Top 20 TV Stars Who FLOPPED in Movies | Articles on WatchMojo.com (2024)

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for TV stars who were unable to achieve a similar level of success on the big screen. Which of these TV stars do you feel should’ve had a much bigger movie career? Let us know in the comments

#20: Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion has had a number of prominent runs on television, from the short-lived (but much-loved) “Firefly” to the long running “Castle” and “The Rookie.” However, turning that into success on the big screen… Well, it just hasn’t happened. Sure, he’s been in plenty of movies, but mostly in smaller and supporting roles and nothing that in any way would have people thinking of him as a movie star rather than a TV one. Although he has been cast as Green Lantern in the upcoming “Superman” reboot and the launch of the DCU, so maybe things will change after that. But we wouldn’t swear to it by our pretty floral bonnet.

#19: Mischa Barton

Yes, Mischa Barton had a small part in “Notting Hill” and was even in “The Sixth Sense.” But it wasn’t her appearances in those two major blockbusters that got her named the “It Girl” of 2003 by Entertainment Weekly (and not just because both those films came out in 1999). Nope, Barton was the “It Girl” because of “The O.C.” Her role as Marissa Cooper on the hit series brought her the recognition, the fame and the Teen Choice Awards that she hadn’t found in the movies before or since.

#18: David Caruso

David Caruso was relatively unknown in 1993 when he landed the role of Detective John Kelly in the new series, “NYPD Blue.” The series was critically acclaimed and ran for 12 seasons. Caruso however, only lasted 26 episodes. And crazy enough, that was his choice! The show made Caruso an instant star and a household name and after the first season he was ready to take that star power to the movie screen. Caruso left the show and in 1995 starred in two major films, “Kiss of Death” and “Jade.” Unfortunately for him, both films were awful and his big movie career never materialized. It took a few years, but he did find success back on TV with “CSI: Miami” in the aughts.

#17: Nina Dobrev

The beautiful and talented Nina Dobrev first found some success playing Mia Jones for four seasons on everyone's favorite Canadian teen drama television franchise “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” She then saw a second round of fame come from her dual role as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on “The Vampire Diaries.” She has done movies also. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” brought critical success and “XXX: Return of Xander Cage” saw commercial success. But while Dobrev’s talents have been appreciated on the small screen, they’ve never led to the same kind of success on the silver one.

#16: Josh Radnor

We definitely wouldn’t call Josh Randor’s TV stardom a flash in the pan given that it lasted for 9 years. But it definitely felt like it came just as quickly as it went away. Prior to 2005 Randor was primarily a bit player and a guest star. Then in 2005 he became the “I” in “How I Met Your Mother.” For 9 seasons we watched him fall in and out of love, searching for “the one” and… well, this isn’t the place to get into that disappointing finale. Randor has proved he is a talented actor, but he’s only done it in small movies and short-lived TV shows since the end of that hit series.

#15: Mary-Louise Parker

Mary-Louise Parker is an interesting one because she initially made her name in the movies. With films like “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “The Client,” Parker was a recognizable name on movie posters in the 90s. However, it was in the 2000s - and on the small screen - that Parker saw her star rise to new heights. It started with her multi-season supporting role as Amy Gardner on “The West Wing.” But it reached its pinnacle with her starring role on the hit Showtime series “Weeds,” which ran from 2005 to 2012. It was also those two shows (especially the latter) which account for most of Parker’s critical acclaim along with her award nominations and wins.

#14: January Jones

For January Jones there have been three stages of her career. There was the time before “Mad Men,” the time during “Mad Men,” and the time after “Mad Men.” And if we’re being honest, it’s that second stage that saw her at the peak of her stardom. Sure she offered good support as Cadence Flaherty in 2003’s “American Wedding,” but it wasn’t a star turn. Probably her most high profile movie role was Emma Frost in 2011’s “X-Men: First Class,” which came about in the middle of her run on “Mad Men.” It was also during the series run that she hosted “Saturday Night Live.” And all of her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations have been for… you guessed it, “Mad Men.”

#13: Shelley Long

“Cheers” is one of the most beloved sitcoms in TV history, and for 5 years, one of its biggest stars was Shelley Long. As one half of the tumultuous Sam and Diane coupling, Long saw her career take off, earning 5 Emmy nominations (and one win) and a bunch of movie offers. And her film career looked like it might be pretty big also after earning a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination for “Irreconcilable Differences.” She also starred in“The Money Pit” and “Outrageous Fortune” - all while still appearing on “Cheers.” However, after leaving the show at the end of the 5th season, Long’s movie career never quite made it. Her most recognizable part since then was probably DeDe Pritchett on “Modern Family.”

#12: Julianna Margulies

We don’t want to take anything away from 2006’s “Snakes on a Plane” or Julianna Margulies’ performance in it. Still, despite her mega-stardom on television, Margulies never seemed to translate said stardom to the big screen. And speaking of her star power, did you know that she was originally supposed to die in the “ER” pilot, but she tested so well with audiences that the producers changed the story to have her live? She left the show in 2000, but nine years later her appeal with TV audiences was still so strong that she came back to lead “The Good Wife” through seven acclaimed seasons.

#11: Topher Grace

Topher Grace’s career got off to a great start when he was cast as Eric Forman on “That 70’s Show.” That’s right, that was Grace’s first acting job. So to say he went from a total unknown to a TV star in just a year or two is pretty accurate. After he left the show in 2005 it looked like he was on the movie star path. His role in the well-received “In Good Company” put him front and center in the lead role. Then a couple years later he was Venom in “Spider-Man 3.” He was talented and likable, and some critics were even calling him “the next Tom Hanks’” Well, long story short… he wasn’t.

#10: Michael C. Hall

Most actors are lucky to get a part in one great television show let alone have a starring role in two - one of which, “Six Feet Under,” is often talked about among the greatest of all time. And after that show ended in 2005, what did Michael C. Hall do? Well, just one year later he was back on TV killing it in “Dexter.” Hall spent basically 12 consecutive years on our television screens, but after “Dexter” ended he never really made the jump to movies in a way that would lead to big screen stardom. Besides “Game Night,” Hall mostly appeared in smaller, lesser-seen films. But he found more TV success with the series “Safe” on Netflix and “Dexter: New Blood.” He’s also had a decent career on-stage, performing in musicals such as “Cabaret” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway.

#9: Matt LeBlanc

Many TV stars leave a show, or wait till after it’s ended, to try and make the leap to movies. Not Matt LeBlanc. LeBlanc decided to strike while the “Friends” iron was hot and, in fact, almost all of the movies he made were during his 10 year run as Joey Tribbiani. Remember “Ed” - the movie about a baseball-playing chimp? Well, LeBlanc probably wants to forget about it also. Then there was “Lost in Space” which could’ve started his ascent to movie stardom. But with bad reviews and a minimal profit the film’s high hopes were never reached. He did appear in the “Charlie’s Angels” movies, but it was a small part and it’s been pretty much all TV for LeBlanc ever since.

#8: Laura Prepon

We assume we aren’t the only ones who, when Laura Prepon showed up on “Orange Is the New Black” in 2013, were like, “It’s great to see her again - what has she been doing since ‘That '70s Show’ ended?” Well, we know she wasn’t busy with a big time movie career. Sure, she acted in a few films. But nothing that got much mainstream attention. Really, it looks like Prepon has mostly focused her talents on television. You may even remember she starred in two much-hyped, but short-lived network shows, “October Road” and “Are You There, Chelsea?” before donning the prison garb in “Orange Is the New Black.”

#7: Matthew Fox

From “Party of Five” to “Lost,” Matthew Fox starred in over 250 episodes of television in the 90s and 2000s that many of us will never forget. However, when it comes to Fox in the movies, the struggle is remembering what films he’s even been in. The biggest movie he was in was “World War Z,” but unfortunately for Fox almost all his scenes were cut, leaving him just a few moments of screen time. After “Lost” ended, Fox was quoted as saying he was “done with television.” However, he was soon done with the movies also as he hasn’t even been in a film since 2015.

#6: Zach Braff

When it comes to Zach Braff most of us probably think of two things…. “Scrubs” and “Garden State.” The former is the awesome television show that made Braff a household name. And the latter is the film he got to make - probably because “Scrubs” had made him said household name. Braff had always wanted to be a filmmaker. He wrote and directed the film and it was a critical hit as well as a commercial one - taking home $35 million bucks on just a $2.5 million budget. Braff looked on the verge of a long and acclaimed movie career. But alas no. Since “Garden State” he hasn’t starred in anything of note and his next two directorial efforts received mixed reviews and little fanfare.

#5: Taylor Kitsch

Taylor Kitsch grew up playing ice hockey, but it was his role as high school footballer, Tim Riggins, on “Friday Night Lights” that made him a star. And not just any star. The kind that The Hollywood Reporter listed as “pushing – or being pushed' into taking over Hollywood as the new 'A-List.'” And that push came fast and hard after the end of “Friday Night Lights.” The year after the show ended Kitsch starred in Oliver Stone’s “Savages” and two mega-expensive blockbuster wannabe’s “Battleship” and “John Carter.” Two huge films like that had Kitsch all set up for A-list status. But instead they both lost money for the studios and “John Carter”'s failure was so big Disney canceled plans for two sequels.

#4: Kaley Cuoco

Starring on one of the most popular sitcoms of the 21st Century is going to make you rich and famous. And it did both those things for all of the main players on “The Big Bang Theory.” However, during the show’s run and in the years since it ended, none of those stars has seen similar success in the movies. And that includes the lovely and talented Kaley Cuoco, whose movie career has been mostly secondary characters and lame rom-coms. But she did come back strong, stepping out of the “Penny” mold with “The Flight Attendant” on Max - a series she starred in and also executive produced. Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about her badass portrayal of the titular character in “Harley Quinn.”

#3: Tom Selleck

When it comes to Tom Selleck we have to talk about “Magnum, P.I.”. And not just because it’s the show that made him a TV star, but because it’s also partly to blame for why he didn’t become a movie star. You see, around the time that “Magnum” was getting started, so too was Geroge Lucas casting “Raiders of the Lost Ark” - and he wanted Selleck to play Indiana Jones. However, when CBS realized how in demand he was, they greenlit “Magnum” and Selleck had to honor his contract, forcing him to turn down “Raiders.” Who knows what that would’ve done for Selleck’s movie career? But as he put it in a 2021 interview, “so I did Magnum... That's not so bad, is it?”

#2: David Duchovny

The truth is out there and it’s telling us that David Duchovny has built an impressive TV resume, but on the silver screen he never became the star leading man some predicted. From our first glimpses of Duchovny on “The X-Files” in the 90s, there was no doubting he had leading man potential. He could do drama and humor and he wasn’t a bad looking man either. And while his movie career has had some memorable moments, it never really took off in the same way it did on TV. He even came back to TV and had more success with 7 seasons of “Californication” from 2007-14.

#1: Aaron Paul