An actor’s career is full of highs and lows. Show business is a famously fickle business – everything can change for you, for better or for worse, in a flash. When an actor chooses to commit to a particular project, they know that it can make or break their career. Even the most celebrated actors can find themselves in a tight spot and take on a less-than-stellar project. And sometimes, an actor can make a terrific film but pay an unexpected price for it for a variety of reasons.
Our choices define us – and they can often define our career. Sometimes, an actor can make a questionable decision and bounce back. Other times, one project choice can ruin an actor’s career for the rest of time. Brace yourself for a bumpy ride down some of the most questionable decisions in film history. A word of caution – it’s probably best to just leave these films off your Netflix queue.
1. Scooby Doo (2002)
You’re a film studio executive, and you want to concoct a blockbuster, what do you do? Use a certified past hit for source material, cast the hottest young actors around for the leading roles, and you’re good. Right? Well, not always.
Back in the early 2000s the hottest two names around were Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar. He had blockbuster rom-coms under his belt, and she starred in the mega-hit show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. They were also the hottest couple in Hollywood, after first getting together on the set of 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer. But, after appearing as Fred and Daphne in the film version of Scooby Doo, things went downhill for a little while. Critics loathed the film, and Prinze Jr. virtually disappeared off the screen save for a few cameos in film and TV. Gellar also mostly disappeared after wrapping Buffy in its 7th seasons.
However, the two are still very happy together. They’ve been married for 16 years, have two children, and Gellar is now heading the TV remake of Cruel Intentions!