Actors Who Basically Disappeared From Hollywood

The following article includes brief references to mental health issues and abuse allegations.

On the surface, making it big in Hollywood is a dream come true, and don't get us wrong, it definitely is. Fame, fortune, and all of the benefits that come with it? Sign us up! However, being a successful Hollywood actor is still a job that requires putting in a lot of time and energy. On top of that, while the paychecks are super sweet, actors run the risk of putting out a project that can lead to some pretty intense criticism of their skills and talents. Even worse, sometimes a movie doesn't come together exactly as planned, and it can leave a stink that will follow an actor for the rest of their lives. Not fun.

So some screen stars end up making the decision to ghost on the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown either after getting a glimpse at how quickly it can turn on them or after realizing that there's more to life than waiting around for someone to yell "Action!" Here are some actors who basically disappeared from Hollywood.

She became the rom-com queen with such hits as "When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle," and "You've Got Mail," and also starred in the smoldering drama "City of Angels" back when Nicolas Cage was still lighting up the cineplex. But in 2000, Meg Ryan became the focus of intense tabloid scrutiny when reports began surfacing that she was having an affair with her "Proof of Life" co-star, Russell Crowe, who was taking Hollywood by storm after his breakout role in "Gladiator." While Ryan continued to work sporadically in Hollywood, her roles were never the same after the affair, and she waited eight years to address the scandal in a 2008 interview with InStyle.

According to Ryan, the affair definitely happened, and even though it affected her public image, she described it as liberating after years of allegedly being cheated on by her husband at the time, actor Dennis Quaid. With her side of the story finally out there, Ryan attempted to bounce back with "The Women," a film about a cheated-on spouse, but audiences and critics just weren't feeling it. 

Since then, Ryan has mostly ditched Hollywood (save for a handful of roles here and there) for New York, where she's focused on her children and navigating the pitfalls of love with rocker John Mellencamp — with whom her on-and-off engagement officially ended in 2019. As of this writing, her sophomore directorial effort "What Happens Later," which she also co-wrote and will star in, is in post-production.

Thanks to a career stretching all the way back to the '60s, Gene Hackman has starred in at least 79 movies, and those films include such classics as "Bonnie and Clyde," "The French Connection," "Hoosiers," "Unforgiven," "Crimson Tide," and a slew of others that have stood the test of time. Plus, who can forget Hackman's iconic role as Lex Luthor matching wits with Christopher Reeve's Superman.

In 2001, Hackman gave one of his most beloved performances in "The Royal Tenenbaums," despite the fact that he was reluctant to do the film, particularly after learning that director Wes Anderson wrote the part specifically for him. So it came as a complete surprise when Hackman starred in the 2004 lackluster comedy "Welcome to Mooseport" and chose that to be his final film. While Hackman never officially announced his retirement, he confirmed he was done with acting in a 2008 interview with Reuters. "I really don't want to do it any longer," he explained. And though he admitted that he did miss acting, Hackman noted, "The business for me is very stressful."

However, this fan-favorite is not finished with the creative world yet, and the former actor is doing a formidable job trying to "hack" it as a writer. (Yup, that joke happened.) He also narrated a couple military documentaries in the late 2010s and appeared in the 2021 docuseries "Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy." In March 2023, Hackman, then 93, was seen making a rare public outing while some running errands in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

After making a name for himself on "SCTV," Canada's answer to "Saturday Night Live," Rick Moranis became a staple of '80s comedy classics, starting with a small little movie called "Ghostbusters." After that, Moranis had starring roles in "Little Shop of Horrors," "Spaceballs!" and the Disney franchise "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." He also continued to steadily work in the '90s, which included landing the plum role of Barney Rubble in the 1994 live-action remake of "The Flintstones." It seemed like this guy was going to be a Hollywood mainstay for years to come. And then he was gone.

By 2015, Moranis had virtually vanished from Hollywood for nearly 18 years, save for quietly taking on some voice-acting roles, but when word got out that he wouldn't reprise his role as Lewis Tully in the 2016 "Ghostbusters" reboot, he granted a rare interview to The Hollywood Reporter to explain where he'd been. We hope you have some tissues ready. 

In 1997, Moranis' wife, Anne, died of breast cancer. While he originally planned to take a small break, Moranis ultimately devoted himself to raising their two young children, and the actor couldn't be happier be with the decision. "I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people," Moranis said. "I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful."

Thanks to her famous dad, Bridget Fonda made her first acting appearance at age 5 in the 1969 classic "Easy Rider," but it would be a few decades until the actor became a Hollywood fixture. In the early '90s, she made a big splash in "Single White Female," but despite working steadily in notable flicks such as "Point of No Return," "Singles," and "Jackie Brown," Fonda's career didn't fare so well in the 2000s.

For starters, Fonda had made a name for herself as a film star, so when the lead role for a television series came her way, she turned it down. That show ended up being the smash hit "Ally McBeal," which rocketed Calista Flockhart to fame. In 1999, Fonda told the New York Post, "I refused to read the script for fear I might really like it. I've never wanted to do TV. I love feature films too much." She added, "I'm not kicking myself for having passed on 'Ally McBeal,' even though it's a huge hit. I've been acting long enough to know it could have been a complete dud with me in it."

Fonda starred in the 2001 box-office bomb "Monkeybone," and a year later, she quit acting altogether after starring in the forgettable Hallmark channel movie "Snow Queen." (Think super low-budget "Frozen.") But Fonda had a good reason to walk away from Hollywood after a solid body of work. She started a family with husband and famous film composer Danny Elfman, and she hasn't looked back.

The epitome of Hollywood royalty, for decades Jack Nicholson could be seen front and center during each year's Academy Awards — sporting his signature Ray-Bans, of course. The Oscars, in fact, had long been Nicholson's domain — not surprising, considering he's been nominated for 12 of them, and won three. Known for indelible performances in such film classics as "Chinatown," "Easy Rider," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "The Shining," and many more, Nicholson abruptly brought his career to a halt; the most recent entry in his IMDb credits is the 2010 feature "How Do You Know."

While Nicholson, who was born in 1937, never officially announced his retirement, that appears to be what's taken place. In 2017, fans were hopeful for a return to the screen when Variety reported Nicholson was set to star in a U.S. remake of German comedy "Toni Erdmann," but the star reportedly exited the project the following year. He didn't disappear completely, though; in the decade-plus since his last film, Nicholson continued to maintain his presence courtside to watch his beloved Los Angeles Lakers, last spotted (as of this writing, that is) attending a game in October 2021. 

While there's been no official reason behind Nicholson's retirement, sources told Radar in 2013 that he allegedly decided to step away from acting due to memory loss; a subsequent Radar report offered unsubstantiated claims of dementia. In early 2023, sources alleged to the Daily Mail that the then-85-year-old actor would no longer leave his Beverly Hills mansion, with friends reportedly fearing he'll "die a recluse [after] leading such a colorful life."

Known for roles in such big screen hits as "Beetlejuice," "Thelma & Louise," "A League of Their Own," and "The Accidental Tourist" (winning a best supporting actress Oscar for the latter), Geena Davis' onscreen credits have been sporadic in recent years. During the 2010s, she starred in the short-lived TV series "The Exorcist," appeared in a recurring role on "Grey's Anatomy," guested in several 2019 episodes of Netflix's "GLOW," and appeared in the 2020 feature "Ava," starring Jessica Chastain. 

While Davis may have scaled down her acting, that hasn't necessarily been by choice. As she told The Guardian, roles became scarcer after she entered her 40s. "I fell off the cliff. I really did," she admitted. Speaking with Interview magazine in 2016, Davis said she'd prefer to wait for a good, meaty part than take whatever's offered, simply to have a job. "It's okay if it takes two or three years for something really good to come along, but I don't want to wait 10 years for something great to come along," she said, while also admitting how she wasn't thrilled with the way it had been working out. "It's maddening," Davis said. "It's so frustrating. It's completely embarrassing."

However, Davis has other irons in the fire beyond acting. In 2004, the mother of three founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender Media, with a mission to work within the entertainment industry to promote greater gender balance. Then, in 2015, she co-founded the Bentonville Film Festival, championing female, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ filmmakers.

As a child actor, Frankie Muniz broke through as star of the 2000 film "My Dog Skip," and, later that same year, Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle." By the time the latter concluded its seven-season run in 2006, Muniz had also starred in a few movies, including "Big Fat Liar," "Agent Cody Banks," and its sequel, "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London."

Post-"Malcolm," however, Muniz shared the experience of many former child actors when roles dried up as he grew from kid to teen to adult. Reduced to the occasional TV guest spot, Muniz eventually turned to reality TV, competing on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2017 (which led to hosting the short-lived spinoff "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors"), and appearing in a 2022 revival of "The Surreal Life." 

In January 2023, Muniz took to Instagram to reveal he was officially embarking on a whole new career as a NASCAR driver, having previously dabbled in professional racing in the late 2000s. "Ever since childhood, it's been my dream to pursue racing in NASCAR," Muniz said in a statement (via USA Today). "I look forward to not only demonstrating my ability on the track and just how serious I am in progressing in my racing career, but also showing my son and family what it is to chase your dreams and re-invent yourself," he added. Muniz subsequently made his debut at Daytona, where he placed 11th. "Holy moly!!! That was the most insane thing I've ever done," he tweeted in part about the experience.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas remains best known for playing Randy on the hit ABC sitcom "Home Improvement," the youngest son of star Tim Allen's Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor. Thanks to the success of the show, Thomas' stardom extended to the big screen with the films "Man of the House" and "Tom and Huck" (both released in 1995), the 1998 holiday movie "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and supplying the voice of young Simba in Disney's animated classic "The Lion King." 

While "Home Improvement" concluded in 1999, the teen idol left a year early to focus on his education (a decision that admittedly annoyed Allen at first). Thomas then appeared in guest spots in such TV series as "Ally McBeal," "Smallville," "8 Simple Rules," and "Veronica Mars." After co-starring in the 2006 short film "The Extra," Thomas' only other screen credit since has been "Last Man Standing," the sitcom featuring former "Home Improvement" co-star Allen, in the mid-2010s.

Thomas' eventual exit from Hollywood, he admitted in a 2013 interview with People, had been a long time coming. "I'd been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel, and have a bit of a break," explained Thomas, who studied at Harvard, Columbia, and Scotland's St. Andrew's University after stepping away from the spotlight. "I never took the fame too seriously," he added. "It was a great period in my life, but it doesn't define me. ... I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers."

Phoebe Cates catapulted to instant stardom in the early 1980s thanks to her performances in hit movies like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "Gremlins," and "Private School." She subsequently starred in the 1984 TV miniseries "Lace," and its 1985 sequel, with additional starring roles in the 1988 feature "Bright Lights, Big City," 1991's "Drop Dead Fred," 1993's "Bodies, Rest & Motion," and "Princess Caraboo" in 1994. After that, Cates' next film role wasn't until 2001, in "The Anniversary Party," with more than a decade until her next credit, a small voice role in the 2015 video game "Lego Dimensions."

A big part of why Cates retreated from Hollywood has to do with her family. In 1989, Cates wed actor Kevin Kline, 16 years her senior; having met while auditioning for "The Big Chill" in 1982, the couple reconnected a few years later while both were rehearsing for different plays at New York Public Theater. The pair welcomed son Owen in 1991 and daughter Greta in 1994, which shifted Cates' focus from acting to motherhood. "We have agreed to alternate so that we're never working at the same time," Kline explained to Playboy in 1998 (via Entertainment Weekly). "[But] whenever it's been her slot to work, Phoebe has chosen to stay with the children."

In 2005, Cates branched out into the world of retail when she opened her gift boutique, Blue Tree, situated in New York City's Upper East Side.

When it comes to walking away from Hollywood, no star has managed to top the disappearing act pulled by screen icon Greta Garbo. After starring in several European films during the 1920s, the Swedish actor was lured to Hollywood to make her first American movie, 1926's "Torrent." Garbo ultimately made more than two dozen Hollywood movies, including such classics as "Mata Hari," "Grand Hotel," "Anna Karenina," and "Ninotchka." Garbo's films made so much money for MGM that she was able to demand — and receive — a new contract that not only gave her unprecedented creative control, but also reportedly paid her a whopping $270,000 per picture. 

In 1941, she starred in "Two-Faced Woman." It would be her final film before her retirement at age 35 — not just from acting, but from public life. She exited L.A. and moved to New York, where she eschewed the spotlight for the rest of her days. She never acted again. "I have made enough faces," Garbo famously quipped, per Town & Country.

Despite the brevity of her Hollywood career — a mere 15 years — public fascination with Garbo never waned. According to Variety, "Garbo-watching" became an obsession for paparazzi, who would stake out her apartment building in hopes of snapping a rare pic of the elusive star. When she died in 1990 at 84, her steadfast privacy had left her so shrouded in myth and mystery that she transcended mere celebrity to become a legend.