Hollywood isn't for everyone. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at actors who had one significant film role and then bowed out from the silver screen for good… other than maybe a cameo or background role.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Don't worry, Mom. I know all about cannibalism. I saw it on TV.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at actors who had one significant film role
00:12and then bowed out from the silver screen for good.
00:14Other than maybe a cameo or a background role.
00:17They found a third ticket today.
00:19Did they?
00:20Yeah.
00:22Well, I guess I'll be going now.
00:26Alicia Rhett, Gone With The Wind
00:28Gone With The Wind is still the highest-grossing movie of all time after Inflation.
00:32One would assume that everyone associated with this epic would have a long future in Hollywood.
00:36While that was certainly the case for Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable,
00:39this would be Alicia Rhett's only screen credit.
00:42I can't stand that scarlet. If you'd see the way she throws herself at Ashley.
00:45Oh, no. That's your brother's business.
00:47Rhett auditioned for the role of Melanie Hamilton, which ultimately went to Olivia de Havilland.
00:52Rhett was instead cast as India Wilkes, Ashley's sister.
01:01Although her screen time was brief, Rhett solidified her place in cinematic history.
01:05Rhett nonetheless wasn't interested in being a star, living out her life in Georgia,
01:09where she worked as a portrait painter and radio announcer.
01:12When she passed in 2014, Rhett was among the film's last remaining cast members.
01:22Thelonious Bernard – A Little Romance
01:25Although this little film featured established stars like Laurence Olivier,
01:28the titular romance was shared between two newcomers, Thelonious Bernard and Diane Lane.
01:40Chances are you've heard of the latter,
01:42who's still acting 45 years later and even became an Oscar nominee.
01:46Bernard, meanwhile, is best known for playing Danielle Michaud,
01:50a movie-loving French boy who falls for Lane's Lauren.
02:03Despite picking up a couple of accolades for his performance,
02:05Bernard's only other credit was a bit part in 1981's The Boy Soldier.
02:09Focusing on his studies, Bernard sought a career in dentistry.
02:13He currently lives in Nantes with his wife and kids.
02:16Like their characters, Bernard and Lane would bid each other adieu.
02:19They'll always have Paris, however.
02:34Olga Mironova – Come and See
02:37A lack of established actors only adds to the realism in Alem Kalimov's Come and See,
02:42one of the most tragic anti-war films ever produced.
02:45Olga Mironova plays Glasha, a Soviet partisan nurse during World War II.
03:03She bonds with a naive young soldier named Fleora, played by Alexei Kravchenko,
03:07also in his first performance.
03:09Their early scenes are among the film's only glimpses of hope.
03:12We'd say their future seems bleak, but that would imply they have a future together.
03:16After a ten-year hiatus, Kravchenko returned to acting and is still active.
03:28Mironova lived a private life with no other roles to her name.
03:31It's been said that she became involved in choir,
03:33but Mironova has left few footprints to follow.
03:43Dorothy McGowan – Who Are You, Polly Magoo?
03:46After watching Who Are You, Polly Magoo, you might have a few other questions.
03:50To answer one of them, no, this isn't a real documentary,
03:53but it is a unique send-up of the fashion industry.
04:06Polly Magoo isn't a real supermodel either,
04:08although she was played by one.
04:10Dorothy McGowan modeled for photographer William Klein,
04:13who branched out into film with his satire.
04:22After playing the titular Polly Magoo,
04:24McGowan could have followed the same trajectory as many other models turned actresses.
04:28McGowan opted to quietly settle down,
04:30retiring from the limelight and having two children.
04:32She lived into her early 80s,
04:34In another interesting connection to cinema,
04:36McGowan's brother, James,
04:38was the inspiration for the lead negotiator in Dog Day Afternoon.
04:56Danny Lloyd – The Shining
04:58Danny Lloyd was only six when he landed the role of Danny Torrance
05:02in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining.
05:12Lloyd wouldn't appear in another theatrical film until the 2019 sequel, Dr. Sleep.
05:17Ewan McGregor took over the Danny Torrance role,
05:19but Lloyd can be spotted during a baseball game.
05:22One might assume The Shining was such a horrifying experience
05:25that Lloyd never wanted to act again.
05:32While The Shining was traumatic for some actors,
05:35Lloyd has fond memories of the production,
05:37as the crew shielded him from the scary scenes.
05:39Lloyd didn't even realize he was in a horror film at first,
05:42because Kubrick convinced him he was working on a drama.
05:45Although Lloyd went on other auditions,
05:47he left acting behind to become a community college professor and family man.
06:01Eminem – 8 Mile
06:03Eminem might not have been an unknown name in 2002,
06:06but the rapper's acting abilities hadn't been tested
06:08outside of an uncredited role in The Wash.
06:11There were no guarantees that his performance would be able to carry 8 Mile.
06:20Of course, it didn't hurt that the film was semi-autobiographical,
06:24with Jimmy B. Rabbit Smith's life mirroring Eminem's,
06:27in addition to winning two MTV Movie Awards
06:29for Best Male Performance and Breakthrough Male Performance,
06:32Eminem became an Oscar winner with the song Lose Yourself.
06:44Although Eminem clearly didn't leave show business,
06:468 Mile was essentially his acting mic drop,
06:49aside from some cameos as himself and documentaries.
06:52Yet, he came close to accepting lead roles in major films
06:55like Mad Max Fury Road and The Fighter.
06:59People haven't figured it out yet.
07:01I mean, it's kind of like I've been playing gay peekaboo.
07:03Gay peekaboo?
07:05Yeah.
07:06Carrie Henn – Aliens
07:08Carrie Henn hadn't acted a day in her life
07:10when agents visited her school looking for a young unknown
07:13to play Newt in James Cameron's Aliens.
07:15Henn's expressive facial features got their attention,
07:18and she proved to be a natural.
07:20Did one of those things go inside her?
07:23I don't know, Newt.
07:25That's the truth.
07:27Although Newt is in constant peril,
07:29Henn bonded with much of the cast and crew,
07:31including the actors in the Alien suits.
07:33She became especially close with Sigourney Weaver,
07:36behind and in front of the camera.
07:38Not wanting to grow distant from her family,
07:40Henn gave up acting in pursuit of a career in education.
07:43I just did it a couple times.
07:46While Henn is still teaching, she kept in touch with Weaver,
07:49occasionally makes convention appearances,
07:51and if a student brings in a copy of Aliens,
07:53she's happy to sign it.
07:55Are we gonna sleep all the way home?
07:57All the way home.
07:59Can I dream?
08:01Charmian Carr, The Sound of Music.
08:03The eldest Von Trapp child, Liesel,
08:05was 16 going on 17 in The Sound of Music.
08:08In reality, actress Charmian Carr was in her early 20s,
08:12only about seven years younger than Julie Andrews.
08:20At the time, Carr was modeling while attending college.
08:23Despite having no experience acting or singing,
08:25one of Carr's model friends knew director Robert Weiss.
08:28She sent him a photo of Carr,
08:30who unexpectedly received a phone call.
08:40Outside of some brief TV work,
08:42including another musical role
08:44in Stephen Sondheim's Evening Primrose,
08:46this Best Picture-winning blockbuster
08:48was Carr's only cinematic contribution.
08:50Carr dedicated her life to motherhood
08:52and interior design,
08:54taking on high-profile clients like Michael Jackson.
08:56The Sound of Music stayed close to Carr's heart,
08:58writing about her experiences
09:00and participating in retrospectives
09:02before she died in 2016.
09:16Young talent isn't easy to come by.
09:18Fortunately, this film's casting director
09:20found five golden tickets.
09:30Julie Dong Cole and Denise Nickerson,
09:32who played Veruca and Violet respectively,
09:34had a few other roles following Willy Wonka.
09:36While Paris Themmon has worked behind the scenes,
09:38Mike TV is his only theatrical film role.
09:41Likewise, Michael Bollner has no film acting credits
09:44other than Augustus Gloot.
09:46Perhaps most surprisingly,
09:48Peter Ostrom didn't seek stardom
09:50after winning over audiences as Charlie Bucket.
09:58The option was on the table,
10:00with Ostrom receiving a three-picture deal.
10:02Ostrom walked away from the offer,
10:04and although he considered revisiting acting,
10:06working with animals as a vet was his passion.
10:08Ostrom sometimes wonders about the career he left behind,
10:10but has no regrets.
10:16I'm pleased to hear you say that,
10:18because I'm giving it to you.
10:20Before we continue,
10:22be sure to subscribe to our channel
10:24and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
10:26You have the option to be notified
10:28for occasional videos or all of them.
10:30If you're on your phone,
10:32make sure you go into your settings
10:34and switch on notifications.
10:40Born in Ponton, France,
10:42Renée-Jean Falconetti was a stage actress
10:44when Carl Theodore Dreyer approached her
10:46about playing the lead in 1928's
10:48The Passion of Joan of Arc.
10:54It's been debated whether or not
10:56this was Falconetti's first true screen credit,
10:58as much of her life remains shrouded in mystery.
11:00What can be said with certainty
11:02is that Joan of Arc
11:04will become Falconetti's legacy.
11:06Almost a century later,
11:08Falconetti's performance is still viewed
11:10as one of the most emotionally raw
11:12and agonizing in cinematic history.
11:14Regardless,
11:16Falconetti was more accustomed to the stage,
11:18where she remained for the rest of her acting career.
11:20Her death in 1946,
11:22much like her life,
11:24remains something of an enigma.
11:26Yet,
11:28she left behind an immortal performance.
11:36Which actor do you wish starred in more than one movie?
11:38Let us know in the comments.
12:08Subscribe for more!