MovieChat Forums > Patrick Swayze Discussion > Why'd his star power drop so fast?

Why'd his star power drop so fast?

posted 9 years ago by mickfarm
33 replies | jump to latest

I know other actors' stars have crashed and burned pretty quickly, either due to a personal issue (ie Mel Gibson) or through a major bomb (ie Ben Affleck with Gigi)...but what happened to Patrick? He went from a string of hits culminating with ghost and point break and then made a small drama (city of joy)...and then nothing but the kind of stuff people get thrown at them when they're no longer stars, like father hood. So what killed him? It shouldn't have been city of joy, plenty of actors have those "small" dramas they put out from time to time and they aren't usually career killers.

[–] jacotodd47 (2402) a year ago

He had around a 5 year run of being big and that was pretty much it. Seems pretty typical for most actors that become stars unless you are incredibly talented. The greats last for decades. Nothing against Swayze but he wasn't a great.

[–] strntz (12773) a year ago

Why'd his star power drop so fast?

He died..

[–] parkerbot (10771) a year ago

His last show was called The Beast and if you can find it, I'd recommend seeing it.

I had to order my copy from Australia but I see it floating around discount bins every now and then so it's out there.

What a testament to not stopping until you drop.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1638) a month ago

His films after Point Break were mostly box office disappointments. He also had to enter rehab for his alcoholism in the 90s, which meant he withdrew from show business for a while. After that he never regained his former A-list status.

[–] Lucia2016 (647) a month ago

Thing the OP is saying is that up until Point Break he never put a foot wrong and the studio's had no reason to ditch him because he was a proven Star who could lead a film

Usually an Actor has 1 or 2 noticeable bombs before being relegated to straight to DVD but Swayze off the back of 2 hits was seemingly relegated with immediate effect

It's strange to believe all he was offered were small Indie roles or that was all he was interested in. We know Hollywood they are lazy so you have someone bankable and put them in the more interesting parts.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1638) a month ago

I mean, the guy just had a shitty run of bad luck in the 90s. He had a serious drinking problem and was battling depression since his father died young and his wife had a miscarriage. He entered rehab in 1992 while trying to continue to work, got sober, then relapsed again when his sister committed suicide in 1994. He also disliked being a sex symbol and tried deviating from his previous heart-throb roles by picking more artsy projects to be taken seriously as an actor, which didn’t have the same box office success.

Then he suffered severe injuries while filming a stunt sometime circa 1996, which required a dozen surgeries and caused more career stagnation. Ultimately all those issues lead to a decline in star power.

[–] Lucia2016 (647) a month ago

Didn't know most of that especially about his sister that's harsh you have an idea that Actors sit around their mansions without a care in the world only thinking about what film role they will do next.

Without sounding morbid but those series of events could very well have contributed to what ultimately happened to him

RIP i liked Swayze he had a good energy on film