Exit Stage Left
Every once in a while, a bona fide star simply seems to disappear. One day they’re the next big thing—or a Hollywood stalwart—and the next, they’ve simply stopped appearing in films. Here’s a few familiar faces you may have forgotten about, and the reason(s) why they chose to step back from the glitz and glamor of showbiz.
Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis was one of the finest comic actors of his generation, with unforgettable turns in movies like Ghostbusters and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It seemed like he had a long career in front of him—but then, in 1997, he stepped away from Hollywood, all for a heartbreaking reason.
He Was The Glue Holding His Family Together
Moranis lost his wife of five years, Ann Belsky, to cancer in 1991. The couple had two children, and Moranis gradually pulled away from the entertainment industry in order to raise them. However, now that they’re adults, he’s made occasional forays back in Hollywood, and is expected to be a part of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids reboot, Shrunk.
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Macauley Culkin
It’s hard to overestimate what a massive hit Home Alone was—and it set up Culkin to be one of the biggest child stars since Shirley Temple. As he grew up, he moved on to edgy indie fare like Party Monster and Saved! But all that was some 15 years ago now—where’s he been since then?
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He Shifted His Focus
Culkin may have escaped the perils of child stardom, but he ultimately decided to branch out from Hollywood and pursue other interests. Though he still acts, he also appears in various review series and has his own comedy website parodying celeb lifestyle brands, called Bunny Ears.
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Gene Hackman
Many Hollywood actors are still workhorses as they age—think Robert Duvall or Christopher Plummer. It seemed as though Gene Hackman would join their ranks then poof! All of a sudden, he was gone. People blamed the underperforming comedy Welcome to Mooseport, but that wasn’t the whole story.
Christopher Michael Little, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
He Quit For His Health
Hackman said that a visit to his doctor revealed some underlying issues with his heart, and that he was advised to avoid anything that might cause him undue stress—like, say, making movies. He walked away to save his own life, and never looked back.
Reagan White House Photographs, Wikimedia Commons
Michael J Fox
No one could deny that Michael J Fox has had a heck of a career. From his beginnings as a child star to his turn as Alex P Keaton on Family Ties to Back to the Future and everything since, he’s been a true Hollywood fixture. But unfortunately, he had to stop acting for a devastating reason.
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His Diagnosis Made It Impossible
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, but kept it a secret until 1998, when he was starring in Spin City. Unfortunately, he had to leave the show as a result of his disease. Though he’s had many guest roles since—the majority of which have earned him Emmy nominations—he was forced to retire in 2020 due to speech problems, saying "not being able to speak reliably is a game-breaker for an actor".
Thomas Atilla Lewis, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Phoebe Cates
Who could forget Phoebe Cates’ breakout role—breaking out of a bikini—in Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Cates went on to a number of unforgettable roles, including Gremlins and its sequel. But since 1994, she’s only appeared in one film. What happened?
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She Wanted To Be A Mom
Cates retired from acting in 1994 in order to raise her two children with husband Kevin Kline, Owen and Greta. And it looks like she did a great job. Owen followed in his parents footsteps, becoming an actor and director, and Greta is a successful musician.
Greg Hernandez, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Emilio Estevez
As the son of Martin Sheen—and brother to fellow Brat Pack-er Charlie—Emilio Estevez was Hollywood royalty. But he wasn’t just content to rest on his father’s laurels. Estevez made a name for himself in films like The Outsiders, The Breakfast Club, and Young Guns. But what has he done since?
He Branched Out
Estevez has appeared intermittently in films and TV shows—including a stint reprising his The Mighty Ducks role in the TV reboot. But he’s also spent time directing films and episodes of TV. He also appeared in the 2024 doc Brats, about the Brat Pack.
Amanda Bynes
If you weren’t familiar with Amanda Bynes work in the late 90s and early 2000s, it’d be easy to write her off as just another Nickelodeon teen star—but, at the time, her comedic timing and delivery really made her seem like the second coming of Lucille Ball. No really, watch What I Like About You. However, Bynes faced the pressures of child stardom head-on—and they were unfortunately too much to bear.
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She Had Continuous Legal Problems
Amid her star turn in Easy A, Bynes also dropped out of two comedies and announced an indefinite hiatus from acting in 2010. A host of legal problems followed along with battles with substance misuse. Most recently, she has expressed a desire to obtain her manicurist license so that she can have a steady job.
The Heart Truth, Wikimedia Commons
Daniel Day-Lewis
Few actors in Hollywood, let alone on this list, have been met with such critical acclaim as Daniel Day-Lewis. After the release of Lincoln in 2012, Day-Lewis announced he’d be taking a break from acting, but he came back to the screen in 2017’s Phantom Thread. Unfortunately, this comeback didn’t last long.
Siebbi, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
It Wasn’t Enough For Him
Though Day-Lewis received an Oscar nod for his role in Phantom Thread, he announced his retirement from acting soon after, saying that although he believed the films he was appearing in were vital and exciting, that he felt that was no longer enough for him. He’s kept his word since—though we can always hope he’ll change his mind.
Jürgen Fauth, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
You couldn’t walk by a newsstand in the 1990s without seeing 100 pictures of the face of Jonathan Taylor Thomas—AKA “JTT”—splashed across the covers of magazines like Bop and Tiger Beat. Home Improvement was such a hit, and it seemed like he’d really be the breakout star. So where has been since?
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It Just Didn’t Work Out In His Favor
JTT’s teen fame didn’t translate into stardom when he hit adulthood, and he’s appeared in just a handful of movies and TV shows, and since roughly 2006, has only been in a few episodes of former co-star Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar became a star in 1990s teen fare like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions, but it was really her years of hard work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer that gained her legions of fans. After a few Scooby Doo movies and a marriage to co-star Freddie Prinze Jr, Gellar took on fewer and fewer roles—but she has a surprise in store for everyone.
David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
She’s Coming Back
Like many teen stars of her generation, Gellar took a step back from Hollywood as an adult and became choosier with her roles. However, she recently appeared in two films after a 13-year break, Do Revenge and Clerks III, and will star in two new TV series: Dexter: Original Sin and Wolf Pack, where she is also an executive producer.
vagueonthehow, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire was in the same age bracket as teen stars like the aforementioned Sarah Michelle Gellar, but he carved out a niche for himself in prestige fare like The Cider House Rules and Seabiscuit—and then he got cast as Spider-Man in the Sam Raimi trilogy of films. He was a massive, blockbuster star, but then after Spider-Man 3, he started appearing in fewer and fewer films. So where did he go?
He Balanced Family And Work
After the success of the third installment in the Spider-Man trilogy, Maguire shifted his focus from film work to balancing his time between his production company and raising two kids with his then-wife, Jennifer Meyer.
Neve Campbell
Between Party of Five and the Scream series, Neve Campbell was one of the biggest stars of the 1990s and early 2000s. Her face is instantly recognizable, and Campbell could’ve easily spent the next two decades with steady work—but instead, she went her own way.
Phil Chapell, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
She Forged Her Own Path
After four films in the Scream franchise, Campbell declined to return for any other installments after a salary dispute. She also got more choosy with the films she decided to appear in, opting for heavy-hitting indie fare like Castle in the Ground and prestige TV like House of Cards. Though you may not have come across her work as frequently, she’s still working hard and recently returned to the Sidney Prescott role in 2022’s Scream.
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Alicia Silverstone
Silverstone was perhaps best known for her appearances in Aerosmith videos like “Cryin,” “Amazing,” and “Crazy” before her breakout leading role in 1993’s Clueless. Silverstone was an instant star, but many of her follow-ups were disappointing, like the famous flops Batman & Robin and Excess Baggage.
Caroline Bonarde Ucci, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
She Wasn’t Happy
By the time that she turned 30, Silverstone’s manager encouraged her to only take on roles she absolutely loved, advice that she followed. She opted to spend more time on stage and also penned a cookbook, The Kind Diet, which also led to its own website. Ultimately, Silverstone revealed that she “wasn’t happy” in Hollywood, and that’s why she decided to take a step away.
Toglenn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Michael Biehn
Michael Biehn wasn’t just a great actor, he was a mainstay in hit James Cameron films like The Terminator, Aliens, and The Abyss. He also appeared in hits like The Rock and Tombstone. Biehn’s star faded toward the end of the 1990s—and the results were disastrous.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
He Had Personal Problems
As Biehn’s career fell into decline, he turned to drinking to cope with it all. Biehn later shared that although people regard him as an 80s action star, he never attained the fame or the money that people like Bruce Willis or Tom Cruise did, revealing that he never made more than $1 million per picture.
Cameron said that he believed Biehn didn’t get more famous because he didn’t play the “Hollywood game”. Still, Biehn makes occasional appearances onscreen, and recently played Ian on The Walking Dead.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Alison Lohman
Alison Lohman was one of the most promising newcomers in Hollywood when she first made appearances in films like Matchstick Men and White Oleander. She went on to star in the now-beloved horror Drag Me to Hell, but has appeared in few films since. So what happened?
She Chose Family
Lohman announced her retirement in 2009, shortly after marrying filmmaker Mark Neveldine. The couple has three children together. Though Lohman appears in some of her husband’s films, she’s otherwise stayed retired in favor of raising her children with him.
Leelee Sobieski
Sobieski was another promising young actress of the 1990s, appearing in mainstream fare like Deep Impact and Never Been Kissed before moving more into the world of indie movies. Then, in 2012, she announced her retirement—and the reason why was disturbing.
David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
She Hated One Facet Of Acting
Sobieski shared that one of her reasons for retiring was to raise her kids, but also pointed out that a major factor was her unwillingness to perform in intimate scenes with other people, stating that that was part of “90% of acting roles”.
David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard was everywhere in the 1990s and 2000s, making his mark in films like Hackers and Scream before joining other 90s mainstays in the Scooby-Doo franchise. Then, little by little, we began to see less of him.
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He Never Really Left
Though Matthew Lillard is a mainstay on lists like these, the truth is, he never really quit acting, but just became more picky with his roles. Notably, he was in Twin Peaks: The Return and a season of Bosch, and recently appeared in Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jonathan Lipnicki
After his unforgettable performance in Jerry Maguire, Jonathan Lipnicki was regarded as the second coming of Macauley Culkin—the child star to beat all child stars. But then, after a few big movies like Stuart Little, his career tapered off—for a variety of reasons.
He Didn’t Think He Had It
Lipnicki continued to act, but also split his time teaching acting, making films with his production company, and practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Though he still has many film credits to his name, Lipnicki confessed that he didn’t think he was talented enough to keep acting.
Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson is yet another child star who came to prominence in the 1990s—but who also seemed to sidestep the personal problems that other child stars of the era suffered as they entered adulthood. The Matilda star took a 12-year hiatus that began in the year 2000.
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She Tried Something Different
From 2000 to 2012, Wilson concentrated on writing, and returned to the screen in 2012, albeit in smaller roles in things like Broad City and BoJack Horseman.
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Heather Langenkamp
You might not immediately recognize Heather Langenkamp’s name, but she was one of the OG scream queens, making a name for herself playing Nancy in 1984’s horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. She also appeared in the sitcom Growing Pains, but then took a break from acting in the early 2000s.
Concernedartist, Wikimedia Commons
She Kept Trying New Things
Though she originally took a hiatus from Hollywood to raise her family, Langenkamp has stayed busy, helming businesses with her husband and radio DJing under the nickname “Sandy Bottoms”. In this decade, she’s made a comeback in the horror genre, appearing in The Midnight Club.
Concernedartist, Wikimedia Commons
Frankie Muniz
Muniz spent basically his entire childhood on the set of Malcolm in the Middle, appearing in hit films like Agent Cody Banks between seasons. Shortly after the end of Malcolm, he announced he’d be taking a break from acting in order to spend more time racing cars. Yup, you heard that right.
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He Found His Passion
Muniz was a great actor—and though he continued to appear in small roles throughout the 2000s, his true passion was always car racing. He’s continued to race in the nearly 20 years since he first announced a break from acting, and recently participated in a number of NASCAR races.
Zach Catanzareti, CC BY 2.0,Wikimedia Commons
Heather Donohue
Donohue was one of the breakout stars of The Blair Witch Project, which had deliberately cast relatively unknown actors in order to boost its promotional strategy, which positioned the film as found footage and even published “Missing” photos featuring the casts’ likenesses and real names. For Donohue, the aftermath was brutal.
She Was Caught Up In It
During the promotional campaign for The Blair Witch Project, people who knew Donohue would contact her mother to inquire about her whereabouts, not understanding that the posters were fake. After the release of the film, Donohue and her family were harassed. Though she tried to stick it out, she announced her retirement from acting in 2008.
Since then, she’s become a farmer of medical pot, and changed her name to Rei Hance after allowing her likeness to be used in the 2016 film Blair Witch.
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