When you think “A-lister,” actors like Meryl Streep, Zendaya, and Denzel Washington come to mind. However, for every A-list celeb, there are a dozen more who tried to make it but never quite reached the top.
Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Recently, redditor u/phantom_avenger asked, “What celebrity did Hollywood try to make the ‘leading A-lister,’ but failed?”
Here are 50 of the top responses:
1.”Nickelodeon tried to turn Victoria Justice into the next big star. However, her music and acting career flopped while her Victorious costar Ariana Grande’s career took off.”
Amy Sussman / Getty Images for The Business of Fashion
—Jakeymdog
“I ended up watching an hour-long deep dive about this and man, it’s sad. The girl just wanted to act and sing, but the industry did what the industry does and ruined her chances instead. After Nickelodeon promised to do everything for her career, they pushed her to the side for Ariana after she started getting more popularity, leaving her in limbo for a long time. Once the BS feud rumours started, Victoria’s career was basically over before it began. It’s a shame. She’s always seemed really genuine and obviously has talent.”
River Callaway / Billboard via Getty Images
—whyaregeeselikethat
2.”Cara Delevingne. She was in multiple movies throughout the second half of the 2010s, but I don’t think she caught on.”
Araya Doheny / Getty Images
—PineDude128
“She’s a nepo baby. Her godfather, Nicholas Coleridge, was pretty high up in Condé Nast, the company that owns Vogue, GQ, the New Yorker, etc.”
Ernesto Ruscio / Getty Images
—BaddestKarmaToday
3.”They handed Gina Carano stardom on a silver platter, and she shat on it.”
Ethan Miller / FilmMagic / Via Getty
—Dopingponging
4.”Sydney Sweeney is an amplified version of this. Lots of it girls/guys headline a few films over a handful of years, and it doesn’t stick.”
Rodin Eckenroth / WireImage / Via Getty
—Silly_Somewhere1791
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5.”I do not understand how Dakota Johnson keeps getting roles. I get she is the daughter of famous people, so I see why she got her start. But by now, people should have realized she is a terrible actor. Any project she’s in that doesn’t flop, it’s in spite of her, not because of her.”
Emma McIntyre / Getty Images
—sergiossa
“This is the one for me. She actually seems to have negative charisma and takes away chemistry from the screen. I’ve never been so disinterested in an actor before.”
Gabriel Kuchta / Getty Images
—WeeBabySeamus
6.”Chris Pratt. He’s one of those people you like more the less you know about him. As he got more famous, we all just kept finding out lousier things about him, and now… I feel like I just heard him defending RFK Jr.”
Jamie McCarthy / WireImage / Via Getty
—very-dumb
7.”I didn’t think you could ever outshine C. Thomas Howell, who was going to be the huge star after The Outsiders movie. You might have heard of the other minor actors who starred in the film — Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Tom Cruise.”
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
—phead
8.”Noah Centineo. It failed miserably, and I thought it was funny.”
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—metal_elk
9.”Katherine Heigl. They tried to cram her into things she did not belong in. Case in point: One for the Money. Great books, but her character was an East Coast brunette Italian. WTF?”
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images
—la_mano_poderosa
10.”Gal Gadot for me. She’s attractive but cannot act to save her life. I am also scratching my head that Disney cast her as the Evil Queen in the Snow White remake. Like, this is the person who’s supposed to be jealous of Snow White’s beauty? Really?”
Craig T Fruchtman / Getty Images
—JackintheBoxman
11.”Sam Claflin was in a lot of stuff for a second around the Hunger Games era. He’s talented and attractive, and he’s still in stuff, but he really should be a bigger name.”
Dominique Charriau / WireImage / Via Getty
—Ok_Chain3171
12.”Kit Harington and really a lot of the Game of Thrones cast.”
John Nacion / Variety via Getty Images
—Kogyochi
13.”Emilia Clarke, in particular, joined a lot of big franchises (Marvel, Star Wars, Terminator, etc.), yet all of those projects were flops!”
BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP via Getty Images
—phantom_avenger
“Emilia Clarke would have been better off doing more rom-coms. She seems well-suited for those roles. I wonder if it’s just that she doesn’t really need the money and likes running around with guns. If she wants to have a career in acting and a good body of work, then I think she’s made poor choices. If she just wants to have an easy life, then she’s probably made good choices.”
Jacopo Raule / Getty Images
—gilestowler
14.”Jaden Smith.”
Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
—akerasi
“I mean, it’s not like Hollywood tried to make him into an A-Lister. Will’s the one who pushed it. Jaden did not seem to care that much about acting.”
Michael Kovac / Getty Images for Netflix
—KaTheEdgy
15.”Miles Teller.”
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Via Getty
—DawnSignals
16.”Alicia Silverstone. After Clueless, she was expected to own the next decade.”
© Paramount/ Courtesy: Everett Collection
—No-Celebration6014
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17.”Sam Worthington.”
Deadline / Deadline via Getty Images
—Wolfmantastic
“James Cameron wakes him from hibernation every decade for Avatar.”
Cindy Ord / Getty Images
—GumboPuddin
18.”Casper Van Dien was tipped to be the next big action star in 1998.”
John Russo / Sygma via Getty Images
—Dabrigstar
“After Starship Troopers, I was positive we were gonna see him in EVERYTHING. Then he peaced out.”
Vivien Killilea / Getty Images for IMDb
—TapersBeTaping
19.”Anthony Mackie. I love everything he’s been in, but I get the feeling he hasn’t quite slotted into a decent film role yet.”
Noam Galai / Getty Images for SiriusXM
—Maurice_Foot
20.”Julianne Hough. She was pushed like crazy with Footloose and Rock of Ages, but neither was a hit. Then she had to go back to Dancing with the Stars as a judge and now co-host.”
John Nacion / WireImage / Via Getty
—SPFeveryday
21.”Amy Schumer.”
John Lamparski / Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
—AgreeableLead7
22.”Jeremy Renner was groomed to take over the Mission Impossible and Jason Bourne franchises, couldn’t quite cut it.”
Savion Washington / WireImage / Via Getty
—ohhellopia
23.”Dylan O’Brien. It’s too bad, because I think he’s done a great job in everything. Just saw Caddo Lake the other day, and it was the first thing I’ve seen him in a while. Another great performance. Not sure why he didn’t really keep getting roles.”
Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
—OrlandoMB
24.”Taylor Kitsch.”
NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images
—AKAkorm
“Good actor. I think he just needs to land that one role that gives him a chance to shine. I really liked his work in Season 2 of True Detective. I know that season wasn’t the best (especially compared to the excellence of Season 1), but it has its moments. I really liked that character, and Kitsch played it well.”
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—2FeetOffTheGround
25.”I feel like this is happening with Taron Egerton. I love him, so I hope he becomes A-List.”
John Lamparski / Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
—RyFromTheChi
Related: 21 “Wait…That Was Them?!” Times Celebs Became Famous For Two Wildly Different Reasons
26.”Taylor Lautner.”
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images
—Valuable-Trick-6711
27.”Charlie Hunnam is unfortunately in the same position as Colin Farrell was 20 years ago. He’s a character actor in the body of a leading man.”
Dave Benett / Dave Benett/WireImage / Via Getty
—ThunderMontgomery
28.”One I don’t understand why it didn’t take is Ben Foster.”
Evan Agostini / Getty Images
—Teacherforlife21
“Seems like about 20 years ago, he accepted that he was an incredible character actor, especially when playing the heavy, and has just been killing it that way ever since. 3:10 to Yuma and Hell or High Water come to mind. He pretty much stole those two movies, and they had great casts.”
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—BeautifulLeather6671
29.”Shailene Woodley. Not a bad actor, just lacks charisma.”
Luigi Iorio / GC Images / Via Getty
—Bluehope7777
30.”There was a push to make Justin Long the next comedy lead. He’s fine as a side character but not fit for leading roles.”
Jim Spellman / WireImage / Via Getty
—Teacherforlife21
“I think also his genre generally died. The type of comedies he starred in completely evaporated in the early 2010s. He had to kind of discover a new identity over the past decade.”
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic / Via Getty
—CreatiScope
31.”Surprised no one said Chris O’Donnell.”
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
—solarganome
“He was an A-lister back in the day and a massive heartthrob. It’s true that it didn’t really last, though.”
Gilbert Carrasquillo / GC Images / Via Getty
—IndigoButterfl6
32.”Aaron Paul. He was good as Jesse in Breaking Bad — everything else has been meh.”
JC Olivera / Variety via Getty Images
—Beautiful_Golf6508
33.”I always thought Linda Fiorentino would make it.”
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—Bernardcecil
34.”Clive Owen… Good actor too…”
Walt Disney Television Photo Arc / ABC
—Artisan_James
“Clive is such a weird case. He’s a brilliant actor, and he’s had a solid career, but it always felt like he was meant for superstardom. His name was always being tossed around as a possible James Bond (before Daniel Craig), but it never quite happened.”
Michael Tullberg / Getty Images
—NotTheRocketman
35.”Ian Somerhalder. I think his looks made it hard for him to play a normal person.”
Jesse Grant / Getty Images for the Environmental Media Association
—Silly_Somewhere1791
36.”John David Washington. He’s not a bad actor, and he’s a handsome guy, but he simply lacks the charisma of a leading man. I don’t know how Denzel didn’t pass on any of that to him.”
Emma McIntyre / Getty Images
—Smarkysmarkwahlberg
37.”Téa Leoni.”
John Lamparski / Getty Images
—Sid14dawg
“She earned comparisons to Lucille Ball in the first season of The Naked Truth. A scene with a copy machine was the funniest slapstick by a woman I’ve ever seen. Then the network ruined the show, and she didn’t get good comedy roles after that.”
Bill Reitzel / TV Guide / ©ABC / courtesy Everett Collection
—uyakotter
38.”I’m surprised no one has said Richard Grieco.”
Aaron Rapoport / TV Guide / TM & Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. / courtesy Everett Collection
—MasticatedDorks
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39.”Chris Klein. They tried so hard.”
Phillip Chin / Getty Images for Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
—DistributionNo6824
40.”Channing Tatum is certainly a star, but I feel like Hollywood was hoping he’d be much bigger than he currently is. A B-lister at best that you need to pair with another B-lister or ideally an A-lister.”
Greg Doherty / Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
—smackchice
41.”Scott Eastwood.”
Derek White / Getty Images for London Liqueur Co.
—Drunkicho
42.”Shia LaBeouf. I was so glad when they stopped putting him in lead roles, finally.”
Dave Benett / Dave Benett/WireImage / Via Getty
—Old-Pin-7839
43.”Brandon Routh.”
Rick Kern / Getty Images
—sickostrich244
“A looker and not a terrible actor (I liked him in Scott Pilgrim), but yeah, his Superman debut bombed, and I feel like they haven’t given him a chance since.”
Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images for IMDb
—MeowM30ws
44.”Eric Bana.”
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—Glittering-Hat-8585
45.”Katie Holmes. Hollywood might not have tried very hard, but when I saw Dawson’s Creek, I turned to my wife and said that this girl was gonna be big. But it never happened. I think Tom Cruise gets some credit for derailing her career.”
Fred Norris /©Columbia TriStar Television / courtesy Everett Collection
—Dragonwork
46.”Liam Hemsworth. They kept trying to make him a star after The Hunger Games, and nobody cared. They even put him in the Independence Day sequel, and nobody cared. His brother Chris’s fame made Hollywood think they could have a Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez scenario, but they ended up with an Alec Baldwin and Stephen Baldwin one instead.”
Jeff Spicer / Getty Images
—realfakejames
47.”Ryan Phillippe.”
Steve Granitz / WireImage / Via Getty
—One_Dey
“He was amazing in his prime/’married to Reese Witherspoon’ days. Cruel Intentions?”
Michael Tullberg / Getty Images
—Avocadofarmer32
48.”Greg Kinnear.”
Gary Gershoff / Getty Images
—No_Use_1966
“He was great in As Good as It Gets, and I have a soft spot for Mystery Men.”
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic for HBO / Via Getty
—primum
49.”Surprised no one’s said Topher Grace. He was billed as ‘the next Tom Hanks.'”
NBC / Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
—PrinceOseph
50.And finally, “Billy Zane — they even featured him in his own action hero movie, The Phantom, which also had Catherine Zeta-Jones in it. He was also in Dead Calm with Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill. I adore him, but he just never gained traction. Yes, yes, he was in Titanic.”
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—Apprehensive_Fee_918
Are there any other actors you felt like Hollywood really pushed towards A-list status, but it didn’t work out? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.
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