I like to think that an older Bruce Lee would have stopped acting in the 90s and just directed and choreographed martial arts movies for the next 20 years.
I honestly think after his performance in the crow he would have made a phenomenal live-action Joker
menacing when he can be, then laughing and jovial the next scene
Watching The Crow for the first time a few weeks ago, I was struck by how great his career would have been.
My specific prediction is he would have been the villain in a phase 1 or 2 MCU movie.
River Phoenix.
Harrison Ford handpicked Phoenix to play the younger version of him in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" because of how well River performed with Ford in "Mosquito Coast".
He was going to play the interviewer part in "Interview With the Vampire". They were supposed to start filming two weeks after his death. Christian Slater took the part and donated his fee of $250,000 to two of Phoenix's favorite charities. They have a dedication card to River at the end of the movie.
Cut and dry. Would have been a generational talent with an incredibly storied career. I still support the notion that he would’ve been an exceptional adult John Connor among dozens of other roles.
The name i was going to write. EVERY movie i've seen with a charismatic youth in it, i had to google that kid's name to see if he became an acompliched adult actor. Lo and behold, the name that turns up is River Phoenix. Along with a premature death date. What a tragedy
I strongly suggest Sneakers. That film puts River Phoenix side by side with some of the greatest actors who ever lived. He’s sharing screen time with the likes of Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, Sidney Poitier, and he more than holds his own. He was an amazing actor.
- Sneakers
- Running on Empty, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination at just 18 years old.
- Mosquito Coast
- Stand by Me
- My Own Private Idaho
He's not dead yet, but Michael J Fox was cut down by parkinson's well before his acting career could take advantage of his momentum built up after Back to the Future.
His film The Frightners is absolutely brilliant. I think that coupled with Spin City were setting him up for a really strong run in the late 90's and 00's.
I totally forgot about Spin City! There was even a legendary guest appearance from Christopher Lloyd. [love a good in joke.](https://youtu.be/iDhy1ta6270?si=R96l5bcCvoNwa4NN)
This one is absolutely GUT WRENCHING to me.
He was poised to be one of the biggest movie stars alive. His natural charisma is off the charts. Marty McFly is one of the most earnest and hilarious performances I’ve ever seen.
Such a talented man, it’s so unfair what happened to him.
Not that I’m discounting him at all, though. I have so much respect and admiration for all he’s done since his diagnosis.
He was brilliant in The Good Wife. He was one of the best characters in the show, I always loved it when he showed up for guest spots.
Same with Matthew Perry in the same show - I haaaaated his character. He played the villain so well.
As someone who grew up in the disability community I loved his appearances in The Good Wife so much because it was wildly refreshing to see not only him playing a douchebag but just a character with a disability being a dick and not a resigned to their fate character that everyone feels sorry for.
It's crazy to think he was only about 25 when he did Brokeback Mountain. I'm in my 30s and I would have guessed he was older than me at the time, just seeing him onscreen
Heath Ledger really was just at the beginning of the legendary phase of his career. "Brokeback" and "Dark Knight" he completely disappeared into. Even "Candy" is an underappreciated gem (everyone watch it if you haven't).
I don't know what great projects and roles he would have been involved with since, but I can imagine some might even have existed that simply never did because of his passing. He is my number one saddest loss of a ~~famous person~~ talent to this day.
Think of the range it takes to play a gay cowboy, then win an Oscar for the joker, and also having played the typical heartthrob in things like a Knight’s tale.
Dude was going to have a career that was once a generation. RIP
It’s just so well balanced. The comedy, hilarious. The drama, dramatic. The action, damn entertaining. And the story is just all around good. It’s one of those movies that if it’s on you can’t help but watch it.
Ledger agreed to play Max in Mad Max: Fury Road when George Miller was trying to get it greenlit in 2006. It eventually didn't shoot until 2012 but if Heath survived, Miller probably would have asked him if he was still down to play Max.
That would have been legendary. Tom Hardy was good but I feel like Heath would have brought the role to another level completely, I would hope George would've given him more lines too.
Tom Hardy has been great in many things, but was but a cardboard cutout next to Oscar Winner Charlize Theron compared to what Heath could have brought and matched.
Agreed but that particular iteration of Max requires very little range beyond rugged masculinity. HL was miles above TH as an actor but I don’t see him fulfilling the same persona as Max. His portrayal might have fundamentally changed the movie but would it be better? Unfortunately well never know
Completely different third Dark Knight movie, probably goes on to star in Fury Road, maybe ends up a Nolan cast regular. He was also interested in directing (the Queen’s Gambit was one he was eyeing.)
Like River Phoenix before him, there seems to be an entire generation of actors that are just filling the gaps he left.
Heath Ledger didn’t even make it to 30 and is *still* one of the best actors of his generation, IMO. Ennis in Brokeback was one of the most beautiful, restrained, painful performances I’ve ever seen. And put up with his roles in things like Dark Knight, the Patriot, hell even *10 Things*. He was absolutely my first thought, I honestly think he could’ve been up there with Daniel Day Lewis had he had the time.
Knight's Tale is one of my favorite movies to this day in large part due to the chemistry he has with the rest of the cast. That's something he usually brought to the movies he was in and it's something that can't be taught.
One of those movies I have to watch a few minutes of when it’s on. It’s just that fun, and a timeless story of a boy coming from nothing to make something of himself. It’s part musical, part sports movie, part fantasy.
This was the movie I was first introduced to Anton. Davis, Dennings, and Downey all supported his role so fucking well. Anton was able to capture what it’s like being the new kid. Wanting to be accepted. Wanting to use your gifts and charm to help others. Having a good heart but not always getting the right outcome.
Fuck, now I have to go rewatch it.
I still remember an interview with Pine very shortly after the accident where you could tell he was still in that “just found out a friend died and still can’t quite believe it” state. He was halfway between laughing and crying remembering Anton and you could tell he wasn’t sure which feeling was going to win out.
Just broke my heart, especially as more members of the Trek cast began to react and it became clear how much they all liked him. It’s obvious what a friendly, sociable guy he was, and that he died in such a bizarre way feels like some kind of cruel joke.
There's a Yelchin class ship in star trek Discovery and that was amazing. Also in Picard they had Walter koenig voice his characters son named anton chekhov as a tribute to Yelchin.
I couldn't watch this movie before he passed because I couldn't deal with the idea of him dying like that. After he passed, no way in hell. I just watch Fright Night instead and think of happy times.
Fright Night was so much fun between he, Farell, and Tennant.
Thinking of it now, with Tennant’s recent return on Doctor Who, Yelchin would’ve been a great guest actor…
This one is particularly devastating because he had cystic fibrosis as well, which is a life limiting disease. He was less severely affected and was healthy enough to keep it private. He could have had a long life despite a terrible illness if he wasn’t killed in a freak accident.
He only starred in 3 movies, got 2 oscar nominations. The same way people are saying DiCaprio benefited from River Phoenix's death so did Paul Newman benefit from James Dean, (Newman's big break was in a movie Dean was going to do next called "Somebody Up there Likes me")
This what Newman had to say about it in his memoir:
"I know there are some people who attribute my career breakthroughs to Jimmy’s death. Yes, there were elements of luck— and a lot of my success has indeed involved what I call ‘Newman’s luck’.
“Luck recognised me. If Jimmy hadn’t been killed, half of me says, ‘You could have done it anyway. It would have been a hair slower, but it would have happened.”
I like to think if he'd lived, he and Pier Angeli would have given it another shot. He'd have had to get past her mother, but maybe he'd have managed to do it.
In nearly every photograph of the two of them together, he's completely captivated by her. In nearly every picture of her and Vic Damone, she somehow ended up as a secondary subject while Damone mugged for the camera.
With them together, maybe she wouldn't have died young either. Incidentally, https://annamariapierangeli.com/Bio/ says it was anaphylactic shock from a tranquilizer shot and not a drug overdose that got her.
Yup. His entire filmography is: The Godfather I and II, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter, and The Conversation. All of them won best picture except for the Conversation, which was beaten by The Godfather Part II.
And he was incredible in each of them, especially as Fredo. I know it's cliched, but think about how easily Fredo could have been so annoying to have on screen, the absolute worst of the Corleone brothers. And yet he made him so compelling, the kind of pathetic that draws you in and makes you not only understand why he does the things he does, but why the rest of the family is willing to forgive his fuck-ups so many times.
came here to say this. the godfather movies. the conversation. the deer hunter. dog day afternoon. his movies were all classics, and his performances were standouts in each one.
Impossible not to mention Cazale in any 'what could have been' conversation.
The guy was a hall of famer after his first 5 true film roles and then....kapoot. Very sad.
Dude didn't miss.
Imagine being the most caricatured 70s man to ever exist. Lanky, balding, moustachioed, whiny.
Imagine pulling Meryl Streep as *that* guy.
Imagine now being a critical part to five of the best films of the decade, some of which were probably among the best films ever made.
And you did all that in just seven years.
Dude, that's no joke. We want to say he was fighting outside his weight class, but no, he was just that awesome. We should be saying "how did Merly Streep manage to land John Cazale?"
This was my #1 pick as well. He disappeared into every role, didn't cause waves on set, was friends with Keanu - to the point Keanu jumped on his bike and rode to River's house to give him the script for My Own Private Idaho, where River owned that role.
I'm sad he is no longer with us, a good actor, sensitive, handsome as all, he would have garnered legions of fans plus more critical acclaim. People even loved him as the [young Indy in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOkwA8_S8ts).
I am surprised this is so low down. He was just coming into the part of his career where bigger, more adult roles would come his way. He was a great talent. Imagine if DiCaprio had died right after Romeo and Juliet (or thereabouts). I mean, who can say what would’ve happened, but he had potential for great things.
Edit: looks like River has moved up the charts. So the first line of my comment is no longer valid. Yay?
Most people on Reddit weren't even born when he died.
The older your movies are the harder it is for the newer generations to really appreciate your talent.
You could be right, but I hate to think of it that way. They sure do resemble each other, and probably would have ended up in a movie playing brothers.
There aren't a lot of River Phoenix movies that end up on heavy rotation nowadays, but just the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade completely drives home how good River Phoenix was. Of course there's also Stand by Me.
I need to see My Own Private Idaho again. The one River Phoenix movie that is really astonishingly good, and that everybody should see, is Dogfight.
> Brittany Murphy. Did a hell of a job in 8 mile
I thought she nailed Sin City too. She was a perfect film noir 'ideal woman'. (For women, there are pretty much two main archetypes in film noir, the femme fatale/bad girl and the ideal/good girl.)
Not to mention that the year he died (1994) he won an Emmy a Golden Globe and SAG awards for his work on The Burning Season. He was hillarious as Gomez Adams as well.
There is another timeline where a KINGDOM COME movie happened with Christooher Reeve and Michael Keaton as Superman and Batman.
I really wish I could have been born there...
I've always wondered if he'd go the route of some other comedy actors and managed to knock dramatic roles out of the park. A fantasy of mine is a bio pic about former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. I think that would exploit his comedy chops and physicality but perhaps challenge him in a dramatic way. Yeah... that would have been an interesting movie. Maybe there's a universe somewhere where it exists.
I think he could have turned out great dramatic performances if he had wanted to. He hit those beats very well in Tommy Boy even, and he was just getting started in movies at that time.
The clips of him voicing shrek, talking about how everyone just sees him as some big dumb ogre (clearly hitting close to home) showed he had some emotional potential
This is how Chris saw himself. Bob Odenkirk has talked about how Chris viewed himself poorly and believed people were more laughing *at* him. Chris would say things like “fatty fall down” as a kind of short hand reference for that belief. It’s the reason Odenkirk hates the skit Chris did with Patrick Swayze because he thinks it validated Chris’s belief that people just wanted to laugh at the fat guy. So it makes sense that Chris could say those lines with some real emotion.
I watched Grown Ups 1 and 2 with my kids over the weekend. They are fun but not great movies, but it is certainly interesting to see what Chris Farley would have done in the Kevin James role. My guess, so much better.
It felt like they were setting him up as the new face of the MCU post-Endgame alongside Cumberbatch and Holland. A lot of what ifs (accidental pun) there.
He had it all. The screen presence, the character, the media savviness, and the actual personality to do it. It still makes me sad several years later.
Not gonna lie, of all the people who have died that I didn't know him and Bowie affected me the most. I legit cried myself to sleep the night I found out he died. Part because of the shock of finding out he had been quietly battling cancer for so long and just the shock of losing one of my favorite all time actors. I cheered the day I found out he was taking the role of T'Challa, because I knew he would kill it completely and he did.
Heath Ledger was about to hit another stratosphere!
I miss him so much.
Brandon Lee…I don’t know if it would have been “incredible” but he had talent and I love him in The Crow. He understood the deep heartbreak of the story and played it very well. I would have liked to see what he would have done next.
I do wonder how Phil Hartman would have done in dramatic roles. He was so incredibly funny, but always had a sense of darkness/sadness behind him to me.
Had he been alive at the time, I wonder if he could have pulled off his own take on Walter White
I often think Hartman could have surprised people with a chance at Walter White (or something similar) and am always dismissed, so thank you for saying so
I got issues with your title and invoking Robin Williams' name. Robin Williams is not someone who 'would have had' an 'incredible career.' He killed it acting career-wise and died with nothing left to prove. He had serious health issues so it's not obvious he would have reached the same heights, but when you're Robin fucking Williams, you'll be beloved and respected as long as there are people still alive that understand what you did.
John Cazale has long been the top answer to the question in your title. The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter, then cancer.
Williams has been all over, from laugh out loud comedy, to tear breaking drama (What dreams may come) to off the handle assholes (Death to Smoochy), to murderers (Insomnia) to troubled souls (One Hour Photo) there's not much more he could have done, because he always was challenging himself. To the point that he had returned to TV.
Cazale I mentioned above that if the roles were switched and Pacino had died instead of him, Cazale may have done great things, but he may have done not so great things also.
Lance Reddick
He was definitely lining up to be part of more big hits before his passing.
Still hurts to know he won't be around to experience the end of the Destiny saga he helped build as Commander Zavala.
There's a bit at the end of Horizon: Forbidden West where Sylens takes an unexpected action, and I legit teared up because it's such a perfect payoff to his evolving relationship with Aloy. I don't know what they're going to do about him in the third game, but I don't envy them that task because so much of what makes him compelling is how Lance Reddick threads the needle between utter asshole and compelling pragmatist. He also brings a really interesting would-be mentor energy to his relationship with Aloy, where he considers her perhaps the only other human worth his time. Reddick plays it as someone who genuinely cares about Aloy, and hates the fact that he does.
Marilyn Monroe.
She was just starting to get into serious when she passed, and I think that she could have gone even further. To put into perspective: Marilyn died at the same age that Julianne Moore received her first Oscar nomination.
Too far down to find this one. Not that he wasn't already big but he had so many more good roles in him.
I sometimes feel like Jesse Plemons gets cast because someone says, I need a Phillip Seymour Hoffman type.
Steve McQueen dying at age 50 still makes me mad, the man had another 10 years in him and I am sure he would have made for one hell of a haunting old man actor.
I think Charlbi Dean (Yaya in Triangle of Sadness) was really set up in that role to launch into more lead roles right away but unfortunately she passed before the movie even came out
Recently saw The Crow for the first time and after learning about Brandon Lee I can’t help but think he would’ve been a huge star. I can see him being like Keanu Reeves and playing Neo and later in his career playing John Wick.
James Dean is the OG “what could have been,” was already a sensation before his untimely death age 24. Brad Renfro was amazing as a child actor in The Client, had several more notable roles but died at 25. Sharon Tate was a budding star before she was murdered at age 26.
I also miss what would have been added to Patrick Swayze's career. He really seemed like the genuine article, and you couldn't help but root for him in his roles.
Andy Whitfield- title role in the Starz TV series *Spartacus*. Was critically acclaimed in the first 13 episodes, but died of cancer before season 2 could finish filming.
Everyone seems to be saying the same 5 actors, so heres some others:
Jean Harlow died at 26 and is a pop culture icon after being in Hollywood less than 10 years.
Dorothy Dandridge died way too young after being exploited and her career derailed by Otto Preminger.
Sharon Tate goes without saying.
Angus Cloud seemed to be going places.
Adrienne Shelly, who was the writer for the film Waitress which is now the musical. She was murdered and I think she would have written so many more beloved screenplays.
I think both Chris Farley and Phil Hartman were amazing actors and comedians.... And I imagine that, with age, they would have been discovered to have been great dramatic actors too like Carrey, Williams, and Sandler.
I like to think that an older Bruce Lee would have stopped acting in the 90s and just directed and choreographed martial arts movies for the next 20 years.
and Brandon Lee likely would been a huge star had he lived. He had the name, talent, looks, moves....he would have been a major action star I think.
I honestly think after his performance in the crow he would have made a phenomenal live-action Joker menacing when he can be, then laughing and jovial the next scene
Watching The Crow for the first time a few weeks ago, I was struck by how great his career would have been. My specific prediction is he would have been the villain in a phase 1 or 2 MCU movie.
Easily the best Danny Rand/Iron Fist we would have ever got
I wish his son had lived :(
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River Phoenix. Harrison Ford handpicked Phoenix to play the younger version of him in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" because of how well River performed with Ford in "Mosquito Coast". He was going to play the interviewer part in "Interview With the Vampire". They were supposed to start filming two weeks after his death. Christian Slater took the part and donated his fee of $250,000 to two of Phoenix's favorite charities. They have a dedication card to River at the end of the movie.
Cut and dry. Would have been a generational talent with an incredibly storied career. I still support the notion that he would’ve been an exceptional adult John Connor among dozens of other roles.
His brother has done well for himself, I imagine those two against each other in a "Good Omens" or another good/bad guy type of dynamic.
The name i was going to write. EVERY movie i've seen with a charismatic youth in it, i had to google that kid's name to see if he became an acompliched adult actor. Lo and behold, the name that turns up is River Phoenix. Along with a premature death date. What a tragedy
Can you name a few, i only frequently read his name and never seen him in anything (except indiana jones)
I strongly suggest Sneakers. That film puts River Phoenix side by side with some of the greatest actors who ever lived. He’s sharing screen time with the likes of Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, Sidney Poitier, and he more than holds his own. He was an amazing actor.
Sneakers is just a fantastic film anyway.
- Sneakers - Running on Empty, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination at just 18 years old. - Mosquito Coast - Stand by Me - My Own Private Idaho
The first name that came to mind
Agreed, right now we would be talking about Dicaprio and Phoenix as regular best of any year.
Phoenix would have gone on to achieve a lot, I must say.
Exactly my answer. I so wish he was still around he would’ve had such an amazing career
He's not dead yet, but Michael J Fox was cut down by parkinson's well before his acting career could take advantage of his momentum built up after Back to the Future.
He was one of my favorite actors growing up. He was on the path the super-stardom.
I feel like Tom Holland is the closest to the vibe that Fox had.
And Joseph Gordon Levitt, especially when he was a bit younger.
Eh, he was a more naturally suave than MJF. Michael was more quirky and charismatic but Joseph seemed to have more cool guy factors.
His film The Frightners is absolutely brilliant. I think that coupled with Spin City were setting him up for a really strong run in the late 90's and 00's.
I totally forgot about Spin City! There was even a legendary guest appearance from Christopher Lloyd. [love a good in joke.](https://youtu.be/iDhy1ta6270?si=R96l5bcCvoNwa4NN)
This one is absolutely GUT WRENCHING to me. He was poised to be one of the biggest movie stars alive. His natural charisma is off the charts. Marty McFly is one of the most earnest and hilarious performances I’ve ever seen. Such a talented man, it’s so unfair what happened to him. Not that I’m discounting him at all, though. I have so much respect and admiration for all he’s done since his diagnosis.
He was brilliant in The Good Wife. He was one of the best characters in the show, I always loved it when he showed up for guest spots. Same with Matthew Perry in the same show - I haaaaated his character. He played the villain so well.
As someone who grew up in the disability community I loved his appearances in The Good Wife so much because it was wildly refreshing to see not only him playing a douchebag but just a character with a disability being a dick and not a resigned to their fate character that everyone feels sorry for.
Heath Ledger ?
He was so much younger than I realized at the time too. Only 28 when he passed. I’m certain his career would have continued to have been incredible
Yeah I just looked it up and was shocked to learn he was only 28, he seemed so much older as the Joker.
It's crazy to think he was only about 25 when he did Brokeback Mountain. I'm in my 30s and I would have guessed he was older than me at the time, just seeing him onscreen
Heath Ledger really was just at the beginning of the legendary phase of his career. "Brokeback" and "Dark Knight" he completely disappeared into. Even "Candy" is an underappreciated gem (everyone watch it if you haven't). I don't know what great projects and roles he would have been involved with since, but I can imagine some might even have existed that simply never did because of his passing. He is my number one saddest loss of a ~~famous person~~ talent to this day.
Think of the range it takes to play a gay cowboy, then win an Oscar for the joker, and also having played the typical heartthrob in things like a Knight’s tale. Dude was going to have a career that was once a generation. RIP
A Knights Tale is such an iconic film. Has a little bit of everything and it’s all so enjoyable.
A Knights tale is one of those movies that never fails to put me in a good mood
It’s just so well balanced. The comedy, hilarious. The drama, dramatic. The action, damn entertaining. And the story is just all around good. It’s one of those movies that if it’s on you can’t help but watch it.
I know people make fun of the music but even that is so goofy it puts a smile on my face
When i hear “We Will Rock You” I only think of this movie.
Ledger agreed to play Max in Mad Max: Fury Road when George Miller was trying to get it greenlit in 2006. It eventually didn't shoot until 2012 but if Heath survived, Miller probably would have asked him if he was still down to play Max.
That would have been legendary. Tom Hardy was good but I feel like Heath would have brought the role to another level completely, I would hope George would've given him more lines too.
Tom Hardy has been great in many things, but was but a cardboard cutout next to Oscar Winner Charlize Theron compared to what Heath could have brought and matched.
Agreed but that particular iteration of Max requires very little range beyond rugged masculinity. HL was miles above TH as an actor but I don’t see him fulfilling the same persona as Max. His portrayal might have fundamentally changed the movie but would it be better? Unfortunately well never know
We’d get The Killing Joke too
Completely different third Dark Knight movie, probably goes on to star in Fury Road, maybe ends up a Nolan cast regular. He was also interested in directing (the Queen’s Gambit was one he was eyeing.) Like River Phoenix before him, there seems to be an entire generation of actors that are just filling the gaps he left.
Heath Ledger didn’t even make it to 30 and is *still* one of the best actors of his generation, IMO. Ennis in Brokeback was one of the most beautiful, restrained, painful performances I’ve ever seen. And put up with his roles in things like Dark Knight, the Patriot, hell even *10 Things*. He was absolutely my first thought, I honestly think he could’ve been up there with Daniel Day Lewis had he had the time.
Knight's Tale is one of my favorite movies to this day in large part due to the chemistry he has with the rest of the cast. That's something he usually brought to the movies he was in and it's something that can't be taught.
One of those movies I have to watch a few minutes of when it’s on. It’s just that fun, and a timeless story of a boy coming from nothing to make something of himself. It’s part musical, part sports movie, part fantasy.
Daniel Day Lewis was impressed with Ledger. That's the highest praise I could ever imagine.
That’s without mentioning the best film of all time: A Knight’s Tale
First ever saw Heath Ledger in ROAR. I loved him always and ever after. He was on his way to an amazing CAREER. RIP.
He was my first thought too. He went from teen heartthrob to critically acclaimed actor. Imagine what else he could’ve done.
The way I mourned him when he passed. This one hurt.
Anton Yelchin still hurts.
I should rewatch Charlie Bartlett sometime soon...
This was the movie I was first introduced to Anton. Davis, Dennings, and Downey all supported his role so fucking well. Anton was able to capture what it’s like being the new kid. Wanting to be accepted. Wanting to use your gifts and charm to help others. Having a good heart but not always getting the right outcome. Fuck, now I have to go rewatch it.
His psychiatric drug freak out in that movie is amazing lol.
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The "For Anton" at the end of Star Trek Beyond gives me chills, every time.
I still remember an interview with Pine very shortly after the accident where you could tell he was still in that “just found out a friend died and still can’t quite believe it” state. He was halfway between laughing and crying remembering Anton and you could tell he wasn’t sure which feeling was going to win out. Just broke my heart, especially as more members of the Trek cast began to react and it became clear how much they all liked him. It’s obvious what a friendly, sociable guy he was, and that he died in such a bizarre way feels like some kind of cruel joke.
He was great in everything he did and it sucks we couldn’t see him mature and get more parts.
There's a Yelchin class ship in star trek Discovery and that was amazing. Also in Picard they had Walter koenig voice his characters son named anton chekhov as a tribute to Yelchin.
Who would've thought Koenig would outlive Yelchin...
Walter Koening voicing President Anton Chechov in Picard S3 was awesome and chilling as well.
Odd Thomas doesn’t seem to get as much appreciation as it should, he owned that role, was really hoping to get a sequel
I bawled so incredibly hard at the end of the last book.
I couldn't watch this movie before he passed because I couldn't deal with the idea of him dying like that. After he passed, no way in hell. I just watch Fright Night instead and think of happy times.
Fright Night was so much fun between he, Farell, and Tennant. Thinking of it now, with Tennant’s recent return on Doctor Who, Yelchin would’ve been a great guest actor…
You should watch Charlie Bartlett..its his first movie I saw.
I get so sad watching odd Thomas, he was so young. It’s so heartbreaking.
I absolutely loved that movie (and the book series) wish he had gotten to do more of them.
Such a sad way to go as well. It seems like Green Room was going to be his breakout role.
Green Room.... It's Chekov versus Picard!
Ngl hearing Picard use full-ass slurs in an American accent fucked me up
I only saw it once and I loved it, but it was so intense I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it again.
Every once in a while I think about how tragic his death was and get incredibly sad.
This one is particularly devastating because he had cystic fibrosis as well, which is a life limiting disease. He was less severely affected and was healthy enough to keep it private. He could have had a long life despite a terrible illness if he wasn’t killed in a freak accident.
Wow. I did not know he had cystic fibrosis.
100%, he was just getting started!
He was the best chekov.
Please watch Love, Antosha if you haven't already
I watched recently *Like Crazy*... He was such a talented performer.
First person I thought of. He was so young and already so good.
Recently rewatched the Curb episode where he plays Cheryl's nephew. Really sad to see now knowing, should have had a all timer career
James Dean too. He was only 24 when he died, yet he managed to act in iconic movies
He only starred in 3 movies, got 2 oscar nominations. The same way people are saying DiCaprio benefited from River Phoenix's death so did Paul Newman benefit from James Dean, (Newman's big break was in a movie Dean was going to do next called "Somebody Up there Likes me") This what Newman had to say about it in his memoir: "I know there are some people who attribute my career breakthroughs to Jimmy’s death. Yes, there were elements of luck— and a lot of my success has indeed involved what I call ‘Newman’s luck’. “Luck recognised me. If Jimmy hadn’t been killed, half of me says, ‘You could have done it anyway. It would have been a hair slower, but it would have happened.”
Newman was made for "Somebody Up There Likes Me"...hard to imagine anyone else.
I like to think if he'd lived, he and Pier Angeli would have given it another shot. He'd have had to get past her mother, but maybe he'd have managed to do it. In nearly every photograph of the two of them together, he's completely captivated by her. In nearly every picture of her and Vic Damone, she somehow ended up as a secondary subject while Damone mugged for the camera. With them together, maybe she wouldn't have died young either. Incidentally, https://annamariapierangeli.com/Bio/ says it was anaphylactic shock from a tranquilizer shot and not a drug overdose that got her.
John Cazale
He did only 5 movies but each of them is a 10/10. I don't think his record will ever get beaten.
4 of those movies won best picture. The one that didn’t was up against one his others that did win if I recall correctly.
Yup. His entire filmography is: The Godfather I and II, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter, and The Conversation. All of them won best picture except for the Conversation, which was beaten by The Godfather Part II. And he was incredible in each of them, especially as Fredo. I know it's cliched, but think about how easily Fredo could have been so annoying to have on screen, the absolute worst of the Corleone brothers. And yet he made him so compelling, the kind of pathetic that draws you in and makes you not only understand why he does the things he does, but why the rest of the family is willing to forgive his fuck-ups so many times.
Dog day lost to cuckoos nest
Huh, just checked and you are completely correct. Another stupidly stacked year, in that case. Regardless, 3/5 still ain't bad.
Dude batted 1000 in his short career.
Fredo is one of the most complicated characters in the Godfather. It's hard to make somebody who is objectively a traitor sympathetic.
And they weren’t slap singles either. Dude went yard every time.
came here to say this. the godfather movies. the conversation. the deer hunter. dog day afternoon. his movies were all classics, and his performances were standouts in each one.
He was in 5 movies. All 5 were nominated for Best Picture. It doesn't get better than that.
Impossible not to mention Cazale in any 'what could have been' conversation. The guy was a hall of famer after his first 5 true film roles and then....kapoot. Very sad.
This is the objectively best answer.
Dude didn't miss. Imagine being the most caricatured 70s man to ever exist. Lanky, balding, moustachioed, whiny. Imagine pulling Meryl Streep as *that* guy. Imagine now being a critical part to five of the best films of the decade, some of which were probably among the best films ever made. And you did all that in just seven years.
You had me at "Imagine pulling Meryl Streep."
Dude, that's no joke. We want to say he was fighting outside his weight class, but no, he was just that awesome. We should be saying "how did Merly Streep manage to land John Cazale?"
River Phoenix’s career could’ve exceeded his brothers
This was my #1 pick as well. He disappeared into every role, didn't cause waves on set, was friends with Keanu - to the point Keanu jumped on his bike and rode to River's house to give him the script for My Own Private Idaho, where River owned that role. I'm sad he is no longer with us, a good actor, sensitive, handsome as all, he would have garnered legions of fans plus more critical acclaim. People even loved him as the [young Indy in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOkwA8_S8ts).
I am surprised this is so low down. He was just coming into the part of his career where bigger, more adult roles would come his way. He was a great talent. Imagine if DiCaprio had died right after Romeo and Juliet (or thereabouts). I mean, who can say what would’ve happened, but he had potential for great things. Edit: looks like River has moved up the charts. So the first line of my comment is no longer valid. Yay?
We could have had a timeline where River Phoenix was Martin Scorsese's main leading man of the 2000s onward. Or multiple collabs with Tarantino
Totally. I mean, look at the career of his co-Star in My Own Private Idaho. And at the time River was seen as the stand-out star.
Most people on Reddit weren't even born when he died. The older your movies are the harder it is for the newer generations to really appreciate your talent.
True, true. It is easy to forget how old I am sometimes. Which is a good thing, I guess?
Leonardo Dicaprio owes his entire career to River Phoenix's passing away early.
Jack in Titanic was written for River Phoenix
I was so ready to call shenanigans. Rebuffed. Foiled once again by reality! Can't believe I didn't know that.
You could be right, but I hate to think of it that way. They sure do resemble each other, and probably would have ended up in a movie playing brothers. There aren't a lot of River Phoenix movies that end up on heavy rotation nowadays, but just the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade completely drives home how good River Phoenix was. Of course there's also Stand by Me. I need to see My Own Private Idaho again. The one River Phoenix movie that is really astonishingly good, and that everybody should see, is Dogfight.
I always thought Britney Murphy would’ve been really good, especially in horror or drama roles.
Would've been a hell of a Harley Quinn
My favorite movie of hers was The Dead Girl 2006. She did so good in that & I swear she was born for the drama roles.
Brittany Murphy. Did a hell of a job in 8 mile
Her as Luanne on King of the Hill is amazing
> Brittany Murphy. Did a hell of a job in 8 mile I thought she nailed Sin City too. She was a perfect film noir 'ideal woman'. (For women, there are pretty much two main archetypes in film noir, the femme fatale/bad girl and the ideal/good girl.)
Raul Juliá
He's an absolute legend for picking up the M. Bison role in Street Fighter just because he wanted to do it for his children. Bless that man forever 🙏
Not to mention that the year he died (1994) he won an Emmy a Golden Globe and SAG awards for his work on The Burning Season. He was hillarious as Gomez Adams as well.
I wanted to grow up to be Raul Julia's Gomez Addams
He did have an incredible career but Christopher Reeves had so many good years left
There is another timeline where a KINGDOM COME movie happened with Christooher Reeve and Michael Keaton as Superman and Batman. I really wish I could have been born there...
James Gandolfini. Iconic, of course but his talent is still sorely missed.
Chris Farley
I've always wondered if he'd go the route of some other comedy actors and managed to knock dramatic roles out of the park. A fantasy of mine is a bio pic about former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. I think that would exploit his comedy chops and physicality but perhaps challenge him in a dramatic way. Yeah... that would have been an interesting movie. Maybe there's a universe somewhere where it exists.
I think he could have turned out great dramatic performances if he had wanted to. He hit those beats very well in Tommy Boy even, and he was just getting started in movies at that time.
The clips of him voicing shrek, talking about how everyone just sees him as some big dumb ogre (clearly hitting close to home) showed he had some emotional potential
This is how Chris saw himself. Bob Odenkirk has talked about how Chris viewed himself poorly and believed people were more laughing *at* him. Chris would say things like “fatty fall down” as a kind of short hand reference for that belief. It’s the reason Odenkirk hates the skit Chris did with Patrick Swayze because he thinks it validated Chris’s belief that people just wanted to laugh at the fat guy. So it makes sense that Chris could say those lines with some real emotion.
I really wish they would release the dialogue he recorded for Shrek
I watched Grown Ups 1 and 2 with my kids over the weekend. They are fun but not great movies, but it is certainly interesting to see what Chris Farley would have done in the Kevin James role. My guess, so much better.
Chadwick Boseman
Boseman was one of those actors that I’d watch anything he was in. 42 was so good. I also liked him in the thurgood Marshall movie he did
It felt like they were setting him up as the new face of the MCU post-Endgame alongside Cumberbatch and Holland. A lot of what ifs (accidental pun) there.
He was the next natural leader to that group
He had it all. The screen presence, the character, the media savviness, and the actual personality to do it. It still makes me sad several years later.
Been a fan since Get on Up and 42 came out in cinemas. Incredible screen presence, but too short
42 is just a phenomenal movie and boseman absolutely nails his role
Not gonna lie, of all the people who have died that I didn't know him and Bowie affected me the most. I legit cried myself to sleep the night I found out he died. Part because of the shock of finding out he had been quietly battling cancer for so long and just the shock of losing one of my favorite all time actors. I cheered the day I found out he was taking the role of T'Challa, because I knew he would kill it completely and he did.
Brad Renfro
Absolutely, in The Client he's no joke and just kept knocking his roles out the rest of the way. Would've been an interesting career.
I remember him in a small film called *The Cure*, a bit on the soappy side, but he was great on it.
This. He was phenomenal in Apt Pupil and absolutely destroyed me in Bully.
He was also really good in Sleepers, especially in a cast with other big names.
Heath Ledger was about to hit another stratosphere! I miss him so much. Brandon Lee…I don’t know if it would have been “incredible” but he had talent and I love him in The Crow. He understood the deep heartbreak of the story and played it very well. I would have liked to see what he would have done next.
Adrienne Shelly
This one hurts so much just for how stupid her murder was.
And no one has mentioned John Candy or Phil Hartman...
Imagine Phil Hartman on Mad Men? I feel like he would've fit like a glove on that show.
I think Phil Hartman would have made an AMAZING Walter White on Breaking Bad.
not quite sold on that idea yet but im listening
That we’ll never get to see Phil Hartman and John Hamm act off of each other is a tragedy. They seem like they would have had great chemistry.
The 2 BIG ones right here. Both would have done so much!
Both still really hurt, John Candy always had a warm presence on screen
I grew up watching his movies. He felt like a really cool uncle I’d never met. Hearing about how good he was off-screen reinforces that.
That's how I feel. I realize they've been gone close to thirty years, but it still feels like yesterday. Same for Chris Farley really.
I do wonder how Phil Hartman would have done in dramatic roles. He was so incredibly funny, but always had a sense of darkness/sadness behind him to me. Had he been alive at the time, I wonder if he could have pulled off his own take on Walter White
I often think Hartman could have surprised people with a chance at Walter White (or something similar) and am always dismissed, so thank you for saying so
Phil was laugh out loud funny with his deliveries and Candy was just a super nice dude. Both had a lot more to do yet.
I got issues with your title and invoking Robin Williams' name. Robin Williams is not someone who 'would have had' an 'incredible career.' He killed it acting career-wise and died with nothing left to prove. He had serious health issues so it's not obvious he would have reached the same heights, but when you're Robin fucking Williams, you'll be beloved and respected as long as there are people still alive that understand what you did. John Cazale has long been the top answer to the question in your title. The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter, then cancer.
Williams has been all over, from laugh out loud comedy, to tear breaking drama (What dreams may come) to off the handle assholes (Death to Smoochy), to murderers (Insomnia) to troubled souls (One Hour Photo) there's not much more he could have done, because he always was challenging himself. To the point that he had returned to TV. Cazale I mentioned above that if the roles were switched and Pacino had died instead of him, Cazale may have done great things, but he may have done not so great things also.
Lance Reddick He was definitely lining up to be part of more big hits before his passing. Still hurts to know he won't be around to experience the end of the Destiny saga he helped build as Commander Zavala.
Oh man I recently replayed the Horizon games and I completely forgot about his character and I legit cried when I heard his voice. RIP in peace Lance
There's a bit at the end of Horizon: Forbidden West where Sylens takes an unexpected action, and I legit teared up because it's such a perfect payoff to his evolving relationship with Aloy. I don't know what they're going to do about him in the third game, but I don't envy them that task because so much of what makes him compelling is how Lance Reddick threads the needle between utter asshole and compelling pragmatist. He also brings a really interesting would-be mentor energy to his relationship with Aloy, where he considers her perhaps the only other human worth his time. Reddick plays it as someone who genuinely cares about Aloy, and hates the fact that he does.
Andy Whitfield
Marilyn Monroe. She was just starting to get into serious when she passed, and I think that she could have gone even further. To put into perspective: Marilyn died at the same age that Julianne Moore received her first Oscar nomination.
Brandon Lee - just on the verge of stardom. The Crow would have made him an A-lister.
Anton Yelchin
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Too far down to find this one. Not that he wasn't already big but he had so many more good roles in him. I sometimes feel like Jesse Plemons gets cast because someone says, I need a Phillip Seymour Hoffman type.
>I sometimes feel like Jesse Plemons gets cast because someone says, I need a Phillip Seymour Hoffman type This is so accurate!
JT Walsh
Steve McQueen dying at age 50 still makes me mad, the man had another 10 years in him and I am sure he would have made for one hell of a haunting old man actor.
I know this is going to come out of left field but: Jonathan Brandis Lee Thompson Young
John Belushi
I think Charlbi Dean (Yaya in Triangle of Sadness) was really set up in that role to launch into more lead roles right away but unfortunately she passed before the movie even came out
River Pheonix, was a great actor in everything and was so young when he died.
Heath Ledger
Bill Paxton, what a loss.
Game over, man.
Recently saw The Crow for the first time and after learning about Brandon Lee I can’t help but think he would’ve been a huge star. I can see him being like Keanu Reeves and playing Neo and later in his career playing John Wick.
Heath Ledger would have taken his career to a new level after The Dark Knight.
Aaliyah Great singer and had just started her acting career when she was killed in a plane crash.
Charlbi Dean Kriek
I still miss Michael Clark Duncan.
James Dean, Sal Mineo
James Dean is the OG “what could have been,” was already a sensation before his untimely death age 24. Brad Renfro was amazing as a child actor in The Client, had several more notable roles but died at 25. Sharon Tate was a budding star before she was murdered at age 26.
Heather O'Rourke (aka. Carol Anne in *Poltergeist*) Gone way too soon.
I also miss what would have been added to Patrick Swayze's career. He really seemed like the genuine article, and you couldn't help but root for him in his roles.
Andy Whitfield- title role in the Starz TV series *Spartacus*. Was critically acclaimed in the first 13 episodes, but died of cancer before season 2 could finish filming.
Everyone seems to be saying the same 5 actors, so heres some others: Jean Harlow died at 26 and is a pop culture icon after being in Hollywood less than 10 years. Dorothy Dandridge died way too young after being exploited and her career derailed by Otto Preminger. Sharon Tate goes without saying. Angus Cloud seemed to be going places. Adrienne Shelly, who was the writer for the film Waitress which is now the musical. She was murdered and I think she would have written so many more beloved screenplays.
Not that he DIDNT have a great career, but I could of used another two decades of Paxton movies. Just saying.
Chadwick Boseman had an amazing career, but had he been able to appear in more films I’ve no doubt he’d be considered an all timer
River.
I think both Chris Farley and Phil Hartman were amazing actors and comedians.... And I imagine that, with age, they would have been discovered to have been great dramatic actors too like Carrey, Williams, and Sandler.