Erika Christensen has worked in various films throughout her career as an actress, including roles in Traffic, Swimfan, The Banger Sisters, The Perfect Score, and more. For her role in Traffic, she was awarded the MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. She also received a Gracie Award for her role in the NBC family drama series, Parenthood.
Though many will best remember Erika Christensen as the fanatical character in Swimfan. Following her various awards and accolades for her role in Traffic and Parenthood, her career became somewhat stagnant. Today, Christensen stars on ABC’s drama series Ten Days in the Valley, together with Kyra Sedgwick.
Thora Birch
Thora Birch became an instant star in her very first film appearance in the movie Purple People Eater in 1988, for which she garnered a Young Artist Award for "Best Young Actress Under Nine Years of Age". She would then reinforce her status as a child star with outstanding performances in a number of films, such as All I Want for Christmas, Patriot Games, Hocus Pocus, Monkey Trouble, Now and Then, and Alaska.
Hailed as an indie-film heroine for her performance in Ghost World and American Beauty. Thora Birch received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her work in the former and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the latter. Unfortunately, she didn’t go beyond that. And as it turned out, Ghost World supporting actress Scarlett Johansson became an even bigger star than her!
Edward Furlong
Edward Furlong received a Saturn and MTV movie award for his exceptional portrayal of the character John Connor, in the science-fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment. A year later, he garnered yet another Saturn Award nomination for his performance in Pet Sematary and his first Young Artist Award for his work in A Home of Our Own alongside Kathy Bates, and he shared an ensemble nomination with the cast of the film as well.
But similar to his character in Terminator, Furlong was a troubled young man in real life, and his alcoholism and addiction ruined his promising career start. The American actor was apprehended by police officers twice for substance abuse, and on May 13th managed to escape jail sentence following a rehab program agreement that lasted for 90 days. Furlong has been in prison for a total of 61 days.
Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen started acting when he was still a 12-year-old boy. At 13 he gained attention for a small role in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness, landing him gigs in Goosebumps, The Virgin Suicides, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. His part in Life as House earned him a Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations, as well as the National Board of Review's Award for Breakthrough Performance of the Year.
As the lead character and protagonist, Anakin Skywalker, in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, he got Best Actor and the Cannes Film Festival Revelation Award. Sadly, though, Anakin’s dull dialogue and awkward vibe with the character Amidala, played by Natalie Portman, wasn’t enough to propel his career outside the fantasy world of Star Wars.
Joey Lauren Adams
Joey Lauren Adams made her film debut in 1997 with a minor role in the horror movie Exorcist II: The Heretic. The American actress then rose to stardom in a major role in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused, portraying the character Simone. In the same year, she was cast in the Saturday Night Live spinoff film Coneheads as Connie Conehead's friend.
A couple of years later, Joey Lauren Adams starred in Mallrats, which was written and directed by Kevin Smith. Following the film's production, Adams and Smith started a relationship, and this became the inspiration for the former’s next movie, Chasing Amy. Adams became somewhat of an indie film hit for her work in Chasing Amy, but sadly, it proved to be the end of the road for her career as a Hollywood star.