Star-Making Role: Difference between revisions

 

See also [[Retroactive Recognition]] for reactions to roles the actor had before his SMR (think Harrison Ford as a bellhop in ''Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-NehUB_7l0 here]). Contrast [[Star-Derailing Role]] for when the star goes in the opposite direction. Compare [[Breakthrough Hit]] (equivalent for creators).

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* [[Jun Fukuyama]] and [[Ami Koshimizu]] in ''[[Code Geass]]''

* [[Megumi Hayashibara]] in ''[[Ranma ½]]''

* [[Kana Asumi]] in ''[[Hidamari Sketch]]''

 

* [[Steve Blum]] and [[Wendee Lee]] in ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''

* [[Matt Hill]] and [[Samuel Vincent]] in ''[[Gundam Seed]]''

* [[Brad Swaile]] in ''[[Death Note]]''

 

* [[Amy Adams]] in ''[[Enchanted]]''

* [[Ben Affleck]] in ''[[Armageddon]]''. He became [[Hey, It's That Guy!|That Guy]] in ''Mallrats'' and ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'' in his own right after ''Good Will Hunting'' but it was [[Michael Bay]]'s [[Summer Blockbuster]] that provided his SMR.

* [[Boris Karloff]] in ''Frankenstein''.

* [[Amanda Seyfried]] in ''[[Mamma Mia!]]''.

* [[Abbott and Costello]] in ''Buck Privates''.

* Tom Hiddleston in ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]''.

 

* [[Jodi Benson]] in ''[[The Little Mermaid]]''.

* [[Tony Jay]] in ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''.

 

== Live Action TV ==

* [[Jessica Alba]] in ''[[Dark Angel]]''

* Richard Dean Anderson in ''[[MacGyver]]''

* Ashton Kutcher and [[Mila Kunis]] in ''[[That '70s Show]]''.

* Charlie Murphy on ''[[Chappelle's Show]]'', following the ''C: True Hollywood Stories'' skits in the second season.

* [[Hayden Panettiere]]<ref>(many believe she deserves an entry in the Live Action Film folder as well for ''[[Remember the Titans]]'', but she's had more success to date in television than film)</ref> and [[Zachary Quinto]] in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.

* Ty Pennington from ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''

* [[Peter Dinklage]] in [[Game of Thrones]]

* Takeru Sato in ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O]]''

 

== Literature ==

Many writers have early works mired in obscurity before they publish the story or collection of work that makes them a star.

* Cervantes was regarded as a very mediocre playwright and author of a mildly successful pastoral romance before he published ''[[Don Quixote]]''. The rest is history.

* [[Stephen King]] sold many short stories to various magazines and periodicals before he found success with ''[[Carrie]]''.

* It wasn't really until the publication of ''[[Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire]]'' that [[J. K. Rowling]]'s [[Harry Potter|little wizard]] really became the international multi-media juggernaut it is known as today.

* [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]] was a very well-regarded English Literature professor at Oxford; however, had he not written the ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' trilogy he likely would have remained unknown outside of academia.

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

While many pro wrestlers find a successful character (if they're lucky) and play it for the duration of their career (if they're not [[Mick Foley]]) there is such a phenomenon as a star making match. A sub-trope, but probably not enough of one for its own page.

* [[Hulk Hogan]] was a big time wrestling star before his legendary [[Wrestlemania]] 3 bout with [[Andre the Giant]], but that match catapulted him, and pro wrestling in general, to international stardom.

** Also from Wrestlemania 3: Ricky Steamboat and the late [[Randy Savage]]'s Intercontinental Title match was a landmark for showcasing that smaller wrestlers with tight work could steal the show and carry a crowd. It's frequently cited as one of the greatest matches of all time, and some aficionados say it's better than Hogan/Andre.

== Theatre ==

* [[Ethel Merman]] in ''[[Anything Goes]]'', the first musical to feature her as much as a comic actress as a singer.

 

== Video Games (Voice Acting) ==

* [[Nolan North]] as Nathan Drake from ''[[Uncharted]]''

* [[David Hayter]] as Snake in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''

 

== Western Animation ==

* [[Kevin Conroy]] in ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]''

* [[Keith David]] in ''[[Gargoyles]]''

* [[Hynden Walch]], [[Khary Payton]] and [[Greg Cipes]] in ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]''.

* [[Josh Keaton]] in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]''

 

{{reflist}}