The opposite of "Once popular actors/actresses whose careers went nowhere" - who beat everyone's expectations

This thread is inspired by Ray Romano who looks like he's on the rise as a legitimate actor (The Irishman, just announced new HBO Max series where he plays a reclusive con man with a sex robot, etc.)

He was also in the short lived Vinyl (Scorsese/Winter show) and Parenthood and still in the Get Shorty series.

I'm still a big fan of ELR so good to see him doing well in both film and TV dramas these days.

BTW - Welcome to Mooseport is still (sadly) Gene Hackman's last film.

Cant believe he retired 15 years ago already, exactly with a 100 acting credits, he had a great career.

It's always weird seeing Chris Pratt pop up in an old movie as the asshole boyfriend or coworker. Like who remembers that he was in Wanted?

Bradley Cooper - I believe not much was expected of him when he was supporting actor on Alias as Garner's friend more than the hundreds of other hot person in a network show castings. He didn't even make enough of an impression to get will they or won't they with her'd. Then comedy character actor, then all around superstar

Blake Lively - has broken out of the Gossip Girl expectations

Michelle Williams - I do not know if on Dawson's Creek people saw a many time Oscar nominee type of talent. I'm guessing not.

Jennifer Lawrence - she was on a TBS sitcom

Yeah Cooper was in a bunch of smaller stuff, and played the asshole boyfriend etc etc etc. And then... broke out.

Leslie Nielsen and Morgan Freeman

Olivia Wilde as Marissa's bi fling had the most successful career of the OC actors (not counting 12 year old Shailene)

Definitely agree. He was the definition of "young hot actor with zero talent" on Alias. Then he was kind of funny in Wedding Crashers and it slowly progressed from there.

I don't think Paul Rudd's career was going nowhere... but he's far more popular now than anyone ever thought he would be. Obviously thanks to Marvel (mostly).

McAdams > Seyfried

She lives on a farm!

Seyfried has done well and I am personally a fan of Les Mis and Mamma Mia, but Rachel isn't Gwenyth Paltrow, she has actually made a lot of stuff the last 15 years

Several blockbusters (2 Sherlock Holmes films, Doctor Strange, Wedding Crashers), and 40 mil opening Valentines film (The Vow)
Oscar nominee and Best Picture winner in Spotlight
One of the best modern Christmas movies (The Family Stone)
Other solid films like Game Night and Red Eye, and lead role in Morning Glory
A Terrence Malick film nobody saw (To the Wonder)
Married multiple time travellers (Time Traveller's Wife/About Time)
Made out with Rachel Weisz (Disobedience)
True Detective S2
And the Notebook came out after Mean Girls so I'm counting it

The only reason she wasn't Meg Ryan level star is nobody writes good romcom scripts anymore

McAdams has the potential to become a much bigger star than she is... but she doesn't seem to want to? Not sure why.

It's mainly because Rachel is the #1 or romance or romcom actress of this generation, actually willing to make them and her taste in scripts doesn't suck, which in any other era up through the 90s would have been her the biggest actress, but both have been have been badly under-served. The success of A Star is Born, La La Land and Crazy Rich Asians shows what can happen if you have competent writers and directors make them. The lack of dramatic romance driven films other than low budget Nicholas Sparks movies is a joke, a huge portion of the movie going audience is obsessed with love and falling in love. There should be a movie like Passengers every year that's taking a home run swing at being the next Titanic/Gone with the Wind in case it happens, or a major musical romance like La La Land... the real Passengers wasn't even a flop despite being weird morally, it made 300 mil WW.

The Rock? How the fuck did he go from a spin off the mummy to the highest paid actor in the world for two years in a row?