Making the jump from television to the big screen is not as easy as it may sound. Actors that carry mass appeal on a TV series will often find that their reputation doesn't transfer to the world of film. Many are hampered by the fact that audiences will always associate them with their TV characters. Others are undone because acting for television is actually different than acting for a movie.
This week sees the release of two films featuring former TV stars: Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey. Kutcher, former star of "That 70's Show", has found an abundance of film roles but still hasn't made a big splash outside of television. He is yet to appear in a film that received a "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and his highest-grossing movie was the ensemble film "Cheaper by the Dozen". Winfrey actually made a strong debut in "The Color Purple" in 1985, but she is obviously most known for her talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show" which began in 1986. With "Lee Daniels' The Butler", Winfrey will be making her first live-action film appearance, as a fictitious character, since "Beloved" in 1998.
With these two TV stars hitting the big screen, let's take a look at some other actors that successfully transitioned to the world of cinema - and some who've failed.
1) Will SmithOver 20 years before Will Smith began forcing his son down America's throat, he was a relatively small-time rapper called The Fresh Prince. In 1990, Smith's modest success skyrocketed when a TV producer decided to make a sitcom out of his life. The result was the hugely popular "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", in which Smith played himself, a West Philadelphia youth that's moved in with his wealthy Aunt and Uncle in Los Angeles.
The massive success of the show inevitably gave Smith the chance to branch out into the silver screen. In 1995, he starred opposite Martin Lawrence in the Michael Bay film "Bad Boys". The film was a hit, but it was just the beginning. The following year, Smith fought aliens in "Independence Day" to the tune of over $300 million at the box office. This began a string of box office successes for Smith (with a few hiccups here and there). He even accrued two Oscar nominations for "Ali" and "The Pursuit of Happyness". Not bad for a kid from West Philadelphia.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt got a very early start in the industry, with his first role coming at age 7. When he was 10, he landed a main role in the TV series remake of "Dark Shadows". The show was cancelled after its first season, but that wasn't the end of Gordon-Levitt. In 1996, he found himself as a main character in another series, "3rd Rock From the Sun". For five seasons, a long-haired Gordon-Levitt played Tommy Solomon, an alien trapped in the body of a teenager trying to collect data on human life.
Following his departure from the show, Gordon-Levitt appeared in several indie films, but didn't truly get noticed for his film chops until the low-budget noir "Brick". He continued to receive acclaim but didn't see the box office to back it up until "Inception" in 2010. Last year, Gordon-Levitt was in four films: "The Dark Knight Rises", "Premium Rush", "Looper", and "Lincoln". All four films received stellar reviews and all but "Premium Rush" were box office hits. This year, you can see Gordon-Levitt in his directorial debut, "Don Jon".
While Melissa McCarthy is still on TV's "Mike & Molly" (for which she earned an Emmy two years ago), there's no doubt she's a rising movie star. Her breakout film role came in 2011 in the raunchy female-driven comedy "Bridesmaids" for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. From that point on, McCarthy has appeared in five films, four of which earned at least $112 million domestically ("Bridesmaids", "The Hangover Part III", "Identity Thief", and "The Heat"). The fifth film, "This is 40", was complete dreck, but McCarthy's brief appearance was hysterical.
So where did McCarthy get her start? As Sookie St. James on "Gilmore Girls". McCarthy appeared in all 153 episodes of the series as the fun-loving best friend of Lorelai (Lauren Graham). When the show ended in 2007, McCarthy bounced right back and landed a main role in the series "Samantha Who?". That show was cancelled as well, but within the next two years, McCarthy would appear in "Bridesmaids".
George Clooney has such an illustrious film career that it's easy to forget that he began on the small screen. In fact, Clooney has the odd honor of being on two different TV shows with practically identical names: "E/R" and "ER" - both short for "Emergency Room". "E/R" is a little known comedy show that only lasted a season between 1984-85. Clooney appeared in 18 episodes of the series. A decade later, he would begin his 100+ episode stint as Dr. Doug Ross on "ER", which lasted until 2000.
Clooney had already begun appearing in films during his run on "ER". In 1996 he starred in the Quentin Tarantino-written vampire flick "From Dusk Til Dawn". A year later, he was Bruce Wayne in the much-maligned-but-still-high-profile "Batman & Robin". By the time he was done with "ER", Clooney had cultivated the start of a great film career. In 2000 he starred in the critical hit "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the commercial hit "The Perfect Storm". From then on every film with Clooney's name attached benefited from his presence. He's also proven to be solid behind the camera, directing stellar films such as "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", "Good Night and Good Luck", and "The Ides of March".
5) Will FerrellThere have been so many "Saturday Night Live" alumni that have gone on to successful film careers, but Will Ferrell stands alone as the most dominant of the modern age. Throughout his seven-year tenure on "SNL", Ferrell was consistently the funniest man on the set. There are still few things funnier than Ferrell, as late Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray, asking Jeff Goldblum if he would eat the moon if it were made of ribs. After his departure in 2002, the show lost a major funny bone that it still hasn't found again.
Ferrell then went on to dominate the film world of comedy with his chauvinistic, man-boy characters. For years he made supporting appearances in films like "Austin Powers" and "Zoolander", but in 2004 Ferrell erupted in the instant classic "Anchorman". It was impossible to go anywhere without hearing someone quote "Anchorman", and nine years later people can still recite the film from memory. Ferrell also found success as the lead in "Talladega Nights", "Blades of Glory", and "Step Brothers", though none have surpassed "Anchorman" in terms of popularity. A sequel, "Anchorman: The Legend Continues", will be released this December.
And now, some TV actors that didn't transition so well to movies.
6) Katherine HeiglEverything started off so well for Katherine Heigl's film career. After two years on "Grey's Anatomy", she got her big screen big break in the hugely successful "Knocked Up". As an E! network reporter that becomes pregnant after a one night stand with a loser (played by former TV star Seth Rogen), Heigl showcased serious star potential with a confident performance. Then, for some reason, she criticized the film for being "sexist", despite the fact that, well, it's not. It was all downhill from here.
Heigl then went on to star in a number of formulaic romantic comedies that were way more sexist than "Knocked Up", including "The Ugly Truth" which features a scene where Heigl has an orgasm in a crowded restaurant, courtesy of vibrating underwear that are being controlled by an oblivious child. As you can imagine, the movie was panned and was a commercial failure. In fact, every film Heigl has appeared in since "Knocked Up" has failed to achieve a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and hasn't breached the $100 million mark. Still, none of her recent bombs will ever match "Zyzzyx Road". That 2006 Heigl-starring vehicle is technically the lowest grossing film of all time with a total box office of $20.
2012 was supposed to be a career-making year for Taylor Kitsch. Star of the much-loved but under-watched series "Friday Night Lights", Kitsch was poised to be the next big thing thanks to starring roles in "John Carter", "Battleship", and "Savages". Unfortunately, those movies stunk, and nobody went to see them. "John Carter" and "Battleship" went on to be the two biggest flops of the year, while "Savages" was only a modest failure. Before 2012, Kitsch's only role in a high-profile movie was as Gambit in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Fans had been waiting for Gambit for years, and when they saw Kitsch's weak performance, they were devastated. Kitsch has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to keep his film dreams afloat.
8) Ryan ReynoldsIt's almost silly to say that Ryan Reynolds failed in his big-screen transition because he's been in so many movies! But upon closer inspection, Reynolds film career (though extensive) hasn't produced many positive results. Once his show "Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place" was cancelled in 2001, Reynolds' moved to movies with "Van Wilder". While marginally popular thanks to re-airings on Comedy Central, "Van Wilder" only earned $21 million upon release in 2002. Since then, Reynolds' projects have limped at the box office and have generally been reviled by critics. The few bright spots in his oeuvre ("Buried", "Adventureland", "Definitely, Maybe") are surrounded by failures like "The Green Lantern", "RIPD", and "The Change-Up". The only project people seem interested in seeing Reynolds in is "Deadpool" (based on the character he played in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), but that project has been in limbo for years and may never see the light of day.
