Actors or Directors You Feel Were Lost Too Soon?

This thread discusses actors and actresses you feel died before making even bigger splashes in the pool they already created. The reason I ask is because I just saw 10 Things I Hate About You, and I was thinking about how cool Heath Ledger was.The usual suspects are Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Chadwick Boseman, and also James Dean. Then there were child actors like Judith Barsi, whoever it was in Poltegeist, and Matthew Garber(although he died in his 20s) from Mary Poppins.

Some cases I notice amongst directors is probably Jean Vigo who directed L’Atlante. He probably would have made an as big splash as Renoir if he stayed alive longer.*

We also lost Francois Dorleac too soon. Roman Polanski directed her and her sister Catherine Deneuve in two different movies while Jacques Demy directed them in one movie. Catherine Deneuve losing her sister too early makes me think of how Joaquin Phoenix lost his brother and became a big star later.

Then Bulle Ogier’s daughter Pascal died too early as well after starring in movies directed by Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer.

FYI, Heather O'Rourke was in Poltegeist, and she had a recurring role on the later seasons of "Happy Days".


The first person that I thought of when I read the title of this thread was River Phoenix. He would have had an amazing career.

Another actor who had a great career ahead of him was Anton Yelchin. His star was just starting to rise when he was tragically killed in a freak accident.

Brad Renfro, who was terrific in The Client.

Jonathan Brandis, who was in several teen movies, and the the TV show "SeaQuest DSV".

Glenn Quinn, who was great in the TV shows "Roseanne" and "Angel".

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It's a cliched answer, and I also couldn't give the remotest shit about Batman stuff, but one can't help wonder what Ledger would have done post Joker. That pretty average movie could barely contain that enormous performance. It is one of the stand out acting moments of recent memory. It wasn't remotely overhyped. His death is probably a very serious shame.

Michael Reeves directed two decent films and one classic before dying of a drug overdose at 25. That's the first name that comes to mind.

Oh, I dunno. Just think of the magical aura that M. Night Shyamalan would have if he'd happen to have died after The 6th Sense. We would think, "Wow! What if he'd lived??!?!" And would James Dean's legacy have really profited from ageing into a bloated Brando-Elvis version of himself?

That movie would still suck.

That also means he wouldn't have ever got around to making Unbreakable or The Happening so....no great loss?

LOL, that's harsh.

The Sorcerers is a minor gem.


I need to see Witchfinder General again. It took me so long to find a copy of that, that when I eventually did, I think my expectations were too high.

Also, Forugh Farrokhzad died shortly after directing The House is Black. I wonder what else she would've done had she lived longer.