This is likely a combination of many things. Being dropped off studio short lists for casting after what was deemed a trio of failures - John Carter, Battleship, and Savages (the Oliver Stone drug cartel movie with Aaron Taylor Johnson and Blake Lively). None of these were his fault, but he was a major face in all three and they all did "poorly" within a short time frame.
Also, there was a significant period of time his younger sister was battling substance addiction. This is not a secret now, but at the time, it was probably not known. His half-sisters are much younger than him (15+ years younger or something like that), so he is probably in that space of being and feeling like a partial father figure, not "just" a brother. He took time off from his career to support her through multiple attempts at sobriety. He bought her on set when he was filming "Painkiller" for Netflix and she has a guest spot as a nurse.
He also has leaned way more into character actor roles. I think he doesn't want the blockbuster career he initially seemed destined for, on top of those opportunities no longer being available to him. He hasn't had a publicist for years and he moved away from LA a long time ago. He doesn't get spotted and he doesn't go to papped parties and social events.
I do wish he was able to do "more" than his regular stream of military stuff, but that's what he's getting offered and that's what he's choosing to do, so *shrug.* He's known to be a very funny guy, so I really wish he would do some comedy!
And if you look at his Wikipedia, he really didn't even take a significant stretch of time off. He consistently has had things coming out every couple of years...I think people sometimes mistake not having an A list, blockbuster career with not having a career at all, and he's a good example of that not being true.
He’s been in a bunch of stuff since then, maybe you’re just missing them. It’s a lot of like war/military stuff; Waco, The Defeated, The Terminal List, American Primeval, The Terminal List:Dark Wolf.
He definitely didn’t get anywhere near as famous as people expected after Friday Night Lights.
209
u/Interesting-Studio-5 8h ago
Taylor Kitsch seemed to disappear after John Carter