Looking over Daryl Hannah’s filmopgraphy, it’s surprisingly impressive. Hannah rose to prominence in the early 80’s and then was kind of forgotten about. Moreso than a lot of other actresses I have covered. She’s worked with top directors like Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone and co-starred alongside Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas.
What the hell happened?
Hannah’s first appearance on the big screen was a small role in Brian de Palma’s supernatural thriller, The Fury in 1978.
In 1981, she had another small role opposite Kim Basinger in Hard Country.
In 1982, Hannah landed a small but significant role in Rideley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner.
Hannah played Pris, one of four artificial life forms (“replicants”) hunted down by Harrison Ford. Pris was “a basic pleasure model” which meant she was the most vulnerable of the replicants. Hannah’s shy, waifish performance would be the template for many roles to follow.
At the time of its release, Blade Runner got mixed reviews and was a disappointment at the box office. But it went on to develop a strong cult following. It is now generally considered a great movie released ahead of its time.
Later that summer, Hannah appeared opposite a young Peter Gallagher in the three-way love story, Summer Lovers.
Just to clarify, when I refered to Summer Lovers as a three-way love story, I don’t mean that it is about a love triangle. It’s about a threesome.
In spite of the titillating subject matter, a gorgeous Greek setting and a beautiful cast, Summer Lovers didn’t attract much attention from critics or audiences.
In 1983, Hannah appeared in a B-grade slasher film, The Final Terror.
Despite the title, The Final Terror was not a sequel to anything. It was actually directed by Andrew Davis who would go on to direct The Fugitive and Under Siege.
1984 was a big year for Hannah. But it started off very small with the low-budget love story, Reckless co-starring Aiden Quinn.
Quinn starred as a teenage rebel who falls for a cheerleader played by Hannah. Hannah’s character comes from a well-to-do family and has a steady boyfriend played by Adam Baldwin. But she’s drawn to the broody bad boy.
Critics compared the movie unfavorably to teen rebel movies like The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause. It opened in third place at the box office behind Silkwood which had been in theaters for 8 weeks.
Hannah’s career changed forever when she played a mermaid in Ron Howard’s romantic comedy, Splash.
Splash was an important movie for a lot of reasons. It was the first film released under Disney’s Touchstone label. Touchstone was created so that Disney could release movies that were deemed inappropriate for the company’s squeeky clean family image. The success of Splash got Touchstone off to a great start.
The film helped launch the careers of Hannah and her co-star Tom Hanks. It established Howard as an A-list director and gave a boost to Second City vets John Candy and Eugene Levy who appeared in supporting roles.
Originally, Splash was competing with another mermaid-themed movie from Warner Brothers that was to have starred Warren Beatty. Ron Howard promised Disney that his film would be filmed faster and cheaper than the competing film. Which, if you know anything at all about Warren Beatty, is a pretty safe bet. Not surprisngly, Beatty’s mermaid project never saw the light of day.
Splash was well-reviewed by critics and a smash hit with audiences.
Later that year, Hannah appeared opposite Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts (two guys who scream out for WTHH treatment) in The Pope of Greenwhich Village.
Pope was originally intended to be the first on-screen pairing of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. At the time, Michael Cimino was attached to direct. Pope was released to mostly positive reviews, but it was overlooked at the box office.
In 1986, Hannah starred in the infamous flop, The Clan of the Cave Bear.
Clan of the Cave Bear is an odd movie. It’s the kind of movie that makes you wonder how it ever got made. It was based on a book about a young Cro-Magnon woman. Hannah’s character was separated from her family and orphaned during an earthquake. She is found by a group of Neanderthals.
The movie has almost no dialogue since the characters are all cave people. Instead, the actors communicate through sign language. That sort of thing works in a book. But it is really hard to pull off in a movie. Unfortunately, The Clan of the Cave Bear was not up to the task. The reviews were terrible and the movie bombed at the box office.
Later that year, Hannah co-starred opposite Robert Redford and Debra Winger in the comedy, Legal Eagles.
Expectations for Legal Eagles were pretty high. Redford and Winger were both A-list stars. Hannah was bankable in spite of Clan of the Cave Bear. And it was the follow-up to director Ivan Reitman’s smash hit, Ghostbusters.
Reviews for Legal Eagles were mixed. Although it made a profit at the box office, it was a disappointment in relation to expectations.
1987 was a better year for Hannah. First, she starred opposite Steve Martin in the romantic comedy, Roxanne.
Roxanne was Martin’s modern-day retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. Hannah played the dream girl to Martin’s long-nosed poet.
Roxanne was well-reviewed and a hit at the box office.
Later that year, Hannah co-starred opposite Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street.
Wall Street was an infamously troubled production. Hannah, who is a crusader for several causes in real life, never connected to her character who was defined by her materialism. She was unhappy with the role which lead to clashes with Stone. Stone has said many unflattering things about Hannah’s acting abilities over the years as a result.
Making matters worse was Sean Young. Young (who also appeared in Blade Runner) had a smaller role in the film. She kept trying to convince Stone to fire Hannah because she wanted the larger role. Stone later admitted that he should have fired Hannah but his pride got in the way. The director was so annoyed with Young’s campaigning that he had her dumped at a bus station when she was done filming.
Despite the behind the scenes difficulty, Wall Street got good reviews. It tapped into the zeitgeist of the 80’s. “Greed is good” became a popular catchphrase. Douglas won an Oscar and the movie was a hit.
In 1988 Hannah co-starred in the supernatural comedy, High Spirits opposite Peter O’Toole and Steve Guttenberg.
High Spirits was written and directed by Neil Jordan. It also co-starred a pre-fame Liam Neeson. But the ghostly romantic comedy was a miss with critics and audiences.
And yes, I did just copy and paste that from the article on Guttenberg. No one should have to write about High Spirits twice.
In 1989, Hannah had a small role in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Getting cast in a Woody Allen movie is a rite of passage in Hollywood. It’s a sign that you have made it. Hannah’s role was small, but that is besides the point. When Woody Allen asks you to appear in one of his movies, it’s understood that you say “yes”. At least Hannah appeared in one of the Woodman’s better movies (even if I forgot she was actually in it).
Later that year, Hannah appeared alongside an impressive ensemble for the comedy-drama, Steel Magnolias.
I probably don’t have to tell anyone what Steel Magnolias is. Most women have it memorized. Most men view it as kryptonite. Based on the play by Robert Harling, Magnolias tells the story of a bunch of Southern women played by the likes of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine and a pre-fame Julia Roberts.
The women laugh, bond, do hair, gossip, give each other make-overs and then Julia Roberts dies and everyone cries. It’s the kind of movie that includes a character named “Ouiser” (pronounced “Wheezy”.) And yes, if you are a man, it is kind of like kryptonite.
Steel Magnolias got decent reviews and was a hit at the box office. It helped kick off a craze of similar female oriented flicks. And while I will personally never sit through it again, I have to admit it is superior to most of its imitators.
For the record, Terms of Endearment is 1,000 times better.
In 1990, Hannah starred opposite Dudley Moore in the comedy, Crazy People.
Moore was a very unconventional movie star. After having hits with 10 and Arthur, pretty much everything he touched after that was a failure. Crazy People was no exception.
In 1991, Hannah appeared in the drama At Play in the Fields of the Lord.
The cast included Hannah’s Reckless co-star Aidan Quinn and Tom Berenger. Reviews were mixed and the movie bombed.
In 1992, Hannah starred opposite an invisible Chevy Chase (the best kind) in John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man.
Invisible Man was a vanity project for Chase. Chase intended to use the movie as a segue into less comedic roles. He had originally tapped Hannah’s Legal Eagles director, Ivan Reitman, to direct. But when Reitman realized the film was not a broad comedy, he bailed.
Legendary screen-writer William Goldman also left the troubled project stating, “I am too old and too rich for this shit.” That sounds like the reaction of a man tapped to work with prima donna, Chase.
John Carpenter, who was best known for his horror and genre films, was brought in to direct. Like Chase, Carpenter was looking to expand his horizons a little. Unfortunately for both of them, critics reviled Memoirs of an Invisible Man and the movie tanked at the box office.
In 1993, Hannah starred in a TV remake of The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
The movie debuted on HBO and was released theatrically in Europe. I was all ready to make fun of this movie because it’s a remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. But then I noticed it was directed by Christopher Guest. So, it can’t be all bad.
Later that year, Hannah had a surprise hit opposite Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the geriatric comedy, Grumpy Old Men.
Hannah’s role is a small one. But she was back on the big screen in a big hit movie. The reviews were actually surprisingly good too.
In 1994, Hannah appeared in the remake of The Little Rascals.
Reviews were mostly negative. The box office was middling. But Hannah’s role was small.
In 1995, Hannah took on a larger role in Wesley Strick’s thriller, The Ties That Bind.
Vincent Spano and Moira Kelly starred as a couple whose adopted daughter is revealed to have psychotic parents. Hannah and Keith Carradine play the crazy parents that want their child back. Presumably thrills ensue as this is a thriller.
Hannah also appeared in Grumpier Old Men, the sequel to the surprise hit, Grumpy Old Men.
It’s a shame they couldn’t complete the trilogy with Grumpiest Old Men or Grumpy Old Men: Grump Harder. Grumpy Dead Men would have been a tad depressing.
In 1996, Hannah starred opposite Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith in the screwball comedy, Two Much.
I can’t possibly be expected to read the synopsis of this thing. Did it involve twins? Let’s just assume Banderas played twins, shall we?
I suggest that if the movie had been called Too Sexy it would have been a hit. Reviews would have still been bad, but that’s almost a given when you remake a French screwball comedy. That shit don’t play stateside. Since the movie was named Two Much, audiences took the hint and stayed home.
On the upside, Banderas and Griffith fell in love and married the next year. Which probably means I am going to have to track this thing down before I write What the Hell Happened to Melanie Griffith? In other news, WTHH to Melanie Griffith has been put on indefinite hold.
In 1998, Hannah had roles in The Gingerbread Man (also known as the only John Grisham movie to flop).
Later that year, she appeared in the show biz comedy, The Real Blonde.
Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener played a couple struggling to break into show business. He played an actor who waits tables and she played a make-up artist who works for a fashion photographer. Keener finally convinces Modine to swallow his pride and accept a job as an extra on a Madonna video. While he’s on the set for the video, he meets Madonna’s body double played by Elizabeth Berkley.
Maxwell Caulfield played Modine’s fellow waiter who lands a big paycheck working on a soap opera. Hannah played Caufield’s co-star with whom he begins a romantic relationship. Kathleen Turner appears as a powerful talent agent who helps Modine get a job.
The Real Blonde received mostly negative reviews and was not successful at the box office.
She also played Morticia Addams in the direct-to-video sequel, Addams Family Reunion.
Going from Angelica Huston to Daryl Hannah is a bit like going from Christina Ricci to whoever the hell that is playing Wednesday Addams in that picture. No offense to Hannah or the no-name girl in the picture, of course.
She also appeared opposite Christopher Reeve in the TV movie, Rear Window. Yeah, that’s right. It’s a remake of one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most beloved movies of all time. And it’s a TV movie.
Look, I know Reeve was in a wheelchair. No fan is more broken up about what happened to Reeve than me. But still, that’s no excuse to fuck up Rear Window. Going from Grace Kelly to Hannah is a lot like trading Jimmy Stewart for Superman in a wheelchair.
That same year, Gus Van Sant remade Psycho with Vince Vaughn masturbating. WTF Hollywood?
Usually when we hit the “direct-to-video sequel” stage of the career, it’s time to wrap things up and go home. But not this time. In 1999, Hannah starred opposite Jeff Daniels and Christopher Lloyd in the remake of the TV show My Favorite Martian.
Lloyd starred as a goofy martian who crash-lands on Earth. Daniels played a reporter who finds Lloyd’s miniaturized space ship. Hannah played Daniels’ shy assistant who secretly has a crush on him. And Elizabeth Hurley played Daniels’ boss’ daughter who will do anything to get ahead.
My Favorite Martian was panned by critics. It opened in third place at the box office behind Payback which was in the second week of its release. It ended up grossing roughly half of its $65 million dollar production budget.
In 2001, Hannah appeared in the bull riding movie, Cowboy Up.
Marcus Thomas played a bullrider who won’t quit despite sustaining nearly fatal injuries. Molly Ringwald played his girlfriend who wants him to get out of the sport. Kiefer Sutherland played his competitive older brother who pushes him on. And Hannah played a woman who comes between the two brothers.
The movie was scheduled for release in 2000, but never made it to theaters because the distributor filed went under. Instead, it went direct to video in 2001.
It’s time to speed this up. So I’m going to start skipping over anything that didn’t get a theatrical release or grossed less than 10 million dollars at the box office. That leaves 2002’s Mandy Moore weepy, A Walk to Remember.
Oh and what’s this…
I see Kilmer. First rule of WTHH is never skip over Kilmer. Hannah also appeared opposite Christian Slater and Val Kilmer in Hard Cash. I have never seen Hard Cash, but it keeps popping up in these articles.
It’s funny because Val Kilmer got fat.
Okay, looks like we’re done here. Nothing left to see. Direct to video sequels? Check. Co-starring with Val Kilmer? Check. Christian Slater? Bonus check. That’s it. Career over! AmIright?
Nope.
Nope. In 2003 and 2004, Hannah appeared as a one-eyed assassin in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2.
Tarantino just won’t let a career die. So if you have complaints about the length of this article, take it up with him.
For the record, Kill Bill is awesome.
But even the great Tarantino has his limits. Not every role leads to a Travolta-style career revival. By 2008, Hannah was starring in the Syfy original, Shark Swarm opposite Bo Duke/Pa Kent (depending how old you are).
So, what the hell happened?
Hannah was barely ever really A-list to begin with. She was never really critically acclaimed for her work. Many considered her a pretty face with regards to her acting.
She definitely made some bad choices late in her career. But also, she seemed content to play small roles in movies like Steel Magnolias and Kill Bill. Which works for her, but doesn’t keep you in the public eye.
And of the stars I have profiled, she has taken up a lot of causes. To the point where she was actually arrested once while protesting. As opposed to Christian Slater who was arrested repeatedly for being a drunk asshole.
Thanks for another impressive entry in the series, although my head’s spinning slightly after reading about some of the films that Daryl Hannah has appeared in recently; some of those remakes sound absolutely appalling! Even though I lost interest in her career somewhere in the early 90’s I’ve realised I must have been a fan at one time, because I vaguely remember watching The Clan of the Cave Bear, and I still own Legal Eagles on DVD, although the only thing I remember about the film is the bizarre performance art her character Chelsea performs for Robert Redford. By the… Read more »
I think I probably qualified as a Hannah fan to a limited extent. I loved Splash when I was a teen. I remember liking Roxanne. She was never in the hallowed halls of Ryan and Pfeiffer or even Sean Young for that matter. But I liked her well enough. I have not seen Legal Eagles, but I’m going to try to watch it before the Debra Winger article. Art/Bart. Sounds like twins? Was I right? Were there twins in it? If Two Much comes on between now and the Griffith article, I’ll watch it. I have subjected myself to all… Read more »
Yeah Art and Bart in Two Much were supposed to be twins and the Banderas character uses the age old disguise of wearing glasses to distinguish one from the other.
Two Much really is that bad!
I knew it!
You have to wonder how anyone ever decided to invest money in something like that.
The outcome of Melanie Griffith’s career was predictable. She was the daughter of an actress, started acting as a child in the late 60s, spent years paying her dues before achieving stardom in the late 80s (Working Girl). She had a star career throughout the 90s, but none of her movies were hits. The question that frequently comes up is: Why has Griffith’s career been dead (and I mean REALLY dead–she makes Sharon Stone look like a superstar) since 2000? An actress doesn’t have to be a box-office draw to still get respectable roles after 40. So what’s the deal?… Read more »
That a pretty comprehensive analysis. Usually the devil’s in the details with these articles. Even when we know the career arc going in, it’s fun to trace the rise and fall picture by picture.
Mention of Melanie Griffith’s mother prompted me to look at Tippi Hedren’s filmography and I was surprised to find that she’s still working. In fact she’s getting more film work and from photographs seems to have aged more naturally than her daughter. It’s strange that this Darryl Hannah article has turned into an analysis of Melanie’s career. Leads me to think she could turn out to be one of your best WTHHT’s. I agree with Reggie that even in her peak years she” was never a big time beauty”, but very few actresses in that period could look and sound… Read more »
I use to watch Something Wild pretty regularily. Great movie. I haven’t seen it in years. But it is sitting on my DVR along with Body Double (which I’m about halfway through) as research for the Griffith article. I also have something called Forever Lulu which I have never seen before. It didn’t get good reviews, but it stars Griffith and Penelope Anne Miller. So I am going to try to subject myself to it if I have time.
Tippi has been working constantly during the last 20 years (31 roles since 2000 alone) but almost all of it is low-budget stuff barely anyone has seen or heard of. She has admitted that she takes so many roles because she struggles to get the funds to keep that animal preserve of hers running. She’s an admirable person.
I had no idea. Thanks for the info.
Forever Lulu is good. Also make sure you see Pacific Heights, Another Day in Paradise, and Crazy in Alabama. Milk Money is a stupid film but she is good in it.
Pacific Heights, I have seen multiple times. I agree about Milk Money. I’ll have to track down the other 2.
Definately track down Another Day in Paradise. I saw it on cable a couple years ago, probably her best performance.
Crazy in Alabama is kind of like Milk Money—not a great piece of work, but worth it just for her performance, and overall it’s a very heartwarming film.
Have either of you guys seen Mulholland Falls?
It never received the critical acclaim that “L.A. Confidential” did and I was wondering if it’s worth checking out.
It certainly has a top drawer cast; as well as Melanie Griffith there’s Nick Nolte, Chazz Palmentieri,Jennifer Connelly, Michael Madsen, Treat Williams, Bruce Dern, and John Malkovich,
I remember the movie. I remember wanting to see it. I think it got mixed reviews. I can’t remember if I watched it or not.
My Griffith backlog is getting longer.
This is becoming a bit of a problem for the most recent WTHHT subject, Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay’s substance abuse issues and the compounding cosmetic surgery have taken a drastic toll (for the worse) on Lindsay’s appearance. All of the roles that Lindsay arguably would’ve or could’ve played had she remained on the “straight” and “narrow” are going to other actresses like Emma Stone. Therefore, Lindsay can no longer play the “every girl” roles (even if she wanted to) that she had in “Mean Girls” for instance, because of her negative public image. It seems apparent that Lindsay’s acting skills (like… Read more »
Melanie Griffith even during her post-“Working Girl” prime, never really demonstrated that she had a lot of range. It was hard to put her in a very serious, dramatic role (no matter how heartfelt or hard she tried) for example due to her distinctive, baby-ish, ditsy sounding voice.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.movies.past-films/k0ymDoIXKDI/DJoqcrrk-SYJ
It is a major flaw in this retrospective to leave out “Dancing at the
Blue Iguana,” which got a good review from Ebert and Roeper, and which
tells a story with some meat, unlike her early hits. She capitalizes
on her wispy voice, by playing a dumb girl, with all the problems that
being dumb can bring. She also isn’t shy about advertising her
overdeveloped physique, which reveals that she has the psychological
illness, body dysmorphia, which causes people to lift weights
obsessively, to achieve an excessive degree of physical fitness.
Great article! I find it distressing that Crazy People isn’t well remembered. It is one of my favorite movies, not because it was good…just damn funny.
I have to admit Crazy People is another one I have never seen. I remember critics tearing it apart. But I think by that point they just hated Dudely Moore.
Please give it a chance. Dudley plays an ad exec that goes nuts and starts being truthful.
“Volvo – they’re boxy but good.”
“Jaguar – for men who want hand-jobs from women they barely know.”
“Metamucil – if you you don’t take Metamucil, you will get cancer and die.”
“New York – there were fewer homicides this year.”
“AT@T – if it wasn’t for us, you’d have no damn phones.”
Plus, it has everybody’s favorite…Paul Reiser. Yayyy!
Consider me convinced. Next time I see it on the tube, I’m checking it out.
Great read. Why no summary at the end though? You know – the kind where you say “she made a lot of bad decisions” or something like that
Glad you liked it. I skipped the summary for a few reasons. 1. She really didn’t flame out like some of the others. She just kind of quietly faded away. But she still works quite a bit. She’s thrown herself into causes as a lot of my subjects have. 2. I was exhausted! This is one of the few articles I have written in one sitting. 3. It’s hard to top the plastic surgery/Travolta in drag conclussion. I seriously considered a summary and I didn’t think anyone would miss it. Especially in this case. But here you go: So, what… Read more »
Thanks, man!
@As opposed to Christian Slater who was arrested repeatedly for being a drunk asshole – this sentence made me laugh out loud!
Daryl Hannah seemed to want to function as a character actress of sorts (in this case, one that’s hardly ever the lead/headliner) but wasn’t talented or versatile enough to be such a thing. As a result, it was easy for her to get kind of lost in the shuffle. I guess, “Splash” is the closest Daryl Hannah movie that I can immediately think of (even though I suppose, Tom Hanks had to do a lot of the heavy lifting) in which she was the central female character throughout.
Daryl Hannah kind of fails in-between. She never truly became a mega star (during her ’80s peak, she was a fixture and maybe if Daryl a was more driven and had better luck things would’ve turned out differently) or A-list but her career never imploded either. I get the feeling that Daryl has some self-awareness about her limitations as an actress and was never super into the “fame game”.
I think you’re right in that she never qualified as A list. She did a lot of work in supporting roles and early on was a pretty face. Best and most notable films were prob. Splash, Wall Street and Kill Bill. She was only featured in one of these (Splash). The rest are mostly forgettable throw away roles though Blade Runner is a great flick and she did alright in that. I have never seen that post surgery pic and damn…not good. Reminds me of that deformed plastic look a la Joan Rivers. Hideous. What gets me most is I… Read more »
Prior to doing these articles, I had never looked at plastic surgery picks. Even now, I don’t seek them out. When I look for current pictures of actresses, I have to pick through all the p/s pics out there. The search engines positively hit me upside the head with them. What I have discovered is that 9 times out of 10, the actress in question looks like the picture at the top of the article. But if someone catches a picture right after the surgery, you end up with Meg Ryan looking like the Joker. My wife watches all those… Read more »
Perhaps with the case of Daryl Hannah, her better movies were good despite of her and not necessarily because of her. It was more or less, a case of being at the right place and the right time. But just being lucky and having a good physical look can only get so so far for so long.
I’ve always felt that At Play in the Fields of the Lord was grossly under-appreciated.
Hey Lebeau,
I got a question for you. I hope it won’t seem inappropriate. Basically I’m looking to start my own site with reviews and all kinds of movie-related stuff. I’m a big fan your writing and my question is are you making any money at all off this thing? If you pumped some ads in here – would that get you some decent income? I would call 50 bucks per day decent by the way.
$50/day would be much better than decent. Most blogs would kill for that kind of traffic. I just made the switch to include ads a few weeks ago and haven’t gotten any earnings report yet. But my understanding is that the WordAds program gets you $1 for every 1,000 hits. At the time I made the switch, I was pulling in about 1,500 hits a day on average. Unfortunately, making the switch included changing the address of the site from lebeauleblog.wordpress.com to lebeauleblog.com. First up, that costs $18/year. Small change in the grand scheme of things. But it appears to… Read more »
This is a great blog. Chock full of interesting information. What I like the best is you provide a great perspective without being harsh or overly judgmental. Thanks.
That’s sound advice about the enjoyment element of blogging,
I think anyone starting a site like this for any other reason is going to end up disappointed.
I also agree about those traffic figures for leBlog.
I’m sure 99% of bloggers would kill for those figures, and it’s even more impressive that you’ve achieved those stats purely on the quality of your content, rather than the “follow mine and I’ll follow yours” routine that a lot of bloggers use.
Some of those phoney comments used to drive me crazy!
I like to think I’m pretty honest with myself. So in the interest of honesty, the driving force here has always been celebrity train wrecks. Those Fat Val Kilmer pictures have been the engine that has been making things hum for the last several months. For a while, if you did a search for Fat Val Kilmer or Crazy Sean Young, WTHH was right at the top of the search results. And you would be surprised by how many people search for some variation of those two things per day. Apparently with the domain change, I’m no longer topping out… Read more »
A pretty face with no acting abilities. Apart from “Splash” all her other famous roles have been supporting roles in cult movies of the 80s but surely the succes of “Wall Street” and the cult status “Blade Runner” doesn’t rely on her performance.
Nothing more than a pretty doll and actually she’s never been an “A-List” star. Well, probably she wasn’t even a “B-List”
Essentially a forgettable actress.
I had sort of dismissed her myself. But going through her career, I came away with a little more respect. I agree she was never quite A-list. But I think she was close for a little while. If she had made more rom coms like Roxanne, I think she could have had more success. But I give her credit for going a different route. I’m not arguing that she was ever more than a pretty face as an actress. But she was more than I gave her credit for before writing the article. Also, she seems like a great person.… Read more »
I sorta agree. Hannah wasn’t bad, and she’s capable of poking fun of herself. Maybe she got typecast as a ditz after Splash?
Thanks for the answer and sorry if my comment look too nasty 🙂 Your work is absolutely awesome What about Daryl? Well I got to say, I’m european and maybe that’s why I see her this way. In the US she’s probabily still famous, despite not being anymore a star, but here in old Europe is really hard to find somebody who know who she is. Here she’s been quickly forgotten by the mainstream audiences. If you ask somebody on the street “Do you know Meg Ryan/Michelle Pfeiffer/Sharon Stone/Kim Basinger/Demi Morre/Winona Rider?” you’ll have a 90% of chance he’ll answer… Read more »
No reason to apologize. To a large degree, I agree with you. I wouldn’t say Hannah is still famous here in the states. My mother-in-law had no idea who she was. Most audiences here have forgotten her as well. I bet her recognition factor is higher tha 90%, but she definitely isn’t in the same category as Ryan, Pfeiffer, etc. She never was. So, yeah, by that reasoning you could definitely say Hannah was “forgettable”. (Oliver Stone certainly thought so.) But I do give her credit for having done some things that your average Hollywood pretty face wouldn’t have done.… Read more »
She was probably never a household name- but I think most straight males in their 40’s remember her for Splash, Wall Street, Blade Runner, etc-
Women might know her from Splash and Steel Magnolias-
Don’t forget Roxanne. I think in the 80’s she was a household name. She was on the lower end of the A-list, but I think she qualified.
My definition of “household name ” is does your mom know them? I think Hannah would fail that.
Horny male teen circa 1986? Sure- they knew her-
That’s a tough one for me. My mom was a teenage girl during Beatlemania and yet should couldn’t name all four Beatles if her life depended on it. Heck, she has a hard time remembering her kids’ names. My Dad is a big fan of Dana Carvey. That’s how up to date he is in terms of pop culture. And yet he still hasn’t learned that his name isn’t Dana Garvey. Collectively, they they may be able to name two actors who aren’t Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. I probably have a looser definition of household name. Does the average… Read more »
I think that Daryl’s problem in part was that she came about in an era in which she had to compete w/ various other “pretty blonde women” (i.e. Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Kathleen Turner, Melanie Griffith, Sharon Stone, Meg Ryan) but had little of her own to offer or bring to the table. It’s as if you would call Daryl Hannah if the others were too expensive or unavailable. She’s for the most part, somewhat of a charisma black-hole as evidence as her performance in “Wall Street” for example.
I must confess that I enjoyed “Memoirs” a lot more than “Hollow Man,” but its main problem was that it did not know whether it wanted to be a comedy or a straight thriller. The original 1933 “Invisible Man” managed a great balance between the two, which is one reason it’s a classic.
Totally agree.
Hannah comes from money. Her dad was some kind of tycoon and he named a ship after her. So my guess is that she does all these low-budget movies just because she likes to be working.
I think you are right.
Ive always followed Daryl Hannah, i had a huge crush on her as a child after seeing Splash. The real reason she isnt a major star anymore is that she was backlisted by the movie industry in 90’s (yes it happens). The truth is she suffers from a type of aspergers syndrome that makes her incredibly shy to the point where she was unable to do promo. She was never really in it for the fame game and you can kind of tell, she’s never really tried to ‘save’ her career and is very private. i think shes happier making… Read more »
Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.
I think when you’re a very introverted person by nature like Daryl Hannah or Kim Basinger, it can be misinterpreted by people as examples of actors not giving 100% or phoning it in. Pathologically shy people like Daryl and Kim have it harder to convey personal warmth and/or confidence on screen. As a result, they more than likely come off as cold, at arms length, and lacking charisma. You need these key attributes in order to be more desirable of a performer regardless how how talented you may be on a technical level.
I feel kind of bad for Daryl in that regard because (and not to get to personal) I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome or Autism spectrum disorder about 20 years ago. Like Daryl, it’s sometimes difficult for me conduct myself out in public and have to deal with other people. It’s therefore, much easier to express myself on say a computer. With that being said, what probably got Daryl in trouble is that because she didn’t want to do promos for her movies it gave off the notion that she wasn’t too passionate about her work an an actress. It… Read more »
Daryl Hannah doesn’t strike me as somebody who was super ambitious to go up the Hollywood food chain. To give you a better idea, when she was making “Wall Street”, Sean Young wanted to switch characters with her. Young went as far as to barge into Daryl’s trailer to tell her upfront about her displeasure. But Daryl being such a timid and shy individual, literally felt intimidated by Young and was actually willing, hand over fist to switch roles right then and there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qQkozkn8Cc
An engagingly nervous Daryl Hannah giggles and fidgets her way through an interview with Terry Wogan at the time of the UK release of STEEL MAGNOLIAS (along with the writer Robert Harling); also talking about SPLASH and ROXANNE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5uwUaqUIxI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjEIPhIGKy8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUuoq8CWeeU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENlSLcQKR80
Depending on whom you ask, Daryl Hannah has not actually been blacklisted – she has simply been very difficult with the whole social aspect of being an actress which is to attend shows, meets, signings and so forth which she can’t do because she is famously incredibly shy. And since she’s stopped returning calls and responding to these requests she has suffered because she’s gotten the reputation that she won’t do them. While one can truly feel for Daryl Hannah, the fault most likely could be fixed if she confronted her problems instead of flat out try has hard as… Read more »
I’ve come to the realization that in Hollywood some actors get mentioned and noticed a lot more than others depending on how much better one is at playing the publicity game and how you market yourself. More significantly, you have to be prepared to go out there and talk about yourself, even when there is nothing to talk about because you want to keep your name in the headlights for future intended projects. Some are more willing to play it, others like Daryl Hannah not so much.
incorrect video previously
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qQkozkn8Cc&playnext=1&list=PLEC7E10A277F663E0&feature=results_video
FRC’s Fallen Icon #3 – Daryl Hannah: http://www.frontroomcinema.com/frcs-fallen-icon-3-daryl-hannah/ Her often turbulent private life achieved an even keel with her long-term relationship with lawyer/ publisher John F. Kennedy Jr. Sadly, their relationship was doomed from the start due to Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis’ disapproval of her son marrying an actor, the two eventually parted ways. In 1996 Kennedy wed Carolyn Besette, and the rest of their story is history. Despite public perception that Hannah withdrew from acting in the later 1990s, it was simply an unfortunate series of career missteps that kept the enigmatic actress out of the multiplexes and in such mediocre… Read more »
I like Darryl Hannah and thought that (apparently in the minority here) she did very well in her role in the iconic “Wall Street.” That’s not to say Sean Young also would not have nailed it, sometimes there is more than one right answer! I also thought “Roxanne” was very clever and entertaining, even for audiences not familar with Cyrano, although that does add an element. The shyness thing was well known and she didn’t have the drive to go out and promote movies, but you know, that just makes me like her more. And poor JFK Jr, he looked… Read more »
I was never really a fan of Wall Street. I haven’t watched it in years and can’t really remember thinking one way or the other about Hannah’s performance in it. I thought she was great in Roxanne. It’s a shame there aren’t more rom coms like it.
Clash of the Egos: On-Set Drama and Feuds:
http://forums.previously.tv/topic/20764-clash-of-the-egos-on-set-drama-and-feuds/page-2#entry752667
Decades later, Oliver Stone finally admitted that Sean Young was right. Daryl Hannah was such a poor casting choice for the part. Her line readings were so atrocious. I bet Sean Young would’ve been amazing in that part.
As someone who still wonders why the hell Daryl Hannah was in Steel Magnolias, I’d like to have seen Sean Young in the role as well. Sean’s got her issues, or had them at least, but at least she can believably portray a human being.
Terrible Performances In Otherwise Good Films (worst film, theater, script, Hollywood)
http://www.city-data.com/forum/movies/1804864-terrible-performances-otherwise-good-films.html
Daryl Hannah’s wooden performance failed to ruin “Wallstreet.” I also would bestow a lifetime achievement award for Richard Jaeckel who was lousy in everything in which he ever appeared. He had an incredibly long career of turning in blah performances, (1943-1994) and the most famous flick he failed to screw up was “The Dirty Dozen.”
Great movies almost ruined by one bad performance http://www.looper.com/97360/great-movies-almost-ruined-one-bad-performance/ Wall Street – Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah has been one of the more hit or miss actors of recent decades. When she’s good—Roxanne, Kill Bill—not many actors are as charming or as intimidating. When she’s not—Crazy People, Wall Street—she’s downright grating. Though it’s almost unfair to single out Daryl Hannah for Wall Street, mostly because she’s tasked with playing the film’s least developed character. Factor in that she’s sharing the screen with a never-better Charlie Sheen, an absolutely iconic Michael Douglas and, well, let’s just say that Hannah wasn’t exactly set up for success. … Read more »
I’m not sure most movie goers are even aware of Hannah or Silverstone’s crusading. I think they got more active after their careers were already done.
The 50 Hottest Bad Actresses Of All Time: http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/50-hottest-bad-actresses-of-all-time/daryl-hannah 44. Daryl Hannah Worst Performances: Wall Street (1987), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993) Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to resurrect a forgotten career and coax an all-time best performance out of the performer. That’s exactly what he did with Daryl Hannah in both installments of his Kill Bill saga, giving the once-prominent actress the ruthless, flashy role of Elle Driver, which Hannah, pun intended, killed. Her work as the eye-patch-wearing assassin was leaps and bounds better than anything Hannah had done prior, which,… Read more »
Daryl Hannah: Unreachably Insane: http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2006/06/daryl_hannah_un.html When Daryl Hannah’s preposterous crusade to prevent Mexican squatters from getting thrown off someone else’s property by climbing up a tree and refusing to come down resulted in her arrest, some might have assumed it was just a cheap publicity stunt intended to revive interest in a flagging acting career. But Hannah is a moonbat’s moonbat — so flaky that when she recites kooky progressive rhetoric, she actually means it. Her career in moonbattery began at age 11, when she became a vegan after a prolonged kissing session with a calf. At 12, she argued… Read more »
re: In essence, they are the same crime. Uh, WRONG – not the same. A holdup guy just wants to steal $ for himself — Hannah, as goofy as she might seem (or be), wants to see a better world. Did you say “HOORAY!” when people that marched for civil rights in the South in the 1960s got arrested? Assuming you were alive then, but you know what I mean…I hope. My point, Hannah may be nutty but at least it’s coming from a good place — she may be a “lawbreaker” (and who among us isn’t?) but is she… Read more »
Equating civi disobedience with voilent crime is incredibly wrong headed.
Daryl Hannah Blacklisted by Hollywood due to Asperger’s: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt119418.html Actress Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill) claims that at the beginning of her career she was “blacklisted” by Hollywood studios because she suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome. The illness limited social interaction and made it very difficult for her to do film promotions since it required talking to lots of people. She said: “I never went on talk shows, never went to premieres. Going to the Academy Awards was so painful for me. I’d almost faint just walking down the red carpet. I was so socially awkward and uncomfortable that I eventually got… Read more »
I find it intriguing that Daryl Hannah way, early in her career, co-starred w/ Kim Basinger, because I recently started suspecting that Basinger was on the Autism spectrum/has Asperger’s too, hence why she doesn’t get a lot of desirable movie offers any more. Basinger obviously, has had a much more successful career than Hannah (although like Basigner w/ “LA Confidential”, you can argue that Daryl Hannah also made a pseudo comeback to relevancy w/ “Kill Bill”)
It also seems like both women are more interested in their activism than their film careers, but maybe that’s jumping the gun a bit.
Daryl Hannah’s Arrest: When Actors Commit Too Much to Their Roles: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2011/09/daryl_hannahs_arrest_when_acto.php Poor Daryl Hannah. Not only is her first name a boy’s name, but she just got arrested at an environmental White House protest. Cut her some slack, guys. Clearly she’s confused her real life with her life as a mermaid in Ron Howard’s 1984 film Splash and was just trying to save what she presumed was her natural habitat. Unfortunately, actors confusing their film roles with their real life is a very serious affliction for many stars and often the results are worse than Daryl Hannah’s run in… Read more »
ARe you kidding…. have you seen her lately.. Just saw her last night on lifetime.. I cannot believe she can’t see how distorted she looks. If I would her my head would be in the sand 24/7.. She looks like a man trying to be a woman. Over filled face. A good old fashioned face lift would have been better. Too bad.. she’s not that old. And I thought she was an aunatural hippie girl.. She looks like an alien now.. Get a recent pic of her.. or watch her newest lifetime movie called… “Social Nightmare”..
She definitely didn’t age well.
13 Of The Most Drastic Celebrity Plastic Surgeries
http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/the-most-drastic-celebrity-plastic-surgeries-60462186/#/ms-22539/1
It’s been suggested that Daryl Hannah’s different appearance is the result of Botox, cheek augmentation, and an eye lift. It’s also been said that she’s gotten lip fillers done to give her a bigger pout.
Stars you wouldn’t even recognize anymore
http://www.nickiswift.com/1469/stars-wouldnt-even-recognize-anymore/
Daryl Hannah
Actress Daryl Hannah looks a heck of a lot different from her Splash days; but before you jump to any conclusions, she has said before that cosmetic surgery has nothing to do with it. “I am too much of a coward to go under a surgeon’s knife for something that wasn’t life-saving,” she told The Daily Mail in 2010, adding that she has actually lost jobs over a photo that made her look like she had gotten work done.
http://www.nickiswift.com/1469/stars-wouldnt-even-recognize-anymore/
Actress Daryl Hannah looks a heck of a lot different from her Splash days; but before you jump to any conclusions, she has said before that cosmetic surgery has nothing to do with it. “I am too much of a coward to go under a surgeon’s knife for something that wasn’t life-saving,” she told The Daily Mail in 2010, adding that she has actually lost jobs over a photo that made her look like she had gotten work done.