Fame can be a thing of grand and noble responsibility, or it can be a cruel and heartless mistress. Either way, it’s not for everyone.
Many people get just a taste of Hollywood and realize that it’s not for them. Others spend decades there, only to walk away after countless film and TV credits under their name.
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It’s simply a fact, that some people just aren’t designed to spend their entire lives in the spotlight.
Below, we’ve condensed a list originally shared by Variety, of celebrities who decided that the bright lights of Hollywood just weren’t for them.
Scroll down to read about which of your favorite celebrities hung up their fame-hats for a less scrutinized lifestyle.
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes got her start on Nickelodeon, but quickly rose to fame and major success.
She starred in the teen comedies She’s the Man and What I Like About You, but after 2010’s Easy A, opposite Emma Stone, she stepped away.
After a rather bizarre — and very public — display of behavior, Bynes turned things around and moved toward a life in fashion design.
Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman is an icon. A legend, even. With around 100 acting credits to his name, how could not be?
He won two Oscars and 4 Golden Globes during his tenure in Hollywood but ultimately chose to walk away.
His final role was opposite comedian Ray Romano is Welcome to Mooseport.
After leaving showbiz, Hackman became an author and has released several historical fiction novels.
Jack Gleeson
There may not be, and may never be, a Game of Thrones character more hated and despised than Joffrey Baratheon.
The actor who played him though, Jack Gleeson, is actually a really nice guy.
After his character was killed off back in 2014, Gleeson opted to return to just being a student.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
JTT was the quintessential ’90s teen heartthrob.
His years on Home Improvement, as well as films like Tom and Huck and I’ll Be Home For Christmas, perfectly secured his image as the wholesome, all-American boy he was.
After stepping away from acting, Thomas spent time studying at Harvard, Columbia, and St. Andrew’s University in Scotland.
While he’s remained mostly out of the spotlight since 2005, Thomas did return to acting briefly by appearing in a handful of episodes of Tim Allen’s recently-resurrected Last Man Standing.
Kevin Jonas
Kevin Jonas is the oldest Jonas brother, but while his little brothers opted to go on and persue other musical avenues, to great success, after the Jonas Brothers disbanded, Kevin chose to go in a different direction.
Rather than continue making music, Kevin became an entrepreneur and even started his own construction business.
He didn’t totally stay away though, as in 2015 he popped up briefly on the NBC reality show The Apprentice.
Jeff Cohen
While his real name may not be all that recognizable, you’re certain to remember Jeff Cohen as Chunk in The Goonies.
While the most memorable moments of the entire film revolve around Sloth and Chuck, the Truffle-Shuffle dancer chose to quit acting in 1991.
However, he eventually became an entertainment lawyer in Beverly Hills and is a partner of his own firm.
Mike Vitar
The Sandlot is quite possibly the greatest sports film of all-time, and at the very center of it was Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez, as played by child actor Mike Vitar.
Every kid who has ever seen The Sandlot has wished they could run like Benny does at the end of the film, and that they could bust the skin off of a baseball, just like Benny.
Vitar went on to also appear in the two sequels to The Mighty Ducks, but left acting altogether after that.
He has since taken on the life of a firefighter.
Brittany Ashton Holmes
Brittany Ashton Holmes is most well known as playing Darla in the 1994 classic family film The Little Rascals, a remake of the Our Gang shorts from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
She went on to make a few other film and TV appearances, but quit acting around 1996.
Holmes reportedly remains in her hometown of Los Angeles, California where she began seeking a degree in Political Science at one point.
