An "A-list"
celebrity.is someone who is at the pinnacle of their profession. It could be a major movie star, recording artist, sports celebrity, social media figure, film director, mogul, or television presenter. [1] Every profession or area imaginable has its own A-list celebrities, usually based on excellence and reputation in their industry, albeit with wildly diverse definitions.
"B-list" actors are mainly television actors; respected, frequently character actors who never quite "broke through"; up-and-coming young actors and singers; or previous A-list stars who have dropped a little due to a string of mediocre films or albums or a shift in popular tastes. "B-list" actors do not headline their own films. Many "B-list" supporting actors are well-known in their own right.
The following is a list of actors who started as A-listers, got downgraded to B-list, and subsequently redeemed themselves back to the A-list.
#1. Brendan Fraser
Source: Gregg Deguire / WireImage
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE A-LIST: Fraser was one of the '90s' brightest young stars, equally at home in comedies, dramas, and action roles. Oh, and he was a great hottie (it didn't hurt that he flaunted his chiseled physique in movies like Encino Man). George of the Jungle and The Mummy were two of his biggest hits.
Source: Getty Images
Following up the smash The Mummy Returns (which grossed $435 million worldwide), Fraser starred in the critically acclaimed The Quiet American (AFI's 2002 Movie of the Year) and Crash (2004's Best Picture at the Academy Awards).
Unfortunately, Fraser was dealing with more difficult issues at the moment than an unpleasant meme. He lost his mother, divorced, and was sexually attacked by the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk, according to Fraser. He had had several surgeries to rectify problems created by the physical rigors of stunt work and starring in action movies. All of this contributed to Fraser's despair.
Source: Summit Entertainment
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: Extraordinary Measures, a would-be Oscar contender co-starring Harrison Ford that enthralled neither critics nor ticket buyers, and 2010's family comedy Furry Vengeance, which tanked at the box office and had only 7% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, continued Fraser's downhill spiral.
For the next decade, Fraser did not appear in a single film that grossed more than $10 million worldwide. Some of his films, such as 2013's Breakout, were even released on DVD. Ouch. Fraser's appearance changed as well — no big deal, we all age, right? — but it became a topic of discussion online.
Source: Santiago Felipe / Getty Images
RETURN TO THE A-LIST: A beautiful thing happened soon after: nostalgia for the '90s and '00s fueled a fresh wave of admiration for Fraser, particularly on TikTok, where the hashtags #brenaissance and #brendanfraserdeservesbetter exploded. He was shortly cast in acclaimed filmmaker Steven Soderbergh's No Sudden Move, which received critical acclaim for Fraser's performance.
#2. Rosie Perez
Source: Lia Toby / Getty Images
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE A-LIST: With her thick Brooklyn accent and strong acting abilities for drama AND humor, Perez was tough not to like in the late '80s and early '90s. Perez made her film debut in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, which is widely regarded as one of the finest films of all time, and then went on to star in the legendary White Man Can't Jump (stealing scenes as the Jeopardy-obsessed Gloria). The best yet? Her moving performance as a mother who lost her baby in an aircraft tragedy in Fearless won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Perez, on the other hand, truly earned her cool points for choreographing the Fly Girls, the enormously popular dance group on In Living Color.
Source: Nbc / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: Despite being young, gorgeous, talented, and fresh off an Academy Award nomination, Perez was passed over for leading roles after Fearless. Perez said in her memoirs that the studio refused to cast her in White Men Can't Jump because she was Puerto Rican ("they were frightened about the interracial component"), and co-star Woody Harrelson and director Ron Shelton had to fight for her. She did, however, continue to work for the next two decades, primarily in supporting roles in films such as Riding in Cars with Boys and Pineapple Express.
Source: John Lamparski / WireImage
RETURN TO THE A-LIST: It's difficult to say anyone had a fantastic 2020 with the coronavirus running rampant (in fact, Perez herself had a frightening experience with the virus), but Perez had a great year - at least professionally. First, she played investigator Renee Montoya in the DC Extended Universe's Birds of Prey (and may reprise the role, possibly as Montoya's superhero alter ego Question). She then co-starred in the hit HBO Max series The Flight Attendant, for which she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series' second season, which once again featured a fantastic Perez, debuted to rave acclaim.
Source: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
#3. John Travolta
Source: Ron Galella / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE A-LIST: People in 2022 may have difficulty comprehending how big of a star Travolta was in the 1970s. Following his initial performance on the successful comedy Welcome Back, Kotter, Travolta went on to feature in two of the decade's biggest films, Grease and Saturday Night Fever (the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor). As a performer in the 1970s, he even had three top ten Billboard hits! Things got off to a good start in the 1980s as well, with his first film of the decade, Urban Cowboy, grossing five times its budget.
Source: Paramount Pictures / Getty Images
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: Travolta's stock plummeted following a string of box-office flops, including Staying Alive, an ill-fated sequel to Saturday Night Fever (directed, coincidentally, by Sylvester Stallone), and Two of a Kind, which reunited Travolta with his Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John but lacked the magic of their first collaboration. His most memorable "Doh!" moments of the decade? Refusing to play the lead in BOTH An Officer and a Gentleman and Splash. Yikes. Travolta finally had another hit at the end of the 1980s, but it was in Look Who's Talking?, a film in which he played second fiddle to a talking infant.
Source: Archive Photos / Getty Images
BACK TO THE A-LIST: Travolta's career took a turn for the worse in the 1990s, when he was confined to filming less successful sequels to the talking baby film. Fortunately for Travolta, Quentin Tarantino dismissed the lack of buzz surrounding him and cast him as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction despite the desires of the film's producer, Harvey Weinstein (yeah, that freaking guy). The film was a box office success, earning Travolta an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Travolta's success continued after that, with films such as Get Shorty, Phenomenon, Michael, Face/Off, and Broken Arrow. He was an A-lister once more, which meant he would never have to shoot another talking baby movie.
Source: Barry King / Getty Images
#4. Lindsay Lohan
Source: Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images
FIRST TIME ON THE A-LIST: Lohan was 12 years old when The Parent Trap hit theaters and catapulted her to stardom. With a string of blockbuster teen films including Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mean Girls, and Herbie: Fully Loaded, Lohan quickly established herself as one of Hollywood's most bankable talents. Lohan rose to fame quickly, and it's not an exaggeration to say she was a household name. She even had a platinum-selling album, Speak, which sold over a million copies!
Source: Cbs Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: As she approached her 18th birthday, Lohan made a concentrated attempt to move away from teen films. Unfortunately, her performances in serious films such as Bobby and Chapter 27 were not well received, and she no longer garnered the wonderful accolades she once earned. To make matters worse, Lohan was dealing with the pressures of celebrity. She struggled with addiction, was arrested several times, and was frequently featured in tabloids. A low moment occurred during the filming of Georgia Rule. Following Lohan's hospitalization (for exhaustion and overheating, according to her rep), a letter from the film studio was leaked, slamming her for excessive partying and being late to set. It also referred to her as "responsible and unprofessional."
Source: David Mcnew / Getty Images
RETURNING TO THE A-LIST (POSSIBLY): It's far too early to declare Lohan back on the A-list, but things are looking good for her. Not only has she been in a much better position in recent years, but it was reported in May that she would be collaborating with Netflix on her first high-profile film in nearly a decade. Falling for Christmas is a romantic comedy (co-starring Chord Overstreet) that seems set to give Lohan an opportunity to show off the charm and comedic abilities that first drew us to her. When Netflix unveiled a trailer for the film in February, the anticipation for Lohan's long-awaited return was palpable. Hey, just starring in this film is a huge comeback, but if it's a hit, she might finish up back where she started...at the top.
Source: Netflix
#5. Mickey Rourke
Source: Bertrand Laforet / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
FIRST TIME ON THE A-LIST: Buckle up for this one because it's a little more wild than the others. Rourke, a New York-born amateur boxer turned actor, rose to prominence in the early 1980s with roles in films such as Diner and the enormously popular sensual thriller 9 1/2 Weeks. When he played sleazy alcoholic Henry Chinaski (author Charles Bukowski's alter ego) in Barfly, Rourke truly felt like the poor, down-and-out man he was playing.
Source: Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: At the age of 39, feeling suffocated by his acting career, Rourke left the industry to pursue a new career as...a professional boxer. Boxing insiders felt the actor was too old to compete against top boxers, but he surprised everyone by going 6-0-2 over four years. Unfortunately, Rourke took so many punches to the face that he required reconstructive surgery to repair his broken nose and fractured cheek bone, and he ended up looking drastically different as a result (he told the Daily Mail, "I went to the wrong guy to put my face back together").
Source: Bettmann / Bettmann Archive
BACK TO THE A-LIST: Rourke was in his mid-50s in 2005, and he was probably — no, definitely — not someone anyone expected to explode up again. But when Robert Rodriguez chose Rourke as Marv in Sin City, he gave him a tremendous break, and the film not only became a blockbuster hit, but also earned Rourke a number of Critics' Awards. All of this led to Rourke landing the role of a lifetime in Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed The Wrestler. Rourke, who played an aging wrestler trying to return to the ring (something the former aging boxer could certainly identify to), received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Following that, he played the villain Whiplash in Iron Man 2 and appeared in The Expendables. Both films were huge box office successes. Today, Rourke is back to appearing in low-budget B-movies, but I wouldn't rule him out of returning to the A-list.
Source: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
#6. Betty White
Source: Bob Riha Jr / Getty Images
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE A-LIST: Betty White was a household name beginning in the 1940s. She began her career as a radio star before becoming a TV sensation renowned as a talk show presenter, game show host, and star of iconic comedies (such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mama's Family, and, of course, The Golden Girls). The seventy-something diva had memorable guest appearances on sitcoms in the 1990s, and she even won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The John Larroquette Show. The A-list has been around for fifty years. Not bad at all!
Source: Abc Photo Archives / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: Did Betty White ever make the B-list? No way — she was Betty White! However, by the turn of the century, the beloved actress was approaching 80 and was no longer being offered A-list jobs. She appeared on a few episodes of Boston Legal and made a few guest appearances (including one on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful), but no one anticipated her to recover her previous glory of A-list popularity as she approached 90.
Source: Cbs Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images
BACK ON THE A-LIST: In 2009, the 87-year-old co-starred in the worldwide sensation The Proposal alongside Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, and she dominated every scene she was in. She parlayed her accomplishment into a hugely successful Super Bowl commercial for Snickers, and then she became the oldest person to ever emcee Saturday Night Live. Without pausing for a moment, White was cast in the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, which aired for six extremely successful years (earning White yet another Emmy nomination). She even made a comeback as a TV host with Betty White's Off Their Rockers, which featured senior adults pranking younger people. There haven't been many (if any) stars who have maintained A-list box-office power far into their 90s, but Betty White wasn't just any celebrity.
Source: Nbc / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images
#7. Nicolas Cage
Source: Kim Kulish / AFP via Getty Images
FIRST TIME ON THE A-LIST: Some wondered if Cage was only in movies because of his family connections (his uncle is legendary The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola), but Cage quickly established himself as one of Hollywood's most idiosyncratic and experimental actors in '80s films like Peggy Sue Got Married, Moonstruck, and Raising Arizona. Simply told, a performance by Nic Cage is unlike any other. Cage rose to prominence in the 1990s, receiving an Academy Award for his performance as a doomed alcoholic writer in Leaving Las Vegas and then transforming into a legitimate action star with Con Air, The Rock, and Face/Off. Other hits were City of Angels, Gone in 60 Seconds, and The Family Man.
Source: Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images
CAGE WAS MAKING A LOT OF MONEY ($40 million in 2009 alone, according to Forbes), but he was spending even more. He once purchased 15 properties around the world, including two European castles and a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skull (which he had to return to Mongolian authorities when it was discovered it had been stolen). Cage was soon in tremendous debt and owed a lot in back taxes, so in order to pay it off, he began taking any and all parts that were offered to him. From 2013 to 21, the former A-lister appeared in a never-ending run of low-budget, critically panned independent films and direct-to-DVD releases. Yikes! It had been a long journey from the top!
Source: Epsilon / Getty Images
BACK ON THE A-LIST: Cage acted in the indie film Pig in 2021, which garnered positive reviews and won Cage a nomination for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards. Around this time, two screenwriters, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, produced a script about a fictionalized version of "Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage" who was recruited to assist the CIA on a mission. The writing team wrote the action/comedy primarily for fun, but it quickly became a "must read" script in the industry, and it found its way to Cage, who consented to act in it despite the script's light teasing of the actor. Cage's first big live-action Hollywood release in a long time, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, was released earlier this year.
Source: Rich Fury / Getty Images for SXSW
#8. Laura Dern
Source: Alexis Duclos / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
FIRST TIME ON THE A-LIST: When Dern first came onscreen in the 1980s, some wondered if she was a case of nepotism (her parents are famed actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern), but she rapidly buried that discussion with a fantastic run of success: She received critical acclaim for her portrayal in Mask, appeared in David Lynch cult masterpieces Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for 1992's Rambling Rose.
Source: Murray Close / Getty Images
IN 1997, Ellen DeGeneres chose to film an episode of her sitcom Ellen in which her character (and hence DeGeneres herself) came out. Dern decided to guest-star on the breakthrough episode as a lesbian who helps Ellen come to terms with her sexuality, and she was nominated for an Emmy for her performance. Today, Dern describes being on the show as a "great honor," but admits that there were individuals around her who advised her not to do it, warning her that it would harm her career. Dern dismissed their fears at the time, but she later discovered they were correct – in the aftermath of the episode, she suffered for a long time without being offered a significant job of any kind.
Source: Abc Photo Archives / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
RETURN TO THE A-LIST: The first indication that Dern was on the verge of a spectacular comeback came in 2015, when she received her second Academy Award nomination for Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon. She went on to play Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (how fantastic was that?! ), and the matriarch of the March family in the popular 2019 rendition of Little Women. Oh, and she received her first Academy Award nomination for her scene-stealing performance in A Marriage Story.
Source: Rachel Luna / Getty Images
#9. Robert Downey Jr.
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
FIRST TIME ON THE A-LIST: Downey Jr. debuted in the 1980s as a Saturday Night Live cast member (yep, you read that correctly), then went on to star in teen films such as Weird Science and Less Than Zero. He quickly landed adult roles in important films like 1992's Chaplin, in which he played silent film great Charlie Chaplin and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Source: Archive Photos / Getty Images
DOWN TO THE B-LIST: Downey Jr. was given the option of going to jail or rehab and chose to improve his life. He later said to Oprah, "'You know what?' I said. 'I don't think I can keep doing this.' And I asked for assistance and took off with it." Roles dried up for a few years, but once sober, he began to get cast again, albeit as a supporting part or in independent films.
Source: Kypros / Getty Images
BACK TO THE A-LIST: Downey Jr. rocketed back to the top of the box office in 2008 with two films: Iron Man, a
Marvel blockbuster in which he played Tony Stark for the first time, and Tropic Thunder, an action comedy with Ben Stiller that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Downey Jr., who has been sober since 2003, has established his position as one of our biggest movie stars since then. He played Tony Stark/Iron Man again (most recently in Avengers: Endgame), Sherlock Holmes in two major smashes, and acted in hit comedies such as Due Date. RDJ is enjoying a successful career as an action hero, comedian, and Academy Award nominee.
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / WireImage
#10. Natasha Lyonne
Source: Theo Wargo / Getty Images
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE A-LIST: Lyonne made her acting debut as Opal on Pee-Playhouse wee's when she was six years old (how great is that, LOL?) and went on to become one of the most sought-after teen actors of the 1990s. She appeared in The Slums of Beverly Hills (for which she received the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress), But I'm a Cheerleader, and the American Pie trilogy, which made almost $1 billion worldwide. Not bad for a New Yorker who got her start with Pee-wee Herman.
Source: Getty Images
FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE A-LIST: Lyonne made her acting debut as Opal on Pee-Playhouse wee's when she was six years old (how great is that, LOL?) and went on to become one of the most sought-after teen actors of the 1990s. She appeared in The Slums of Beverly Hills (for which she received the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress), But I'm a Cheerleader, and the American Pie trilogy, which made almost $1 billion worldwide. Not bad for a New Yorker who got her start with Pee-wee Herman.
Source: Bobby Bank / WireImage
BACK ON THE A-LIST: Lyonne's fortunes began to improve in 2013, when she was cast as Nicky in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. The sitcom ran for seven seasons and earned Lyonne an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Following the conclusion of OITNB, Lyonne co-created Russian Doll, in which she played a lady who is murdered and finds herself in a Groundhog Day-style time loop until she discovers who killed her. It was a big success, earning Lyonne Emmy nods for both acting and writing. To top it all off, Lyonne hosted Saturday Night Live, as A-listers do.
Source: Nbc / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images