‘Forrest Gump’ star unrecognizable 29 years later: ‘Hollywood wasn’t healthy’

Matt Damon vowed to his wife that he would take some time off from Hollywood with only one stipulation – if he got an offer from Christoper Nolan, he would take it. The 52-year-old actor admitted that after the promise was made to Luciana Barroso, he received a call from the esteemed director with an opportunity to join the cast of the widely anticipated "Oppenheimer," which, true to his word, he accepted. "This is going to sound made up, but it’s actually true," Damon began.

Reboots, sequels, and prequels are all the rage in Hollywood. Building franchises and expanding IP is the name of the game in 2023.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter For Tom Cruise, one of the most effective ways to sell tickets to blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible” sequels has been recounting the horrors and headaches of performing his own death-defying stunts. In the lead-up to “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” however, Cruise hasn’t been able to talk up the antics of hanging off a runaway train or jumping out of airplanes on late-night shows due to the ongoing writers strike. And now, as the actors join the picket lines against Hollywood film and TV companies, the realm of promotion for upcoming projects is getting a lot narrower. According to SAG-AFTRA guidelines, stars aren’t allowed to appear on daytime shows like “Good Morning America” or “Today,” attend premieres, participate in interviews for completed work or even post about projects on social media while the strike is in effect. Talent is also unable to go to conventions such as San Diego Comic-Con, which is held at the end of July.

Despite successful careers, several stars have left Hollywood behind for normal jobs!

Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis and other top actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters on the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood's biggest labour fight in decades.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Barbara Windsor’s husband Scott Mitchell has found love again - this time with another star from EastEnders.The widower of the late Peggy Mitchell actress is said to have fallen for Tanya Franks, 55, who previously played Rainie Cross on the soap. According to a source, Scott is believed to be "truly happy" despite previously fearing he might "never find another." Scott’s wife Dame Barbara Windsor passed away in December 2020, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014.

The widow of Dame Barbara Windsor has confirmed that he's found love with another actress three years of the EastEnders star's death. Scott Mitchell is said to have gone official with Tanya Franks, who also starred in the BBC One soap, on holiday this month in Greece.

John Ridley is the Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave writer, writer/director of Five Days At Memorial, and the Eisner-nominated writer of the DC Graphic novel series GCPD: The Blue Wall, which premieres in September about systemic injustice in the Gotham City PD. He’s been working in Hollywood long enough to witness the the ebbs and flows of diversity initiatives, and he fears the inclusion momentum that came after the death of George Floyd and opened opportunities to new filmmakers, could well turn into a forgotten fad as the urgency fades.

Emily Blunt has decided to take some time off from Hollywood. The 40-year-old actress explained she’ll be taking a brief break from acting to focus on her family.  "This year I’m not working," she revealed on the "Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi" podcast.

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" star Tom Holland doesn’t want to be part of the Hollywood machine.  In an interview on the "Jay Shetty Podcast," the actor explained his struggle to be a part of the business while maintaining his sense of self. "I really am a massive fan of making movies, but I really do not like Hollywood.

Back in 2019, we started to hear rumblings from Danny Boyle that he was interested in directing a new film in the “28 Days Later” franchise. He kept saying that it was all in the hands of writer Alex Garland, whether or not it happened.

Former child star Elle Fanning has shared her teenage experience of the darker side of Hollywood. 

Will Tizard Contributor From auditioning for “every John Hughes movie that I never got in” to having Oliver Stone yell at her in a helicopter over her pronunciation of “’Nam,” Robin Wright confesses she’s seen Hollywood from all sides over the years. Speaking to admiring crowds at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where Wright is being honored with the festival president’s award, the actor-director-producer recalled a career that began at age 14 — which, in many ways, is really beginning to take off now. Of “The Princess Bride,” the beloved 1987 Rob Reiner sardonic fairytale, she said, “It was not a hit.” Of course, the film made up for low box office scores with VHS sales and is now considered a classic.

Child actors sometimes continue on the Hollywood path, continuing to seek acting roles as they grow from cute kids to teens to adults.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Fifty years ago today, on the stage of London’s Hammersmith Odeon, David Bowie killed Ziggy Stardust. Of course, it was not a conventional murder: Ziggy was Bowie’s creation, a character he’d created, a vessel for his rise to fame behind his blockbuster 1972 album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars,” which led to one of the fastest and most meteoric rises to superstardom in pop-culture history and created something of a self-fulfilling paradigm, involving the rise of the titular rock star whose fame went to his head and maybe died, maybe didn’t. After nearly a decade of trying and mostly failing to become famous as himself, Bowie apparently figured it might be easier to do it as someone else — as a “totally credible plastic rock star,” as he would later describe it.

Rainn Wilson, who rose to fame playing Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” talked on a recent podcast about the need for a spiritual revolution.The actor spoke about his religious journey and trying to navigate Hollywood and modern culture as a person of faith on the “No Small Endeavor” podcast, hosted by theologian and professor Lee C. Camp.Wilson also noted how he has been discussing faith for a “good 12 years,” noting, “Frankly, I think it freaks people out.

Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp has shared photos from his Pride event since he came out.The actor, who portrays Will Byers in the series, opened up about his sexuality in January. He wrote in a caption accompanying a TikTok video that that he was “more similar to Will than [he] thought” in reference to him previously confirming that Will was gay.Now, Schnapp has posted photos from a Pride event in NYC over the weekend, which he attended with friends and family.Check out the photos below.A post shared by Noah Schnapp (@noahschnapp)The news follows the writers of Stranger Things responding to a rumour that Jodie Foster will appear in the show’s fifth season.Production on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things was underway but has been paused due to the ongoing writers strike in Hollywood.Many of the show’s core cast will return for the final time, and rumours have swirled about new cast members being added.In a since-deleted tweet, Giant Freakin’ Robot (GFR) shared a rumour from an unidentified source that Foster would be joining the show.In response, the official Stranger Writers Twitter account, which responds to questions about the show from fans, said: “No she’s not.”We’ll mark it down in the loss column then and tell this source we won’t trust them going forward.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced the Class of 2024, consisting of 31 celebs who will be receiving stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year.

Finding fame at a young age has proved difficult for a handful of stars, including Zachery Ty Bryan, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. Each star found themselves in handcuffs after a wildly successful career start at a young age. Bryan, Spears and Lohan have each struggled with alcohol or substance abuse publicly while attempting to steer their careers in the right direction.

Jamie Foxx might not be gracing any red carpets at the moment, but he’s still on everyone’s mind. ET’s Kevin Frazier spoke with Foxx’s co-star, Porscha Coleman, at the 2023 BET Awards, where she shared a hopeful update on the 55-year-old’s hospitalization in Atlanta, Georgia.