Hollywood loves to celebrate Oscar night as a crowning achievement, but there is one legend lurking in the shadows behind all that glittering gold: the infamous “Oscar curse.” The tale goes that sometimes, winning an Academy Award backfires and puts your career on a path that you really don’t want it to go. Whereas it opens doors, augments projects, and cements the legacy of some actors and directors, for others, that particular moment in the spotlight always seemed to mark the beginning of a slow fade, awkward choices, or complete disappearance from the mainstream. Whether it be due to poor scripts, box-office failures, or typecasting, the following are 15 Oscar winners who learned a golden statue doesn’t always guarantee Hollywood stardom.
15. Roberto Benigni
With Life Is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni conquered the world, winning both Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film in 1998. The moment was triumphant, full of joy and recognition for a brilliant performance. After that, however, things didn’t really fall into the same magic. His later films, including Pinocchio and The Tiger and the Snow, were largely critical flops. Even appearances in smaller projects, like Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love, couldn’t recapture the charm of that breakthrough. Benigni’s post-Oscar path is a good example that early international acclaim does not necessarily translate to sustained momentum in Hollywood.
14. Marlee Matlin
In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first deaf actress to take home Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God. At the time, it was a groundbreaking representation, and she’s since become somewhat of an icon in Hollywood. And yet, despite her win, opportunities in film for deaf actors remained few and far between, narrowing the scope of roles available to her. Matlin carved out a solid career on television, with appearances on shows like The West Wing and, more recently, a supporting role in CODA, but the silver screen has often remained frustratingly out of reach. Her experience highlights both the progress and the persistent barriers in Hollywood for differently-abled performers.
13. Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes Ruehl’s Best Supporting Actress win for The Fisher King back in 1992 should have propelled her into more prolific, high-profile roles. Instead, her career just seemed to level off. She has continued to work steadily in guest roles in television and smaller films, but the larger, leading parts never materialized. Ruehl has spoken candidly about the perception that Oscar winners demand higher salaries, making studios wary of casting them. Coupled with the ageism that plagues Hollywood, her trajectory serves as a reminder that even celebrated actors face systemic obstacles beyond talent or acclaim.
12. Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly’s career reached a high point with her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for A Beautiful Mind. The win confirmed her as a serious, versatile performer but didn’t immediately translate to leading roles in blockbuster films. She continued to be cast alongside prominent male leads-often in supporting capacities. Recently, Connelly has transitioned to television series such as Snowpiercer, showing her ability to adapt, but it is very clear that an Oscar does not always guarantee the kind of roles commensurate with its prestige.
11. Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme’s Oscar for Best Director for The Silence of the Lambs sealed his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most talented storytellers. Philadelphia followed, earning both critical and commercial success. However, subsequent projects failed to recapture that momentum. Studios became more wary of funding his ambitious films, and smaller budgets restricted his creative vision. Demme continued to work on meaningful projects, but the era of high-profile, career-defining films that his Oscars suggested never fully materialized.
10. Harold Russell
Harold Russell’s is a singular story in Oscar lore. He won not one, but two Oscars-Best Supporting Actor and an honorary award-for his debut role in The Best Years of Our Lives, in which he played the part of a disabled war veteran. Despite this triumph, Russell wouldn’t appear in another film for almost four decades. Later in life, he sold one of his Oscars to help cover the medical expenses of his wife, saying famously, “I love the Oscar, but I love my wife more.” Russell’s case shows us how, sometimes, life off-screen is far more important than Hollywood recognition.
9. Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey’s career renaissance, famously dubbed the “McConaissance,” reached its apex with his Best Actor win for Dallas Buyers Club back in 2014. The win brought widespread attention, yet further projects were a mix of hits and misses, with some, like The Beach Bum, finding their niche audiences without quite repeating their earlier success. Simultaneously, McConaughey’s move toward a quieter life in Texas marked a very intentional shift away from Hollywood’s relentless demands-a reminder that even Oscar-winning actors can opt for fulfillment over fame.
8. Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Pollock in 2001. She reflected later that winning the Oscar brought some unforeseen professional downsides, jesting that it “can be disastrous” because, while expectations skyrocket, actual opportunities don’t necessarily follow. She landed regular work in television, but didn’t see a surge of blockbuster film roles, and thus proved a case where acclaim doesn’t always equate to mainstream momentum within Hollywood.
7. Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger’s career appeared to have reached its peak when she won Best Supporting Actress for L.A. Confidential. She went on to star in a string of much less memorable films and faced personal setbacks, including her highly publicized divorce from Alec Baldwin. She continued acting, mostly in projects that didn’t quite live up to the standard of her Oscar-winning work. To this day, her most well-known recent roles are those from franchises like Fifty Shades of Grey-a far cry from those early days of critical acclaim.
6. Luise Rainer
Luise Rainer had become the first to win Oscars consecutively in the 1930s for The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth. After the meteoric rise, however, Rainer struggled to find satisfying projects and, eventually, left Hollywood. In some respects, the pressure to repeat her early success was overwhelming, and such accolades can sometimes raise very unrealistic expectations, ultimately contributing to burnout in the industry.
5. Halle Berry
Halle Berry’s Oscar win for Monster’s Ball in 2002 was historic-she remains the only Black woman to win Best Actress. But the post-Oscar trajectory was rockier: while Berry joined the X-Men franchise, her role in Catwoman was panned by critics and earned her a Razzie. Despite the ups and downs, she has remained visible and influential, a testament to the fact that an Oscar doesn’t immunize an actor from career obstacles or critical scrutiny.
4. Michael Cimino
After The Deer Hunter swept the Oscars in 1979, Michael Cimino was hailed as a visionary director. Then came Heaven’s film that notoriously bombed and virtually bankrupted United Artists. It was a backlash of very serious proportions, and he was promptly shunned by Hollywood. His story is a cautionary tale about how one failure, regardless of accolades in the past, can dramatically alter a career and even influence industry practices.
3. Adrien Brody
In 2003, Adrien Brody became the youngest actor to win Best Actor for The Pianist. The achievement was extraordinary, but since the Oscar, his career has been a mix of indie projects and smaller, unconventional films. He has kept working regularly in cinema, but no role or film has matched the level of cultural impact or acclaim of The Pianist, proving that even extraordinary talent isn’t always enough to sustain post-Oscar momentum.
2. F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham’s Best Actor win for Amadeus in 1985 seemed like the perfect launching pad for a stellar career. Instead, he stepped away from high-profile films, focusing more on theater. He later found some success on television, but his film career never scaled the heights that one might expect from an Oscar winner. Abraham’s path illustrates that personal choices and career focus can sometimes defy Hollywood’s expectations.
1. Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank is one of the few stars who have taken home two Best Actress Oscars, for Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby. Since then, however, her career has leveled out. She recently starred in the one-season show Alaska Daily and took time off to care for her ailing father. For an actress with such remarkable talent and recognition, not as many projects came pouring in as one might think, and it’s a good reminder that double-Oscar winners have their fair share of ups and downs.
Hollywood loves a comeback story, and some of these stars have certainly managed to redefine themselves over time. For these 15, however, the Oscar win came with an unforeseen price, one that reminded the world the golden statue represents recognition, not ongoing stardom.