5 Major Actors Who Have Never Starred In A Movie Franchise

Many of the actors who have starred in the most successful movie franchises in box office history are certainly living comfortably. To be fair, it's not even just about being able to afford a second mansion or fourth sports car. A lot of actors sign onto big franchises that secure huge paydays so that they can then afford to do smaller passion projects in between — ones that don't bring in seven-figure paydays but might earn them that elusive Oscar. Another allure of a franchise is that it offers a guaranteed gig for an extended period, without requiring a new contract and the tedious process of going through all the same steps for every single film.

Even some of our most esteemed, generally franchise-averse actors have at least one franchise film in their credits. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey, for instance, both did forgettable horror movie sequels as their careers were taking off. Even if they haven't touched a franchise since, they are still exempt from this list as a result. 

What follows is a handful of actors that truly don't have one single franchise film in their entire filmographies, something that is nearly unheard of for actors who have reached A-list status. The only exception we allowed is if an actor took on a small role in an animated franchise, though even that only applies to one person on this list. 

One of the reasons why Hollywood won't cast John Cusack anymore is that he refuses to be in superhero movies and other big franchises, which encompasses the vast majority of Hollywood over the last 20 years or so. But the actor has always had that approach to his career, even when he was very much a Hollywood A-lister. Cusack hasn't starred in a single sequel to any of his movies, even movies that have had sequels like "Hot Tub Time Machine." 

That's not to say Cusack has never done a big Hollywood blockbuster. The actor has starred in high-budget actioners like "Con Air" and "2012," and also did his share of romantic comedies in his day. But from the start of his career, Cusack has always demonstrated a desire to keep his film output as interesting and diverse as possible, always quick to swerve as soon as too many similar projects began to come his way. It might not always endear him to the Hollywood machine or even the moviegoing public, but Cusack will not be pigeonholed, that's for certain. 

All that being said, Cusack hasn't completely ruled out sequels. In December 2025, he admitted that he wouldn't be opposed to doing a follow-up to "1408," his 2007 Stephen King adaptation, even suggesting an alternate ending to the original that would allow for a sequel.

To be fair, Margaret Qualley hasn't even been in the industry for 15 years yet at this point, so things can certainly change during what is sure to be a long career. But thus far, Qualley has made it clear that she wants to take on interesting projects rather than easy paychecks — and as of yet, that has included a complete avoidance of franchises. Yes, she did a cameo in "Happy Gilmore 2," but cameos don't really count. Not that "Happy Gilmore" is really much of a franchise, anyway. 

So-called nepo babies get a lot of grief, and Qualley, being the daughter of actor Andie MacDowell, definitely qualifies for that label. But in Qualley's defense, if she has gotten any benefits from having a famous parent, she's at least using it to carve out an interesting career for herself without the need to first pay her dues on disposable rom coms and the like. That's the right way to use clout if you've got it as an actor. How she navigates her career going forward remains to be seen, but we feel pretty confident that we won't have to update and remove her from this list anytime soon, as Qualley seems to have no interest in a typical career. 

Though big franchises weren't as common as they are now when Richard Gere first became a leading man, that doesn't automatically mean he couldn't have joined one later. Almost every one of his contemporaries — Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Kevin Costner, Denzel Washington, Alec Baldwin, Dustin Hoffman, et al — would eventually help themselves to a franchise or two. Even the actors who preceded Gere, people like Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, and Paul Newman, can't claim to have completely avoided them.

However, even as his career is now well into its sixth decade, Gere has not made a single movie that is part of a franchise. It's definitely an impressive feat, and one that you'd be hard-pressed to find another actor with a career as long as his to be able to claim. Even so, Gere has remained a steadily working actor for his entire career, with a hiatus between 2019 and 2023 marking the only significant break he's taken from movies since he started.

The closest thing to a "franchise" that Gere has starred in is the 2002 film adaptation of the long-running musical "Chicago." Counting that, though, would be a pretty significant stretch.

To get this out of the way, yes, Sean Penn did voice a character in "The Angry Birds Movie." But as we stated in the introduction, that doesn't exempt him from this list. Even more so because he didn't return for the sequel, and at only two installments, the "Angry Birds" series isn't quite a franchise. 

Aside from that one example, Penn has cultivated a 40+ year acting career in films that aren't part of franchises, but represent one of the most diverse groups of genres of any actor in history. How many people can say they starred in both a movie like "Mystic River" and one like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High?" Even among his serious movies, Penn is one of those actors who disappears into every role and can never be accused of just playing himself or playing the same character twice.

Though you don't see Penn acting that much anymore, he is far from retired — and in fact, 2025 saw him star in the critically acclaimed "One Battle After Another." It's just that his focus in recent years has leaned more toward humanitarian work and the like, which he can hardly be faulted for. 

It might seem like a foregone conclusion that Daniel Day-Lewis has never been in a franchise. He's known for only making a movie every few years, and when he does, it's always some massive prestige project that he completely immerses himself in — and then typically wins an Oscar for. But his career wasn't always like that. In fact, back in the '80s, Day-Lewis actually did action movies, rom coms, and films of that ilk. He very easily could've found himself stumbling into a franchise, or having one of his movies become a franchise.

But that didn't happen, due in part to most of those non-prestige detours not doing particularly well. When he didn't find the creative fulfillment or commercial success in doing shallow studio films, Day-Lewis started working with filmmakers like Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Jim Sheridan — none of whom are particularly known for pumping out sequels — and never looked back. 

After the '80s were over, Day-Lewis no longer had to do "one for the studio, and one for him" as actors like Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr. often do. He's cultivated a career consisting almost entirely of prestige passion projects, and became one of the most celebrated screen actors of all time in the process.