vibe. Yet he keeps on getting hired despite being a victim of typecasting... because he's a decent actor. Is that so hard to believe? Why, yes, actually. For a while, it seemed he could only play the part that made him famous and therefore unable to buy groceries in public, but when producers gave him a chance to tackle other roles, it turned out he wasn't half-bad after all. Sure, we still expect to spot the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead under a certain light, albeit that doesn't hurt his craft. As long as audiences manage to suspend their disbelief, Daniel Radcliffe will continue to succeed. Maybe someday he won't be thought of as The Boy Who Lived anymore. Perhaps someday he'll join a new film franchise, play an entirely different character, and before long, the name Harry Potter will no longer be associated with him. Perchance further down the road he'll be cast in a role that finally unveils his raw talent, and before long, people will no longer associate him with everyone's favorite wizard. Fine, that probably won't happen. It's just wishful thinking. Continue reading on the next page… 13) Will Smith, Independence Day There's a handful of actors who deserve their stardom -- I've mentioned a few of them thus far. Will Smith was one of them once. Just the other day I had an argument with quite a few people about Smith's acting range. They eagerly described him as versatile and prolific. I fervently disagreed -- he's the prime example of a sell-out. The actor doesn't strike me as the sort of guy who'd appreciate of cinema. He appears to be someone who doesn't worry about craft or art, but is quick to notice the perks within the industry, and asks how much he'll get paid for a job before he even bothers to read the script. He used to be different, though. Long ago, he was just the star of a sitcom who quickly rose to the top when Roland Emmerich cast him in his big-budget sci-fi flick Independence Day. Naturally, the film was a success, Smith became an A-Lister, and here we are. The once-promising actor's involvement in a movie practically guarantees commercial prosperity nowadays, but he refuses to tackle any serious, demanding roles. Smith plays it safe because he doesn't want audiences to picture him any other way, and it's a smart thing to do if you're nothing but a number-crunching businessman. Continue reading on the next page… 14) Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic Before the James Cameron flick, Leonardo DiCaprio had been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Truth be told, that was a great performance. Better than the one he pulled off years later in Titanic, albeit it was his role as Jack Dawson that really brought him fame and fortune. I've got nothing against DiCaprio -- he's one of the finest actors of our time, astonishingly gifted and uncannily charismatic. But he's never won an Oscar, not even for his solid performance in The Aviator. How come has DiCaprio never won an Academy Award? "He's too young, it's all very political, the Academy needs to honor other actors before they get to him, etc." Sure, those are all perfectly valid reasons, but still, there are countless undeserving Oscar winners in history, and they were no better than DiCaprio. However, the man keeps on going, he still tackles roles with the same energy and courage, even if the Academy refuses to acknowledge him. That, I believe, is worth noting. Continue reading on the next page… 15) Christopher Reeve, Superman I couldn't write a Man of Steel-related feature without mentioning the original Supes. Perhaps he wasn't the first one to tackle the role, but he most certainly is the most dearly remembered one. Christopher Reeve was already an adept stage actor when he was cast as Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, in Richard Donner's Superman. Needless to say, the guy nailed it, the film was a huge success, and off he went to have an illustrious career, or so they thought... In 1995, Christopher Reeve fell off his horse and was paralyzed from the neck down. He'd already starred in quite a few movies and was by all means an A-Lister, but then his career was suddenly over, and he subsequently passed away nine years later. It was the tragic loss of a superb actor who had much to look forward to. Brandon Routh reprised the role of Kal-El in Superman Returns years later, but it just wasn't the same anymore. There had been talk of a curse looming over those who take on the role of Superman, but that's just rubbish. Henry Cavill shouldn't be worried about mere superstition -- just look at how Brandon Routh and Dean Cain's careers have flourished ever since they played the character. Oh, wait... In all seriousness though, we think Cavill will do a fine job in the role and wish him much success. What do you think? Will Henry succeed? Is he destined to be an A-list star?