- 4 months ago
Not every small screen success translates to silver screen stardom! Join us as we explore television stars who struggled to find their footing in Hollywood films. From comedy legends to dramatic powerhouses, these talented performers discovered that TV fame doesn't always guarantee movie magic.
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00:00Oh my god, I don't believe it!
00:02But where did you get that?!
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at TV stars whose movie careers didn't go as expected.
00:12Have a good life?
00:13What?
00:14Well, that's something you say when something's over.
00:19John Lovitz
00:19Lovitz was a saving grace during one of SNL's darkest periods.
00:24He even survived the cast purge between seasons 11 and 12.
00:28Your contract isn't being renewed.
00:29But Harry...
00:30You're finished, Johnny.
00:31Don't mince words!
00:31I think you stink!
00:33Listen, Harry, if you're unhappy with my work, tell me now!
00:35You're through! You hear me through? You'll never work in this town again!
00:39In addition to SNL, Lovitz voiced several Simpsons characters.
00:44Showrunners Al Jean and Mike Reese had Lovitz in mind for the role of Jay Sherman when they created The Critic,
00:49originally envisioning a live-action sitcom.
00:52Oh, I smell another cheap cartoon crossover.
00:55Bart Simpson, meet Jay Sherman the Critic.
00:58Hello.
00:59Hey man, I really love your show. I think all kids should watch it.
01:03I suddenly feel so dirty.
01:05Lovitz turned them down, saying,
01:07I can't do a TV show, I'm a movie star.
01:10The SNL alum had three movies planned,
01:13City Slickers 2, North, and Trapped in Paradise.
01:16To accommodate his schedule, they offered to make The Critic animated.
01:20While short-lived, The Critic gained a cult following.
01:23That's more than can be said about Lovitz's cinematic ventures,
01:27which he described as three movies, three bombs.
01:30Oh, great. They sat us in the Critics section.
01:33David Duchovny
01:34Along with Gillian Anderson's Dana Scully,
01:37David Duchovny became a TV icon as Fox Mulder on The X-Files.
01:42Their dynamic was integral to the sci-fi series,
01:45which proved so popular that it inspired a 1998 feature film.
01:49Lovitz, what are you doing?
01:51Something's wrong!
01:52Lovitz!
01:54Something's not right.
01:55Lovitz, get in the car!
01:57There's no time!
01:58This seemed like a natural stepping stone for Duchovny to pursue a movie career.
02:03Unfortunately, his rapport with Minnie Driver and the rom-com Return to Me
02:07couldn't match his chemistry with Anderson.
02:09Oh, you smell great.
02:11It's the flowers.
02:13It's not this particular flower, because this is the tomato plant.
02:16It's all flowers.
02:19It's just about down there.
02:20The alien comedy Evolution played like Mulder's fever dream after watching Ghostbusters.
02:26The sex-dramedy Full Frontal was no Californication,
02:29which marked Duchovny's return to television.
02:32Ladies, Daddy's trying out a new look.
02:36What do you think?
02:37He'd also reprise his role as Mulder in another theatrical film and in X-Files TV revival.
02:43So, we guess his career came full circle.
02:46Luke Perry
02:47In a series full of decade-defining teen idols,
02:50no resident of Beverly Hills 90210 stood out quite like Dylan McKay, played by Luke Perry.
02:57After starring in the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the western 8 Seconds,
03:02Perry left 90210 in hopes of pursuing more adult roles.
03:06You going somewhere?
03:08Somewhere.
03:10Coming back?
03:12Maybe.
03:13Someday.
03:15Maybe not.
03:16With his looks and charisma, some felt Perry could have a career like James Dean's,
03:20but with a longer lifespan.
03:22While Perry received praise for his performance in 1996's Normal Life, few saw that film.
03:28Even with me being a cop, we were drowning.
03:31Now where?
03:32Am I going to find some place that will pay me that kind of money now, huh?
03:34You tell me!
03:36Even fewer saw American Strays, which played in one theater.
03:41Although Perry popped up in some high-profile films like The Fifth Element,
03:45he bookended his tragically short life on the teen drama Riverdale,
03:49now playing the father of a teenager.
03:51A total stranger.
03:55And he sacrificed himself for her.
03:57That's an incredible thing, aren't you?
04:03He died a hero.
04:04Katherine Heigl
04:05Between the box office success of Knocked Up and winning an Emmy for Grey's Anatomy,
04:102007 was the year of Katherine Heigl.
04:14The actress unwisely threw shade at those who helped her ascent.
04:17At least he came back.
04:18Yeah, cut him some slack.
04:20Dude, he failed his exam and got left back in kindergarten.
04:22Uh-huh.
04:22You wouldn't even look at me.
04:24She called Knocked Up a little sexist and pulled herself out of the following year's Emmy race,
04:29feeling the writers didn't give her the best material to work with.
04:33While Heigl still headlined a couple of profitable rom-coms like 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth,
04:39everything went downhill once she left Grey's.
04:41I want you to go and be happy and not come back.
04:49On the heels of killers, one for the money, and several other box office disappointments,
04:54the industry began to rethink whether Heigl was truly America's new sweetheart,
04:59a title she never felt suited her.
05:01Heigl thus retreated back to television.
05:04I'm going to explain even though that's never going to happen,
05:06he'd be a f***ing fool not to hire me.
05:09I'm a goddamn legend in the making.
05:12That's right you are.
05:13Matt LeBlanc
05:14Of all the Friends cast members, Matt LeBlanc had the roughest film career,
05:19starring opposite a chimpanzee in 1996's Ed.
05:23What?
05:24But chimps can't play professional baseball?
05:26It's not like he plays ball or anything.
05:30Oh, the hijinks.
05:35Despite having an IMDb page, we're still not convinced this is real.
05:40It looks like a fake movie Joey Tribbiani would have done.
05:43He's right here in New York filming Outbreak 2, The Virus Takes Manhattan.
05:47You're kidding!
05:48This is amazing.
05:50I know.
05:50I finally get a part on TV and the monkey's making movies.
05:54Then again, wasn't Ross the one with the monkey?
05:57LeBlanc shifted gears with 1998's Lost in Space.
06:00Although his line reads were a little too Dr. Drake Remora-esque.
06:05Do yourself a favor.
06:07Don't involve.
06:10Charming.
06:11The doctor do a little without his face.
06:14The two Charlie's Angels movies did alright.
06:16But it's not like LeBlanc was the selling point.
06:19While LeBlanc staged a TV comeback,
06:22his most recent film work includes the 2014 rom-com Lovesick,
06:25and an executive producer credit on Jonah Hex for some reason.
06:35Aaron Paul.
06:36As Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad,
06:38Aaron Paul won three primetime Emmys.
06:41You want this.
06:44Say the words.
06:45Say you want this.
06:52Nothing happens until I hear you say it.
06:55With that series ending on a high note in 2013,
06:59now was the time for Paul to capitalize on the cinematic front.
07:02His Big Star Vehicle was a film about vehicles,
07:05an adaptation of the video game Need for Speed.
07:08Wait, wait.
07:09See, they're trying to trap us.
07:10You're just stripped onto the shoulder.
07:11Yeah, I'm going for the Hummer.
07:12The film didn't exactly require Paul to stretch his acting muscles,
07:17nor did it launch the franchise the studio was hoping for.
07:20Sorry, but the only car we want to see Paul in is an El Camino,
07:24which would bring him back to the Breaking Bad universe.
07:27You take Badger's Fiero.
07:28What about this car?
07:29It stays right here.
07:32Ain't like the cops don't already know where it is.
07:34I'll tell them you dropped by,
07:36the two of us smoked a fat bowl,
07:38traded pink slips,
07:38then you split.
07:40I always wanted me an El Camino.
07:42Paul has found success in other shows like Bojack Horseman,
07:46Westworld,
07:47and Black Mirror.
07:48As for his film career,
07:50the central intelligence cameo remains the highlight.
07:52Stop!
07:54Is this...
07:55Ah, whoopsie.
08:01Paul.
08:02Nice throw.
08:03B***h.
08:04Emilia Clarke
08:05This English actress ascended to superstardom as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones.
08:22Like Daenerys' fate in that fantasy series, though,
08:25Clarke's silver screen offerings haven't entirely lived up to expectations.
08:30Granted, romance flicks like Me Before You and Last Christmas brought Clarke some modest success.
08:36It's the franchise pictures where Clarke hasn't had the best luck.
08:40Hi.
08:43Hi.
08:44Apricon.
08:49Missing you.
08:50With Terminator Genisys providing a clean slate,
08:53it seems Clarke would get to play Sarah Connor in at least two more movies.
08:57This didn't pan out,
08:59but Clarke landed a guaranteed hit with Solo A Star Wars Story.
09:03After all,
09:04a Star Wars movie had never lost money.
09:06Until now.
09:08While Clarke has the making of a movie star,
09:10the right role just hasn't come her way.
09:12It's what I was taught.
09:15Find your opponent's weakness.
09:17Use it.
09:18And today...
09:21I'm yours.
09:23Kirk Cameron.
09:24For a minute in the 80s,
09:26it seemed Kirk Cameron might be the next Michael J. Fox.
09:29Come on, this is the Walt Whitman Chronicle here,
09:32one of the world's great papers.
09:34It's right up there with Charmin and Nice and Soft.
09:37Where Fox went from Alex Keaton to Marty McFly,
09:40Mike Seaver's transition to film had growing pains.
09:44Critics took an axe to Like Father, Like Son and Listen to Me,
09:47relegating Cameron back to the small screen.
09:50Stay calm.
09:51There's bound to be a very rational, scientific explanation for all of this.
09:58There is.
09:59You put...
10:00You put Tabasco sauce in your Bloody Mary.
10:03Yet, Cameron managed to carve out a niche for himself on the cinematic frontier.
10:08Faith-based films.
10:09Who needs the Back to the Future trilogy
10:11when you have the straight-to-video-left-behind trilogy?
10:14Then in 2014,
10:16Cameron gifted the world his magnum opus,
10:19playing himself in Saving Christmas.
10:21Sure, it got a rare 0% on Rotten Tomatoes,
10:25but clearly, that was a conspiracy designed to bring the film down,
10:29according to Cameron.
10:30We need to tell our children new stories.
10:33We need to be bold.
10:34Shelley Long
10:35With Sam and Diane's will-they-won't-they relationship
10:38being such a pivotal part of the first five seasons,
10:41you'd think Cheers would have fallen apart once Shelley Long left.
10:45Proving the strength of its writing and ensemble,
10:48Cheers went strong for seven more seasons without jumping the shark.
10:51Do you agree that we shouldn't get married?
11:02I do.
11:03I do.
11:06Long might have needed Cheers more than Cheers needed Diane.
11:09During her time on the sitcom,
11:11Long did show promise as a film star
11:13with irreconcilable differences and the money pit.
11:16He just thought you were good-looking wool,
11:18uh, an attractive woman.
11:20He didn't know who you were.
11:21I don't know who you are.
11:23Going all-in on movies seemed like a smart move,
11:26but not when Hello Again,
11:27Troop Beverly Hills,
11:28and Frozen Assets are the scripts coming your way.
11:31While we have a soft spot for the Brady Bunch movie,
11:34Cheers remains the place where everybody knows Long's name.
11:37We're so happy here.
11:40I sure would miss our kitchen and our garden.
11:43And Alice,
11:44if we lose her,
11:45who'll make the lunches I pass out?
11:47And who'll answer the phone?
11:49Brady residence.
11:50Before we continue,
11:51be sure to subscribe to our channel
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12:06Bill Cosby.
12:07Many struggling revisiting The Cosby Show
12:09knowing what they know now about its star.
12:12Nothing has changed with Bill Cosby's films, however.
12:15They were always unwatchable.
12:17While the 70s had a few bright spots like California Suite,
12:211981's The Devil and Max Devlin
12:24was the most telling sign that Cosby should stick to the small screen.
12:28Welcome to hell.
12:30With The Cosby Show dominating the ratings, though,
12:34Hollywood took a second look at Cosby,
12:36wondering if there was untapped potential.
12:38You have to sleep.
12:40How can you see the serve was long?
12:41I saw it with the half that was awake.
12:44Second serve.
12:45I hope you know something about orthopedics
12:47because he won't be able to walk after this.
12:50Ironically,
12:50it was at the height of his popularity on TV
12:53that Cosby made two of the worst comedy movies of all time,
12:57Leonard Part Six and Ghost Dad.
12:59Roger Ebert summed up the former,
13:01saying Cosby, quote,
13:03Ought to be ashamed of himself.
13:05You have no idea.
13:07The devil damnation is yours!
13:10Which TV star are you surprised never quite made it in film?
13:14Let us know in the comments.
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