Actors whose movie careers ended on a whimper, not a bang.

[Aragorn]

This just randomly popped into my head today...

If Gene Hackman never makes another movie, his last role will have been in Welcome to Mooseport.

If Sean Connery never makes another movie, his last role will have been in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

If Warren Beatty never makes another movie, his last role will have been in Town & Country.

After Raul Julia died, Street Fighter became his last theatrical movie.

After John Candy died, his final two movies that came out were Wagons East and Canadian Bacon.

Patrick Swayze's final movie was a supporting role in the straight-to-DVD Powder Blue (though his actual final role was the gritty TV crime drama The Beast).

Anyone else have any notable names to throw in?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I've noticed Val Kilmer has become a mainstay of DTV movies lately.

 

[T'Baio]

I fear for Harrison Ford's future.

 

[SiorX]

I think it's rather a pity that Heath Ledger's last ever was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. His Joker was a brilliant, iconic performance, albeit tragically connected to his depression. Whereas The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was... well, a bit shit really.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Gregory Peck in a tv movie of Moby Dick.

Robert Mitchum in another t.v. movie.

Yul Brynner in Future World.

 

[SiorX]

Ooh, and Gene Kelly's last movie was Xanadu, I think.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Gregory Peck in a tv movie of Moby Dick.

Gregory Peck's Achab was awesome, tho.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Really, most actors don't go out especially impressively, if they live long enough.

 

[Greg Cox]

Really, most actors don't go out especially impressively, if they live long enough.

Indeed, sadly, rare is the actor who dies right after making his or her last classic. And most careers peter out eventually . . . .

Peter Sellers' last film was THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR. FU MANCHU. (Although people sometimes like to pretend it was BEING THERE.)

Bela Lugosi starred in PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE after he died. He wins.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I personally hope that Clint Eastwood sticks to making Gran Torino his final acting role (though the previously-hinted candidate for that role, Million Dollar Baby, would also have been a great candidate). Of course, any future Eastwood appearances would likely be in films he directs, and he's still at the top of his game as a director (in fact, the 2000s were probably his best decade for that).

 

[Too Much Fun]

Joe Pesci's career went downhill after "Casino" as he started appearing in a lot of really crappy comedies and stopped acting regularly after the last weak Lethal Weapon sequel in 1998. He had a cameo in "The Good Shepard" which is apparently pretty good, so I guess that balances things out a bit. He's got a few things lined up now, so I'm glad he avoided ending up one of those people who end their career poorly. For awhile it looked that way. The first person I thought of when I saw the title of this thread was Sean Connery. It's such a shame how he ended his career.

 

[shivkala]

I've noticed Val Kilmer has become a mainstay of DTV movies lately.

When we visited for Thanksgiving, my mother in law had rented Hardwired a straight to DVD movie with Val and Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Val's been in movies since then (and likely will continue to make movies, straight to DVD or not) and will, for better or worse, be in MacGruber. Which is lucky for him, otherwise, this could have been his last on-screen role:

 

[tharpdevenport]

Steve Martin seems to be happy with going down in a firefly death spiral of pure crap. His last film will probably be "Pink Pather 5".

 

[Daedalus12]

I bet Jack Nicholson will go out with a bang!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Cuba's career isnt exactly rocketing into space either.

 

[bigdaddy]

Shawn Connery comes to mind. I wish he would make one last great movie.

 

[Aragorn]

One actor who could be heading in that direction -- anyone remember this movie that came out last Christmas?

 

[Too Much Fun]

I bet Jack Nicholson will go out with a bang!

It was looking a little scary for a little while there with "The Bucket List" potentially being his last flick, but he's hooked up with James L. Brooks again and since their last two collaborations were swell and won him two of his three actors, I'm hopeful that if this is his last role, it'll be a good one.

 

[23skidoo]

Just to think, in some alternate universe, Elvis Presley's final acting film role was not Change of Habit, but The Godfather. Or A Star is Born opposite Streisand.

I agree most actors who are around for a long time tend to wind down in small, often obscure films. Boris Karloff's last films were shot back to back in Mexico, which him stuck in a wheelchair, and were released about 3 years after he died.

Both Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier ended their film careers in very obscure appearances (though Welles did film an introduction to an episode of Moonlighting that I believe was broadcast a day or so after he died).

Audrey Hepburn ended her career hosting a documentary series for PBS about gardens.

Still, it doesn't matter really if the film is popular or not. Only that they were good in it and did their job. I happen to like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and if it does end up being Connery's last film, then I say good. He didn't disgrace himself AND it was an action role which is only fitting for James Bond.

However bear in mind a little project Connery did a few years later which is his most recent acting work -- reprising the role of James Bond in the From Russia with Love videogame. Yeah, the game tanked, but if Connery never goes in front of a camera again, history will record his last acting performance was as James Bond. You can't say any fairer than that.

Since we're on this morbid kick, the same goes for Tom Baker. He just released a 5-part audio drama called Hornets' Nest in which he played Doctor Who for the first time in about 15 years. And, of course, ignoring his work on Fringe, Nimoy actually came out of retirement to play Spock once more in the Abrams film.

Alex

 

[Greg Cox]

Boris Karloff shot a few low-budget quickies in Mexico right before he died. He probably should have quit after TARGETS. Or maybe the Grinch.

And most Marx Bros. fans prefer to forget LOVE HAPPY.

On the other hand, it's great to see Christopher Lee enjoying a renaissance this late i his career. STAR WARS, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, a knighthood, etc.

A fun companion thread might be actors who end their careers on a high note.