15 Actors Who Can’t Find Work (And Why Hollywood Isn’t Hiring Them)

Everyone who comes to Hollywood does so with the dream of making it big. But what happens to the stars who actually make their dreams come true? They land a few important roles and soon everyone knows their name but how many of them stay in the spotlight for more than a few years? Having a successful acting career involves more than just one or two big roles, it’s about making the right choices to ensure that you stay in demand.

The stars on today’s list might have been successful once, but these days we aren’t seeing much of them anymore because they are just not getting that many job offers. In the cut-throat world of acting, nothing stays the same for very long. New starlets are always arriving on the scene and the ones who have lost their shine or run their course are slowly pushed out of the way to make space for the younger generation. Staying on top, and making sure movie execs want to hire you means that you must be relevant enough to still draw a crowd. Most of these actors have enjoyed prominent or leading roles at one time, but today, because of bad choices or simply bad luck, they’re struggling to get good parts.

15. Is Hilary Swank Too Talented For Hollywood?

You would think that after being nominated for an Academy Award twice and won both times (a feat that’s only ever been achieved by two other actresses, neither of them current) Hilary Swank would be positively inundated with movie roles – but it doesn’t seem that way at all does it? Her performances in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Babywere spectacular, to say the least, and Swank has the ability to transform her body and persona to take on challenging roles and give them depth, so why aren’t we seeing more of her? She looked set to have a dazzling career and although she has been working, she hasn’t been getting a lot of attention from her projects. Is Hilary maybe just too good for Hollywood?

14. Chris Owen Had To Work As A Waiter To Make Ends Meet

In 1999 Chris Owen made a name for himself as Chuck Sherman AKA “The Sherminator” in the hit coming-of-age comedy film American Pie, a role which he reprised for all of the film’s sequels including one of the straight-to-DVD spin-offs called American Pie Presents: Band Camp. He also made appearances in the National Lampoon film franchise and was featured in TV shows like 7th Heaven, Monk, and The Mentalist. He was off the Hollywood radar for quite some time until 2014 when a New York Daily News article reported that he was working as a waiter in a restaurant in California. In the interview, he stated “life doesn’t always go the way you planned. I love acting and this job lets me stay in the fight.” The article helped him get another two small film roles, but it’s hard to say whether or not he’ll ever be able to make a living from acting again.

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