Elizabeth McGovern & Actresses Whose Careers Died

[AndyDursin]

Was surprised while watching the CLASH OF THE TITANS remake to see Elizabeth McGovern in a nothing role as Perseus' adopted human mom. I looked at her credits and it says she was in KICK-ASS as well, but I don't recall seeing her in it at all.

Talk about an actress whose career went nowhere...and to think back in the '80s she had a brief window there where she was a borderline "A lister."

It doesn't help her cause that she looks like she's had work done, as her face looks different (or at least she's thinner).

Made me think about other actresses who vanished off the face of the earth as well, only to resurface in extremely minor roles...any other candidates we can add into these small roster of people?

[Eric W.]

Unfortunately another person with a similar name: Elisabeth Shue.

Nothing but B films and schlock. Too bad.

Meg Ryan after some ABOMINABLE plastic surgery...have you seen her? It's scary. It's the stuff of nightmares outright. This gal used to be headlining all over the place.


Michelle Pfeiffer. She's gone. Too bad. She can act and she can either look gorgeous or homely depending on roles.

Minnie Driver. I don't miss her. Same goes even more for Julia Ormond. Terrible.

Andie Macdowell...I always liked her.

Our gal Reiko Ayelsworth...she's doing ok in TV but I'd like to see her ascend a little more.




It's pretty clear to me that the industry continues to be FAR more forgiving towards the men as they get older and maybe gain a few pounds and show signs of some age vs. the women. Heck, it's not even close.

[AndyDursin]

At least when Elisabeth comes back in PIRANHA 3-D later this month she's actually the lead...McGovern's CLASH OF THE TITANS role is basically a walk-on that could've been played by anyone!

I was surprised to see her. I did a double-take and was like, is THAT Elizabeth McGovern? In a pointless 2-minute role with two lines of dialogue? Sheesh!

[Eric W.]

At least when Elisabeth comes back in PIRANHA 3-D later this month she's actually the lead...

True, but c'mon. It's garbage. She deserves a lot better than that and I've felt that way for a number of years. I'm simply puzzled that this gal couldn't land better projects over the years.

McGovern's CLASH OF THE TITANS role is basically a walk-on that could've been played by anyone!

I was surprised to see her. I did a double-take and was like, is THAT Elizabeth McGovern? In a pointless 2-minute role with two lines of dialogue? Sheesh!

Definitely. Mind boggling what's happened to her.

[AndyDursin]

True, but c'mon. It's garbage. She deserves a lot better than that and I've felt that way for a number of years. I'm simply puzzled that this gal couldn't land better projects over the years.

I wouldn't say she couldn't land leading roles -- more like she didn't want them. Have to remember the main reason for her hiatus from basically a decade ago until now was that she had a couple of kids and wanted to raise them. She also went back to Harvard to complete her degree as well during that time, so other than a couple of fleeting (mostly smallish) roles here and there she hasn't been around.

Granted PIRANHA 3-D is a dumb summer popcorn movie, but at least it's a leading role for her and some of the casting looks like it's been intentionally designed for nostalgic purposes (Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, etc. Dreyfuss' character name is even "Matt"!!).

At this point I wouldn't blame her for taking that movie -- chances are that people will see it, and it's better than Elizabeth McGovern appearing for 30 seconds in CLASH OF THE TITANS and KICK-ASS.

[Eric W.]

True, but c'mon. It's garbage. She deserves a lot better than that and I've felt that way for a number of years. I'm simply puzzled that this gal couldn't land better projects over the years.

I wouldn't say she couldn't land leading roles -- more like she didn't want them. Have to remember the main reason for her hiatus from basically a decade ago until now was that she had a couple of kids and wanted to raise them. She also went back to Harvard to complete her degree as well during that time, so other than a couple of fleeting (mostly smallish) roles here and there she hasn't been around.

Granted PIRANHA 3-D is a dumb summer popcorn movie, but at least it's a leading role for her and some of the casting looks like it's been intentionally designed for nostalgic purposes (Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, etc. Dreyfuss' character name is even "Matt"!!).

True.

At this point I wouldn't blame her for taking that movie -- chances are that people will see it, and it's better than Elizabeth McGovern appearing for 30 seconds in CLASH OF THE TITANS and KICK-ASS.

Sad but true.

[Paul MacLean]

Double Post!

[Paul MacLean]

Minnie Driver. I don't miss her.

I have to say I've always been a fan of her's. I'm partly biased -- I like Semitic-looking women with curly hair to begin with, but Driver has an engaging persona and a smile that lights up the screen. Plus she's British and I think British actors are generally superior to American ones. A good friend of mine worked on The Riches and described her as "a lovely woman".

Andie Macdowell...I always liked her.

Now her I never cared for. I liked her in Groundhog Day, as well as Greystoke (in which she was dubbed by Glenn Close) but not much else. She always comes across as stuck-up to me.

I was far-more impressed by her Sex Lies and Videotape co-star Lauren San Giacomo (who has likewise disappeared).

Grace Jones is another one who vanished from sight in the late 80s, though the word is she was extremely difficult (and sent stuntmen to the hospital during Conan The Destroyer).

I loved Mili Avital, who seemed primed for stardom after Stargate, but Kissing A Fool seems to have tied a noose around her career (it didn't help that the the hair and make-up they put her in for that film was a clear attempt to make look less Israeli).

Anne Hathaway is another young actress who is on her way to obscurity (but I'm not a fan).

It's pretty clear to me that the industry continues to be FAR more forgiving towards the men as they get older and maybe gain a few pounds and show signs of some age vs. the women. Heck, it's not even close.

Despite paying lip service to "women's rights" Hollywood is a boys club that worships teenage girls and generally puts actresses out to pasture once they're about 30, though a few have been able to beat this -- Jennifer Aniston is still going strong, and Goldie Hawn has had a very prolific career.

[Monterey Jack]

Anne Hathaway is another young actress who is on her way to obscurity (but I'm not a fan).

Really? She recently received her first Oscar nomination and also co-starred in one of the year's highest-grossing movies (Alice In Wonderland). I don't see any evidence that Hathaway is falling by the wayside. She's cannily set up her career to bounce between the kind of squeaky-clean 'tweener stuff that made her career (Princess Diaries) and more "adult" fare. I don't think she had anything to worry about for the forseeable future.

What about Bridget Fonda? Ever since she married Danny Elfman (lucky bastard... ) about five years back, I can't think of a single movie she's been in. She's still beautiful even in her mid-40s (she has that same gene Elisabeth Shue has, I suppose), so it's a shame she's seemingly retired.

[Eric W.]

I have to say I've always been a fan of her's. I'm partly biased -- I like Semitic-looking women with curly hair to begin with, but Driver has an engaging persona and a smile that lights up the screen. Plus she's British and I think British actors are generally superior to American ones. A good friend of mine worked on The Riches and described her as "a lovely woman".

Actually you know what? The more I thought about her the more I softened my stance.

I'm a little moody on this allergy medicine.


And I agree with you about the Brits. Coming off of that Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes and some other BBC fare and such...boy it's not even close in a whole lot of cases. And if you get some folks out of the RSC? Case closed.

[AndyDursin]

I'm not a big Minnie Driver fan myself but it's good to see her still working.

Bridget Fonda is an interesting case MJ, you're right. I think her biggest problem, for me, was kind of a lack of charisma on the whole. She was good in the right part but some roles she was just totally unconvincing in (like POINT OF NO RETURN, the "action heroine" type didn't suit her) and I think her career kind of whittled away even before she crossed that Hollywood "age threshold" so to speak for actresses for that reason.

On the flip side of this thread, I am continuously happy that Marisa keeps working in all kinds of fare both big studio and indie -- and looks amazing at her age as well!

[Paul MacLean]

Again, not to sound like Barbara Streisand - - but it is true that male movie stars don't become pariahs when they age. Just look at The Expendables and its cast of balding, 50 and 60-somethings.

Admittedly, it is an August release, but still -- you wouldn't see a summer movie with an ensemble cast of Bette Midler, Mia Farrow, Kristen Scott-Thomas and Debra Winger!

[Eric W.]

On the flip side of this thread, I am continuously happy that Marisa keeps working in all kinds of fare both big studio and indie -- and looks amazing at her age as well!

Let me emphasize that for you especially if you've seen The Wrestler, as a recent example.

I've always been a fan of hers.

[Monterey Jack]

Good call on the still-gorgeous Marisa Tomei, Andy. She still has a body that'd shame most actresses half her age (forty-five...?! ), and it's nice that she's still getting consistent work. Of course, it's those knee-weakening good looks that keep her getting jobs...

[mkaroly]

How about Jennifer Jason-Leigh...she was in a lot of stuff at one point and then fell off the map, albeit a while ago.

Taking a trip in the Way-Back machine, how about Phoebe Cates? These are old school but honestly they are the only two I could think of.