So I tried to make a list...
called 'Actors Who Have NEVER Been in a Movie Franchise' and an hour and a half later I'm still sitting here confused as hell. So, I'm asking for your help...
What are some good/well known/experienced actors that have never been a part of a movie franchise?
It's a lot tougher than it sounds because most actors have been a part of a franchise, even if they only participated in one movie in said franchise (or if it was never meant to be a franchise/series but turned into one when the studio decided to make a direct to video sequel to it, for example Joaquin Phoenix who was initially on this list until I remembered that they made a sequel to 8MM).
Note: if a movie just simply has had a remake I wouldn't consider that a 'series' as long as the version that the actor was in didn't spawn any canon sequels
_________
so far this is what I have, let me know if you can think of any others in the comments and I'll add them in!
Emile Hirsch
Daniel Day-Lewis
John Cusack
Ryan Gosling
Paul Dano
Mark Wahlberg
Jim Caviezel
Michael Cera
Kate Winslet
Christopher Waltz
Stuart Townsend
Elizabeth Olsen
John C. Reilly
...
Surprised
Russell Crowe is going to be in the new Superman movie...does that count??
@zombie - son of a bitch totally forgot about that, haha yes it does guess I'll have to take him off the list then...
@Vamp - I'm looking for more modern actors, like 70s to present I guess. Just say that because there weren't really many franchises to draw them in back then in the 50s and earlier. But they can be deceased or retired (like Heath Ledger or Gene Hackman, respectively -- though obviously neither of those work as they've both been part of a series)
Colin Farrell
John Cusack
Guy Pearce
Jim Caviezel
Leonardo DiCaprio (the question is do you count Man in the Iron Mask as part of a series? Because if you do then you also have to count Wahlberg in Planet of the Apes)
Denzel Washington.
Kate Winslet
I wouldn't count Man in the Iron Mask as part of a series since it was made totally separate from any other musketeers movie
@Vamp - thanks!
Farrell was in SWAT though, which was turned into a series with a direct to video movie.
Cusack is a great one, as far as I can tell he's clean!
Guy Pearce can't be included because he was in Prometheus and will soon be in Iron Man 3.
Jim Caviezel is a good one though as far as I can tell!
DiCaprio was so close, but he was in Critters 3 haha
Denzel is a good one though from what I can tell!
thanks again, would appreciate any more if you can think of them, I'm still thinking but haven't been able to come up with anymore just yet! I'll have to remove Wahlberg then though, can't believe I missed that. Cheers!
@WalkAway - thanks, good one! Yeah like it says in the blog if they were in a remake then they can still count as long as that remake/new adaptation didn't spawn any sequels or announced sequels. So even though Colin Farrell was in Total Recall I wouldn't count it as a series, unfortunately he was in SWAT though which disqualifies him because it spawned a sequel.
Amber Heard wouldn't count though because she's going to be in Machete Kills, and was in Never Back Down as well (which has a sequel)
@WalkAway - yeah, I actually enjoyed the first one but the sequel (SWAT: Firefight) was pretty weak, I caught it on TV not too long ago. Robert Patrick is in it (the villain Terminator 2) but that's not saying much nowadays other than it being a familiar face... Funnily enough Kristanna Loken is in it for a little bit too (the villain in Terminator 3) but again, that's not saying much. Who knows though, maybe you'll like it... good luck!
^ believe it or not Field of Dreams 2 came out last year and he was featured in it alongside Taylor Lautner. Well it was more of a comedy short (phew) so I guess it doesn't count but still he's set to be in Man of Steel pretty soon and is rumoured to be in the next Jack Ryan movie as well...
I am confuse, a sequel of 8mm is not a franchise, so you can include Joaquin Phoenix. MMMM Christopher Waltz. Geofry Rush?.
@Lak - franchise/series whatever, as soon as the sequel came in it became a series or a franchise. Geoffrey Rush was Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean. Waltz works as far as I can tell from his imdb though, nice one!
Depending on whether or not you consider Queen of the Damned a sequel to Interview with a Vampire, Stuart Townsend.
Also Erin Cummings, Felicity Jones, Elisha Cuthbert, Elizabeth Olsen, and Elisabeth Harnois
@Fernandes - dammit thought so too, just looked him up though and there's a Street Kings 2 (plus he was apparently in The Color of Money which was basically a sequel to The Hustler)
@WalkAway - Queen of the Damned isn't set in the same movie universe as Interview right? As far as I know it's not, even though it's an adaptation of a novel that was a sequel or whatever, so I think that one works!
Erin Cummings, I thought I read she was talking about Bitch Slap 2 a while back... anyways no offense to her Felicity Jones or Elisabeth Harnois but I was more looking for 'names' like I said in the blog, actors/actresses that are experienced and well known in the mainstream. I just say that because the list would be huge if it were just any actor that hasn't been in a franchise/series.
I would say Elizabeth Olsen counts though, even though she's really new on the scene her first two movies had a pretty big spotlight on them and I think she's pretty well known now (plus she had the advantage of being an Olsen)
Thanks for the additions, any more you can think of would be awesome!
Forrest was also in Species. Harnois was in Strangers with Candy which is technically part of a series because it is a prequel film to the tv series but not sure if that counts.
@Fernandes - that's a good point, was just about to put her on the list but realized that technically The Muppets (2011) is a sequel (same canon as the old Muppets movies)
@Vamp - damn, totally missed Species when I was scanning his imdb! Like I said with Harnois I'm more just looking for names/popular actors and actresses, I don't think most people really know who she is and like I said I the list would be huge if we included just anyone regardless haha. But as for anything TV related... I don't know, just to make things at least a little easier lets disregard everything that has to do with TV
Denzel Washington was Alley Mugger #1 in Death Wish. He's off the list! Also, you have Mark Wahlberg listed twice.
^ wow, this list just keeps getting shorter haha. Thanks for the heads up!
Shannyn Sossamon and Laura Fraser? Sossamon was a big name at one point, and hopefully Fraser's role on Breaking Bad makes her better-known.
^ As much as I friggin love A Knight's Tale I don't think Fraser is really well known at all. Sossamon is a good pick though but again I don't think she's really a name, even if she was on the verge of being one in the early 2000's, her popularity has faded quite a bit unfortunately... Again it's nothing against the talent of these people, I'm just looking for people who's names are pretty familiar to the masses just when you see them. I mean I would put Michael Pitt up there but most people would just look at that name and go 'who? is he related to Brad?' haha
Just for reference, we're looking for actors/actresses along the lines of the 'names' listed in the blog already in terms of popularity and all of that. Just trying to figure out how many of the big name actors out there are that way without ever having to participate in a series/franchise. Cheers!
Just found one after seeing a new trailer... Paul Dano! As far as I can tell he matches up!
and another came to mind, Sean Penn!
edit: nevermind there's a Carlito's Way 2... dammit.
edit 2: ...but John C. Reilly works as far as I can tell!
Are you including deceased actors? Like those of the 50's and 60's?