17 Celebrities Who Were Supposed To Be The Next Tom Cruise, But They're Wayyyy Less Famous Than Everybody Expected

Trending badgeTrendingPosted 1 hour agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret Down17 Celebrities Who Were Supposed To Be The Next Tom Cruise, But They're Wayyyy Less Famous Than Everybody Expected"She had two or three big movies and then just faded into the background."by Kristen HarrisBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink Recently, I rounded up actors people think Hollywood tried - and failed - to make into A-listers. In the comments, members of the BuzzFeed Community shared even more examples. Here are 17 of their top responses (and what may have stunted each actor's ascent to the A-list): 1. "Mia Sara was supposed to be huge after Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but it never happened." (C) Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection -lisamarin Sara was an '80s teen star and had success through the '00s, but she felt uncomfortable in the spotlight. She slowed down in the 2010s and retired after 2013's Pretty Pretty. She didn't plan to act again, but then director Mike Flanagan persuaded her to join the cast of 2024's The Life of Chuck. Eric Charbonneau / Neon via Getty Images In 2025, she told Yahoo Life, "I love Mike Flanagan, like really adore him just as a person, and we are friends, and I'm just a huge fan. When we met [and had dinner], Mike said, 'Why don't you work anymore?' And I said, 'Oh, it's really complicated,' and he said, 'Would you ever work again? What if I offered you something?' ...[The Life of Chuck] was a really healing experience. Mike creates an incredibly cohesive and really terrific feeling on set. It felt like really nice closure. It did me a world of good." (C) Neon / Courtesy Everett Collection 2. "I miss Billy Zane, too - recently rewatched Demon Knight, and he's so much fun in it." (C)Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection -rachele18 In 2019, Zane reportedly told the Mirror, "I married and divorced young and had to pay a lot of maintenance, so I took roles just for the money. They probably didn't help my career. Despite that, I've always felt my glass is more than half full. It's a bejewelled, studded goblet overflowing - it overfloweth into many espresso cups!" Steve Granitz / FilmMagic / Via Getty 3. "Julia Ormond from Legends of the Fall. She had two or three big movies and then just faded into the background." (C)Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett Collection -rachele18 In 2023, Ormond filed a lawsuit against film producer Harvey Weinstein, Miramax, Disney, and the Creative Artists Agency. She alleged that, in 1995, Weinstein sexually assaulted her after a dinner. The lawsuit stated, "That sexual assault on Ormond could have been prevented if Miramax or Disney had properly supervised Weinstein and not retained him while knowing that he was a danger to the women he encountered at work." Stefano Guidi / Getty Images Imran Ansari, Weinstein's attorney, said that his client "categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself." She also alleged that CAA didn't warn her about Weinstein and "suggested that if she reported Weinstein to the authorities, she would not be believed, and he would seriously damage her career." The lawsuit continued, "Still worse, not long after Weinstein's assault on Ormond and her reporting of the assault to them, CAA lost interest in representing her, and her career suffered dramatically... The damage to Ormond's career because of Weinstein's assault and the aftermath was catastrophic both personally and professionally." Daniele Venturelli / Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images CAA had "compassion" for Ormond but denied her claims. Disney and Miramax didn't respond to the BBC's request for comment.

In 2025, CAA issued a new court filing with "new evidence" that allegedly contradicted Ormond's claims. The agency alleged she was already aware of Weinstein's abuse because he had harassed her before she was signed with them, "undercutting her claim that CAA could have, or should have, warned her about Harvey Weinstein." 4. "Devon Sawa was pushed on teeny bopper girlies back in the day, set to be the next heartthrob, but, IMO, it didn't stick." Universal Pictures / Via youtube.com -kbaxter2020 Sawa rose to fame as the human version of the titular ghost in 1995's Casper, and he struggled to get away from associations with the role. In 2022, Sawa told the Independent, "I had to smoke pot in movies, and I had to be in a hip-hop video. That's what I felt like I had to do to get away from 'Can I keep you?' Everybody wanted to hear, 'Can I keep you?' It drove me nuts." Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images He put his career on hold from 2004-2009 after his heavy alcohol use prompted his agents to suggest a break from acting. He said, "It wasn't completely my choice to take the break. I was burnt out; I was drinking too much. I was partying too much. And so I went back to Vancouver and got sober. After a couple of years, I met my wife, and we went away to southeast Asia. I wrestled with the idea of never acting again