julia stiles was one of the most familiarfaces of the late '90s and early 2000's, thanks to starring roles in hits like save the lastdance and 10 things i hate about you. but then she pretty much disappeared fromthe spotlight. why? here's are some reasons why hollywood won'tcast julia stiles anymore.
cast for new season of dancing with the stars, critical punching bag after starring in the hit 10 things i hateabout you, stiles appeared in the romantic drama down to you alongside freddie prinzejr., a film whose only memorable scene involves prinze jr….
drunkenly making friends with a spider? "greatest accomplishment since i last sawyou." "making friends with a spider." critics pounced, with entertainment weeklygiving it an f, and the new york post calling it both "stinko" and "brain-dead." and reviews were similarly grim for followup films a guy thing, the prince & me, and mona lisa smile. box office poison we know what you're thinking: but stiles hada recurring role in the wildly popular jason
bourne films! well, thank goodness for the hotness of mattdamon, because otherwise stiles has kind of been box office poison. in fact, nearly all of her other films since10 things i hate about you have struggled to break even, with many becoming outrightbombs, like the aforementioned down to you and a guy thing. ain't nobody got time for that. typecast her breakout hit, 10 things i hate about you,was a modernization of the shakespeare play
taming of the shrew. and since it was a hit, stiles was floodedwith offers to do even more shakespeare. first was 2000's hamlet, and then in 2001,o, an adaptation of othello. she even played viola in a production of twelfthnight as part of new york city's famous shakespeare in the park series. for an actor, there's nothing better thanshakespeare, but it didn't exactly convince hollywood execs that she had the range totake on other kinds of roles. the bell jar trap back in 2007, variety reported that stileswould produce and star in a much-anticipated
adaptation of sylvia plath's beloved novelthe bell jar. five long years later, stiles finally gaveup on it, saying in an interview with gothamist: "for years, i had the rights to the book,i had commissioned a script for it, we never got the script to the right place, becauseit's obviously a great book and we wanted to do it justice. i kind of had to let it go because it wastaking so long… to me it's a no-brainer, but i think peoplewho have to give money for movies, they didn't see that it would find an audience, or theythought it was too dark. so…
i tried, but maybe there will be some incarnationof it." indeed, there will be an incarnation of thebell jar — just not with her in the lead. deadline reported in july 2016 that the belljar will now be directed by kirsten dunst, in her directorial debut, and star dakotafanning. behind the scenes after the straight-to-dvd release of the cryof the owl, stiles moved on to what she called the "second phase" of her career, editingmusic videos, moving behind the camera to direct short films, and teaming up with onlinecreators. all this kept her busy, but it didn't exactlydo too much for her star power in hollywood.
stiles is well aware of the problem, tellingthe new york times, "i think audiences, producers and directors included, develop crushes onactors (actresses in particular) and then lose interest and move on to the next one. there are a handful of actors who sustaininterest because it's exciting to watch them get better at what they do. i want to be one of those actors." tough time with tv stiles' career showed signs of life againin 2010 when she landed a pretty epic arc on the fifth season of showtime's populartv drama dexter.
the role won her rave reviews and accolades,including a golden globe and emmy nomination. but despite the newfound fandom, stiles wasnever quite able to translate that into more high profile roles. instead, she was simply relegated to a handfulof mediocre television movies and the obscure series blue, which you might not have evenheard of. had she struck while the tv iron was hot,her so-called "second phase" might have been much, much bigger. how she can turn it around stiles has one big thing going for her: fansstill love her and seem to want her to succeed.
that's why audiences were so excited to seeher unexpectedly pop up in silver linings playbook, and reprise her role in the bournefilms. the trick for stiles seems to be finding theright vehicle to remind people why the fell in love with her to begin with all those yearsago. and, hey, if all else fails, she could cashin on the nostalgia wave that hollywood is currently riding.
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