AN OSCAR, THEN WHAT?

The OSCAR! Hollywood's highest accolade. A pinnacle that all actors strive for... and the one thing that will guarantee a long and successful career.... OR WILL IT?

Geoffrey Rush, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sally Field, Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Julia Roberts, and Kate Winslett... just some of the names who have reaped from their industry's highest honour, and represent those who took out the prize and used it to their advantage. They selected their subsequent projects carefully and maintained integrity in their art, and they remain amongst Hollywood's most sought after players.

​But what about the others? I'm talking about that group of Oscar winners who failed to capitalise on their laurels and consequently became B-grade actors. Lets take a look at some of those people who never quite recaptured their fame (or dignity).

CUBA GOODING JR
​
This one's a no-brainer, right? From his incredible debut lead-performance in Boyz N The Hood to an impressive supporting role in like A Few Good Men... he was on the right course to stardom when Jerry Maguire came along and earned him the top gong!! His win remains somewhat of a contentious issue, but nevertheless it was a rock-solid performance that hit the right chords. And for a little while he maintained some consistency with films like Instinct and Men of Honor. But what happened next? Boat Trip, Rat Race, Snow Dogs, Daddy Day Camp, etc!! Try as he may to recalibrate his career in recent years, it is unlikely he will ever reach that pinnacle again.

GWENYTH PALTROW

Lets be honest. She's never been a great actress and her Oscar win for Shakespeare in Love was a crass display of tokenism. How the hell did she win over Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Emily Watson? And so it's no surprise that she's spent the rest of her career in the shadows with films like Duets, Bounce and Shallow Hall being highlights. To her credit she has surprised us with occasional appearances in films like The Royal Tenenbaums and Proof... not to mention her place in the Iron Man series, but another Oscar for Gwen?? Highly unlikely!

MIRA SORVINO

Cute as a button but talk about an award being out of character. Her performance in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite may have been worthy of the win, but it was a fluke and she's never been an exceptional actress by any means (a good one, yes). We loved her in Beautiful Girls, Summer of Sam and Mimic, but with a string of movies like Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, Smitty, Space Warriors and A Christmas To Remember, the odds of her reclaiming the ultimate glory are narrow to say the least. Her ongoing guest appearances on TV dramas isn't helping!
​

ADRIEN BRODY

​Mira Sorvino's co-star in Summer Of Sam, Adrian Brody has proven himself to be a versatile actor whose accolades have been well deserved. There is no denying his talent and worthiness of Oscar glory. But following his win for The Pianist, he's put himself on a rocky downward trajectory with films like The Village, Giallo, High School and The Matador's Mistress. It would seem that he has undervalued his own brilliance by reserving his “good” performances for bit-parts and supporting roles in films like Midnight in Paris and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The good news is that there's hope for Brody yet, and another crack at the gold is likelier than it is not.  

HELEN HUNT

80's film geeks know Helen Hunt from her roles in Project X and Trancers while others are more likely to know her from the television sit-com Mad About You. Whichever of those you associate her with there's no denying that her Oscar win for As Good As It Gets was something of an overreaction, especially when you consider that her competition included Dame Judi Dench and Helena Bonham Carter. Since her win in 1998 Hunt has has a fairly sparse career, with her subsequent projects being sporadic. The films include What Women Want, Then She Found Me and Dr T & The Women. Hmm.... hardly a high endorsement. Although I do concede that she earned a few extra stripes with her Oscar nominated turn in The Sessions, a much better performance than As Good As It Gets.

JEAN DUJARDIN

Sorry, who? Oooh right. That guy from The Artist. Ha. Well, what hell has he been doing since his Oscar win in 2012? There's been quite a few films, most of which you probably haven't heard of... although you will know The Wolf Of Wall Street, Monuments Men and The Connection. And then there's a bunch of French films and the upcoming Transformers 5. Hardly a prestigious stockpile of credits.  

ROBERTO BENIGNI

Not much to say really. He made a decent film, created a memorable Oscar moment (with his sham acceptance speech) and then disappeared. It's for the best really. He hasn't done much since then aside from an awful Pinocchio adaptation, The Tiger In The Show and the Woody Allen film To Rome With Love. And that's about it. He's not missed. 

AUTHOR: GLENN COCHRANE