Despite achieving the status of a veteran by playing numerous characters, several actors remain in the dark yet many achieve worldwide fame by just one iconic role and become associated with it throughout their careers. Unable to escape the aura of their most well-known character, take a look at some of the 15 famous actors known for only one role:
15. Brendan Fraser (Rick O’Connell)
Once hailed as one of the most promising actors in the business, Brendan Fraser enjoyed a fair share of success in Hollywood and was cast as the adventurer Rick O’Connell in The Mummy trilogy.
Unfortunately, that proved to be one of the rare highlights of his career as the actor starred in several flops afterward. Despite being unable to recover from the damage, Fraser still has the fame to his name and owes it to the role of Rick O’Connell.
14. Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black)
He played Shark-boy before his acclaimed role of werewolf Jacob Black but honestly, does anyone even remember that? Taylor Lautner hardly starred in any movie after the final installment of The Twilight Saga but the actor is still enjoying the spotlight.
Because of the Twilight role, Lautner became a teen idol and a sex symbol. As a regular sensation in the media, the actor was once the highest-paid teenager in Hollywood and has an enormous fan base by the name of Team Jacob.
13. Christopher Reeve (Superman)
Without a shadow of a doubt, Superman is the greatest superhero of all time, and playing him is considered a big deal by dozens of actors. One of the actors who got the chance was Christopher Reeve who portrayed Super-Man on four separate occasions.
Though the actor always became associated with the role, Reeve was able to build his legacy outside the entertainment industry by founding The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation a charitable organization dedicated to finding the cure for paralysis.
12. Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man)
Speaking of superheroes, Spider-Man is also one of the roles that actors practically beg to be cast. Though Tobey Maguire portrayed it on three separate occasions, it is a sad spectacle that the actor’s career never took off after his most famous role.
With the help of his long-time friend Leonardo DiCaprio, Maguire had the chance to make a comeback by starring as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby but that did not lead him anywhere as the actor remains famous for his role as the web-slinging superhero.
11. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
With the role of Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe achieved worldwide fame overnight and became one of the richest English actors in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, the acting career of The Boy Who Lived never came to its true potential after the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise.
It cannot be denied that Radcliffe is one of the most famous people in the entire world due to his role as Harry Potter but it also cannot be denied that despite continuing his career afterward, it is the only reason he is still famous.
10. Zach Galifianakis (Alan Garner)
As one of the best adult comedy movies of modern cinema, The Hangover was able to amazingly gain a massive following by casting four lesser-known actors in the lead with Zach Galifianakis hogging all of the spotlights.
Known for his comedy work and getting frequently type-casted as a clumsy oaf, it is safe to say that Galifianakis is reduced to playing the very same character he played in The Hangover Trilogy.
9. Linda Blair (Regan MacNeil)
Only 6 years old Linda Blair made history by planting herself on the mental scars of everyone who dared to watch the 1973 horror movie, The Exorcist. Possessed by a demon, her character of Regan MacNeil was not an easy job yet Blair nailed it perfectly and even received an Academy Award nomination for the role.
Though her career took off with an amazing start, it remained at its highest point. Reprising her legendary role in the sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic did more damage than good as the movie received overwhelmingly negative reviews but at least Blair’s fame remained intact.
8. Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter)
As one of the greatest actors alive today, Anthony Hopkins has played a large variety of roles that showcase his skills such as King Richard the Lionheart, Richard Nixon, and Alfred Hitchcock but it is the iconic role of cannibal Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs that he is famously known for.
Hopkins portrayed the deranged psychiatrist on three separate occasions. As amazing as it sounds, the actor won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the role despite having a screen time of just about 15 minutes.
7. Jason Biggs (Jim Levenstein)
Not only Jason Biggs but the entire cast of the adult comedy franchise American Pie has a hard time landing acting roles. After all, who would hire actors too closely associated with crude humor?
As far as the leading actor is concerned, Jason Biggs began his acting career at the age of 5 and achieved superstardom by playing Jim Levenstein in American Pie.
Having portrayed the role in its three sequels, Biggs has not appeared in many movies besides them but is still instantly recognizable because of his American Pie role.
6. Macaulay Culkin (Kevin McCallister)
What a career Macaulay Culkin could have had but the actor flushed it down the toilets. At the tender age of 5, the actor landed the role of Kevin McCallister in the family comedy Home Alone, and the kid became an international star.
Even though his other movies were commercial and critical flops, Culkin still became one of the richest kids in Hollywood. Unable to recreate the success of his most famous role, the actor prematurely retired from acting but still stands out as one of the most famous child actors of all time thanks to his Home Alone role.
5. Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins)
It has been over a decade since we saw Elijah Wood as adventurist hobbit Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the actor is nowhere to be seen. At least that is what you thought.
Believe it or not, Wood appeared in more than thirty movies after the role that gave him international fame yet he hardly reconstructed the magic he had as a hobbit. Except for the one time he reprised the role of Baggins in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
4. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean)
Image Source: metro.co.uk
Amazing how someone with a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering would pursue a comedy career and valiantly succeed in it. Like Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson replicated the success of Charlie Chaplin but it is the only role he is famous for.
Though he gained prominence with his works in Not the Nine O’Clock News and the sitcom Blackadder, the fans will always remember him as the teddy bear-loving Mr. Bean. Realizing that his role has typecast him to a degree, Atkinson retired from the role in 2012.
3. Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)
As a rookie actor, Mark Hamill got the opportunity of a lifetime by portraying Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, his very first movie, and the actor became a big star in a matter of seconds. Though Hamill starred in several movies afterward, the actor’s talent as a voice artist overshadowed his comparatively weak acting abilities.
Today, the actor is more famous for his voice works for countless animated characters such as The Joker but as far as his movie career is concerned, it revolves around only one role, and his first one: Luke Skywalker.
2. Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani)
Arguably the greatest comedy sitcom of all time, Friends was nothing less than an addiction for teenagers and even adult audiences and is responsible for millions of laughs for countless people around the globe.
Among the cast, Matt LeBlanc often stole the spotlight with his charmingly good looks, sense of humor, and of course the stimulating catchphrase “How you doin’?” However, once the show concluded, co-star Jenifer Anniston proved to be the most successful one afterward.
Though the rest of the leading cast achieved a fair amount of success in their endeavors, it was LeBlanc who could never achieve the huge triumph he once had.
As hard as it may be to believe, LeBlanc refused to move on once Friends concluded. The actor reprised his role as Joey Tribbiani and starred in the spin-off series Joey.
As fate would have it, the show was canceled during its second season because of frequently being destroyed in the ratings.
Disappointed, the actor announced a one-year hiatus from acting but things got worse as it exceeded five years because LeBlanc could not find any work until finally playing a fictional version of himself in sitcom Episodes. But you haven’t even heard of it, right?
1. Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson)
The final entry of the article is a controversial one and though many of his die-hard fans would disagree, it is a fact that Leonardo DiCaprio despite being one of the greatest actors alive today has not been successful in making any of his roles more iconic than Jack Dawson from Titanic.
Admit it or not, despite playing so many characters throughout his prolific career, DiCaprio has always been synonymous with the role that earned him worldwide recognition.
Sure his role as Hugh Glass in The Revenant finally won him the Academy Award for Best Actor while his role as Dawson did not even receive the nomination, it cannot be denied that Titanic is the very first thing that pops into everyone’s mind when they hear about the actor.
Hope you like our famous actors known for only one role. Feel free to share your views in the comments below!
