Chasing the ghosts of forgotten legends

Richard Wilson4 said:Man, what happened with Renée Zellweger? From the late 90s up through maybe 2005, she was basically in every massive blockbuster out there. How did she just tank in such a short window and then totally vanish from the radar?

briskhound2 said:It’s kind of like when Josh Hartnett just keeps picking these totally obscure, bottom-of-the-barrel roles...

Richard Wilson4 said:Look, let's be real. Josh was that teen heartthrob who just never quite leveled up to a Leo DiCaprio or a Brad Pitt, whereas she was basically the definition of an A-lister for years.

briskhound2 said:What A-lister? I mean, Bridget Jones is just another rom-com—and there are plenty of those out there—so *Cold Mountain* is really the only thing in her filmography that actually feels serious. Hartnett’s done some heavier stuff too, but their careers are pretty much neck and neck at this point. His role choices have always been a bit weird, honestly... while she just kind of got phased out by the next wave of stars.

Richard Wilson4 said:Think about Chicago or Jerry Maguire. I can't recall if Ya, Ya, and Me was a massive smash, but overall, from 2001 to 2004, she was absolutely killing it. I don't see why she wouldn't be in the women's category.

After 2006, it’s game over. She just doesn't get those kinds of roles anymore.

goldenskipper72 said:Tim Curry—the guy sings, dances, acts... he’s got the talent, but he just hasn't been given enough credit.
Sharon Stone—pure nostalgia for me.
Pamela Anderson—same here.
Dustin Hoffman—he deserves way more than just a few Oscar nods.
Tony Jaa—people haven't forgotten him, but let's be real, he's already a legend on par with Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. The guy could command the Twilight Saga cast to do his bidding if he felt like it.
Rowan Atkinson—so incredibly underused.
Michael Clarke Duncan—I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he's gone.

He was huge in the 80s and 90s, then everything just kind of fell apart.

The older crowd probably remembers Lorenzo Lamas having a pretty solid run.

Sure, it was mostly soap operas, crime shows, and those cheesy action B-movies, but he had some legit roles too—like that part in the cult classic "Brilliance" when he was only 19.

But things started sliding downhill in the late 90s. The TV gigs dried up, and movie offers turned into total trash projects like "Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus."

Lamas eventually decided to walk away from Hollywood entirely. Nowadays, he’s working as a pilot for some tour company out in California.

During an appearance on "Oprah: Where Are They Now," he opened up about his biggest regret: "I really regret taking my success for granted. I was way too young when I hit it big. I figured this acting thing would last forever and didn't expect it to wrap up by the time I was 41 or 42."

"I was working non-stop since my early twenties. There was always a new series or a movie on the horizon," says Lamas, who has actually had to file for bankruptcy twice.

"It's a tough lesson to learn when you're 40. I wish I'd prepared better for the end of my career and actually saved some money. Instead, I blew it all on planes and villas, and none of that matters now. Because of that, I don't even have enough cash to buy my 16-year-old son a car," Lamas wraps up.