9 Acting Careers Ruined by A Single Role

Some flops you walk off. Others stick to your IMDb page like glue. One polarizing performance, a bad studio decision, or the wrong role at the wrong moment, and suddenly the “next big thing” is doing press for something else entirely. Is it fair? Often not. From an outsider’s perspective, it can be fascinating!

Here are nine cases where a single movie reshaped a star’s trajectory for years.

1. Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls (1995)

We old people remember when Elizabeth Berkley was touted as the next Sharon Stone back in the ’90s. But then, well, we saw Showgirls. The box office collapsed, the knives came out, and Hollywood treated Berkley like she had personally written, filmed, and ruined the whole thing.

Decades later, the film’s reputation has flipped to cult-camp masterpiece, and many now appreciate how fearless and hypnotic her performance was. But in 1995, the blowback was brutal — Berkley said no one publicly defended her. She was iced out and left for the sharks.

2. Shannen Doherty in Mallrats (1995)

Fresh off Beverly Hills, 90210 and looking to pivot into movies, Doherty headlined Kevin Smith’s slacker comedy alongside then-unknowns like Ben Affleck and Jason Lee. When Mallrats tanked at the box office, guess who got the blame? The only recognizable name on the poster.

Doherty has said bluntly that the flop killed her film momentum. It’s the classic “star carries the can” story — the ensemble fails, and the famous one pays.

3. Pamela Anderson in Barb Wire (1996)

On paper, this was her big moment — a comic-book action flick designed to turn a tabloid bombshell into a legitimate big-screen lead. In reality, Barb Wire fizzled from the start. The leather-and-lipstick noir vibe never landed beyond the marketing, and Hollywood decided Anderson was safer as a cameo than a headliner.

Had it worked, we might be talking about a trilogy and spinoffs. Instead, the movie bombed, and Anderson’s film career retreated into winks and guest spots.