Emile Hirsch’s first film appearance was in 2002, in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, which he followed up with The Emperor’s Club in the same year. Two years later, he appeared in hits like The Girl Next Door, Imaginary Heroes, Lords of Dogtown, and Alpha Dog. In 2007, Emile Hirsch made a breakout performance in Into the Wild. The role garnered him a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Actor.
With Into the Wild, Hirsch became an instant hit and somewhat of a hipster icon in Hollywood. Following his success in Into the Wild, Emile Hirsch landed the main role in Lilly and Lana Wachowski’s Speed Racer, which premiered in movie theaters on May 9, 2008. His performance in the movie, though, failed to catapult his career to the next stage and after that, the American actor settled for minor roles in lower-profile projects.
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning became an established Hollywood star when she was seven years old, after playing the role of Lucy Dawson in 'I am Sam'. For her performance, the young actress was awarded a SAG award nomination at just 8 years old, making her the youngest nominee in history. She also starred in numerous other films, like 'Uptown Girls', 'Man on Fire', and 'War of the Worlds'.
Dakota Fanning is a true prodigy who shone at an age when most of us were still sitting in school learning how to read and write. However, transitioning your career towards more mature roles can be quite challenging, as made apparent in her subpar performance as Cherie Currie in The Runaways. The verdict is still out on whether the general audience will continue to portray more mature roles, but her acting in The Alienist wasn’t all that promising.
Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates immediately went into acting after she decided to move on from modeling and made her debut as an actress in May 1981 in the film Paradise. The movie had the same plot as The Blue Lagoon, and the former model, now turned actress, portrayed a number of nude scenes in it, even though she was still a minor (17 years old). Phoebe also had a talent for singing and was the voice behind the main theme song of Paradise.
Eventually, in 1982, Phoebe Cates was cast in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which Rolling Stone magazine called "the most memorable bikini-drop in cinema history." That one scene alone was more than enough to turn an entire generation of young male moviegoers into actual fans. The actress also made an appearance in a couple of Gremlins films. Sadly, Cates became somewhat of a movie wallflower and eventually decided to retire from acting.
Eric Bana
Before Hollywood, Ozzie-born Eric Bana starred in the Australian sketch comedy series Full Frontal. He started attracting Hollywood interest after his part in the war film Black Hawk Down in 2001 and the lead title in Hulk in 2003. Since then, he landed prominent roles in various movies like Troy in 2004, blockbusters like Munich, in 2005, Star Trek in 2009, and Deliver Us from Evil in 2013.
Following heavy disappointments with Hulk and Troy, critics were in doubt about Eric Bana’s bankability in high-profile films. The Hulk character concept, for one, was rebooted a number of times, although Eric’s performance was not at fault. Since the two big movie busts, Bana has made memorable supporting appearances in Star Trek and Hanna, although he deserves to be a prominent leading actor.
Fairuza Balk
Fairuza Balk’s first major performance appearance in a Hollywood film happened when she was chosen to play the role of Dorothy Gale in Walt Disney’s Return to Oz. After her performance in the movie, the American Actress played numerous other minor characters, like Hubble in The Worst Witch. In 1993, she received an Independent Spirit award as best actress for her part in the film Food Lodging.
Fairuza Balk wasn’t even in her teens when she was cast as Dorothy in Return to Oz, which, for many moviegoers, was a bit unusual. The American actress was exceptional in her performance, though. She was, once again, the power-crazy witch Nancy in the film The Craft. This film was supposed to make her the perfect actress for goth characters. It didn’t turn out quite how many expected though.