Where are they now?
Allow me to paint a picture for you. You're walking down the street, na na na, not a care in the world when suddenly it strikes you. What happened to that teen heartthrob so heavily promoted as The Next Big Thing in the J17, Sugar and Bliss magazines of yesteryear? Where is that wisecracking sidekick who played the plain and lovelorn friend in that sitcom you can hum the theme tune to but can't remember the name of? You're certain they had at least one hit on the big screen, they had the world at their feet. So photogenic, so hip, so where are they now? Faded Next Big Things, we're worried about you.
1. Skeet Ulrich. Does anyone else remember Skeet Ulrich? He wasn't like an ACTOR actor, more of one of those male starlets that magazines like Tiger Beat used to promote and then shove down your throat. I thought I remembered him from the awesome SFW, which was one of my favourite films when I was about 12 or so, but a quick check of IMDb has shown that was actually Stephen Dorff. What ever happened to Stephen Dorff? Another quick IMDb search shows he's actually been in eleventy billion movies this century, but the last thing I remember was Blade. Despite the vampire action schtick, Dorff was actually quite promising back in the '90s. SFW was fantastic - and a great early performance from Reese Witherspoon before she turned into America's Sweetheart (TM) - and he was really good in I Shot Andy Warhol. At least, I remember them both of being fantastic - please don't destroy my adolescent memories with the horrible truth that both films have probably aged really badly... So yeah. Either Skeet Ulrich or Stephen Dorff, as it turns out the last fifteen years have made them the same person in my head. F1 Kate
2. Oh, Neve Campbell. Subject of one of my first girl-crushes. I still think Party of Five was underrated. I haven't seen all of it to this day, thanks to the way it was moved around the schedules, but I loved her in it. But it was The Craft that cemented that; I know it's a cliché, but I loved that film. And Neve in it. Then there was Scream. Smart, funny, a bit scary (look, I was quite young when it came out), it felt new and exciting. And Neve was superb. Who wouldn't want to see more of that? Well, no-one, apparently, as we reach Scream 4 and counting. I loved Wild Things, but even I can't pretend it's a good film. This is not where I anticipated her career going- could we have some more smart indie flicks please Neve? The Wikipedia filmography section makes slightly depressing reading. Squeamish Louise
3. Ray Liotta. After Field Of Dreams and Goodfellas in 1990 I expected him to become huge - the next Al Pachino or De Niro. However, he's done next to nothing of worth since (the highlight of his career since then is probably playing the protagonist of the Grand Theft Auto:Vice City). He's appearing in Killing Them Softly though, which is being tipped for Oscars, so hopefully he'll become the star he deserves to be. Gareth
4. Edward Furlong, anyone? Looked like he was going to be a promising indie/cyberpunk actor after Terminator 2 and Pecker. Then came the brown and his career went straight to DVD. He cleaned up when Terminator 3 went into production in an effort to reprise his role as John Connor, but the producers still looked elsewhere. Since then he's been consigned to the schlock pile, in a not dissimilar way to Mena Suvari (if you don't count the substance abuse). So, he's still acting, but very much qualifies for the 'where are they now/what might have been file'. Chris Bell
5. Xander where are you?! I’m worried. It’s been nearly a decade since Buffy saved the world and we all moved on and got over Spike’s death, why have you not graced my TV screen since? Sarah Michellle Gellar was in a few Japanese horror re-makes and had a few sprogs and is ready for her comeback. Alyson Hannigan proved child actors can live a long and prosper, she even married a young version of Giles and got another hit TV series under her belt. Oh Xander, I don’t even know your real name, hang on, Nicholas Brendon – voicing cartoons. Really? But you were in Buffy! Buffy! Squeamish Nicola
2. Oh, Neve Campbell. Subject of one of my first girl-crushes. I still think Party of Five was underrated. I haven't seen all of it to this day, thanks to the way it was moved around the schedules, but I loved her in it. But it was The Craft that cemented that; I know it's a cliché, but I loved that film. And Neve in it. Then there was Scream. Smart, funny, a bit scary (look, I was quite young when it came out), it felt new and exciting. And Neve was superb. Who wouldn't want to see more of that? Well, no-one, apparently, as we reach Scream 4 and counting. I loved Wild Things, but even I can't pretend it's a good film. This is not where I anticipated her career going- could we have some more smart indie flicks please Neve? The Wikipedia filmography section makes slightly depressing reading. Squeamish Louise
3. Ray Liotta. After Field Of Dreams and Goodfellas in 1990 I expected him to become huge - the next Al Pachino or De Niro. However, he's done next to nothing of worth since (the highlight of his career since then is probably playing the protagonist of the Grand Theft Auto:Vice City). He's appearing in Killing Them Softly though, which is being tipped for Oscars, so hopefully he'll become the star he deserves to be. Gareth
4. Edward Furlong, anyone? Looked like he was going to be a promising indie/cyberpunk actor after Terminator 2 and Pecker. Then came the brown and his career went straight to DVD. He cleaned up when Terminator 3 went into production in an effort to reprise his role as John Connor, but the producers still looked elsewhere. Since then he's been consigned to the schlock pile, in a not dissimilar way to Mena Suvari (if you don't count the substance abuse). So, he's still acting, but very much qualifies for the 'where are they now/what might have been file'. Chris Bell
5. Xander where are you?! I’m worried. It’s been nearly a decade since Buffy saved the world and we all moved on and got over Spike’s death, why have you not graced my TV screen since? Sarah Michellle Gellar was in a few Japanese horror re-makes and had a few sprogs and is ready for her comeback. Alyson Hannigan proved child actors can live a long and prosper, she even married a young version of Giles and got another hit TV series under her belt. Oh Xander, I don’t even know your real name, hang on, Nicholas Brendon – voicing cartoons. Really? But you were in Buffy! Buffy! Squeamish Nicola
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