20 actors whose careers tanked after winning an Oscar

After taking home the Oscar in 2003 for his leading role in The Pianist, Adrien Brody’s career suffered a bit. He was by no means out of work, but he wasn’t getting the roles or the recognition that someone of his caliber should. Things got back on track for Brody eventually, though, and he won another Oscar in 2025 for The Brutalist. 

Jennifer Connelly’s Oscar came from her performance in A Beautiful Mind, but she hasn’t had many home runs since. She’s worked steadily, but none of her projects have made as much of a splash as her Oscar winner.  

Not all actors who win Oscars are big names like Brad Pitt or Meryl Streep. Some of the statues are given to actors like Mercedes Ruehl. Though talented, after winning an Oscar for her work in The Fisher King, Ruehl failed to get cast in successful projects. 

Hilary Swank has two Oscars to her name thanks to her work in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby, which she won within a five-year span. But things haven’t been quite as successful for Swank since, especially compared to other actors with the same awards resume. 

Jean Dujardin’s Oscar came from The Artist, a critically acclaimed film with an equally acclaimed performance from the actor. Unfortunately for Dujardin, he wasn’t cast in many American films after taking home his prize, leading his career to suffer in the States. 

Haing S. Ngor won an Oscar in the 1980s for his work in The Killing Fields, making him the only Cambodian actor to ever take home the award. While he clearly delivered a phenomenal performance, Ngor had trouble finding good parts in Hollywood after getting his Oscar, and he tragically died in 1996. 

Kim Basinger had a very successful career early on, and it culminated in her winning an Oscar for her work in L.A. Confidential. Unfortunately for Basinger, that seems to have been the peak of her career, and her most notable roles since then have been in Fifty Shades Darker and 8 Mile. 

The late 1990s were apparently a bad time to win an Oscar. Roberto Benigni won during that time for his work in Life Is Beautiful, but it didn’t translate to a successful career like it has for many past winners. 

Renée Zellweger has had a very interesting career. After winning an Oscar for her role in Cold Mountain, Zellweger took on some very interesting projects, most of which seemed a bit beneath her talent. Then she took about five years off from acting at the beginning of the 2010s, only to end the decade with another Oscar win for her work in Judy. After that, she returned to working sporadically. 

The Oscars curse has been going on for many, many years. In the early 1980s, Linda Hunt won an Oscar for her work in The Year of Living Dangerously, but things went downhill after that, making Pocahontas and Kindergarten Cop her biggest hits of the 1990s. The curse ended for Hunt in 2009 when she was cast in NCIS: Los Angeles, which she worked on for over 10 years. 

It seemed like Mo’Nique’s career was about to completely take off after she won an Oscar for her work in Precious. But the exact opposite happened. Mo’Nique didn’t film another movie for five years after that. Though, to be fair, she chose not to act during that period. 

F. Murray Abraham got his Oscar for the role he played in Amadeus. While he has certainly worked a lot since then, most of his roles for years afterward weren’t up to the caliber that he deserved. His luck shifted eventually, though, and he found work in projects like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Inside Llewyn Davis, Homeland, and the second season of The White Lotus. 

It’s easy to forget that Cher won an Oscar, but she did. In the late 1980s, the singer took home the award for her work in Moonstruck, but her film career wasn’t too successful after that. Thankfully, Cher didn’t need her acting career to flourish. She’s found plenty of success as a singer. 

Marlee Matlin blazed onto the acting scene. She won an Oscar for the very first film she was ever in, Children of a Lesser God, and she went on to have a very subpar movie career (aside from the Oscar, of course). Matlin has been fairly successful in television, though, and she had a role in the 2019 Oscar-winning film CODA. 

Cuba Gooding Jr. won his Oscar in 1997 for his work in Jerry Maguire, but after that, it took a while for him to get back to mainstream success. Between Jerry Maguire and his work in mid-2010s projects like Selma and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, his biggest hit was Snow Dogs. 

Tatum O’Neal is the youngest actor to ever win an Oscar, and she earned her award for her work in Paper Moon in the early 1970s. Like many child stars, though, O’Neal had a difficult time finding work as an adult, and Paper Moons was most certainly the pinnacle of her career. 

Halle Berry won an Oscar in 2002 for her work in Monster’s Ball, breaking a racial barrier and making her the only Black woman to have ever won the award. While Berry has been able to find work since then, she hasn’t gotten many opportunities to fully showcase her talent. 

Mira Sorvino won an Oscar in 1996 for her work in Mighty Aphrodite, but her career afterward didn’t quite meet her level of talent. She starred in the cult-classic Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, but that’s been her most notable role to date.

Seriously, the Oscars curse dates back to Old Hollywood. Luise Rainer became the first person to ever win two Oscars year after year. In 1937, she won for The Great Ziegfeld, and in 1938, she won for The Good Earth. But her film career tanked after her big wins. 

Marcia Gay Harden’s movie career post-Oscar has been so dismal that she’s spoken out about the dangers the statue poses. After her win for Pollock, Harden’s film career suffered, but she has been able to keep herself afloat with a successful television career.