But Mulholland Drive was what put Theroux on the map. Originally filmed as a pilot for ABC, Theroux probably was the most stiffed by Lynch re-editing it as a film after the network turned it down, because he has the least to do in the dreamlike post-script Lynch added on, and there's so many dangling plotlines that could have been explored in a TV series version. But he's still great as a wise-ass director whose life unravels underneath him—his own creepy confrontation with a cowboy is another highlight.

Plateau

Theroux's co-star Naomi Watts immediately vaulted to super-stardom, but he bounced around in a bunch of frustrating supporting roles that only made a little bit of sense for him. He's incredibly committed to his work in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, as muscular bad-guy Seamus O'Grady, but why was his first role in two years the secondary villain in a mostly unnecessary sequel? It didn't help that Full Throttle was a relative box-office bomb.

After that, Theroux goes sadly quiet. Between 2003 and 2008, his best work was as Brenda's rebound lover Joe on eight episodes of Six Feet Under, where he was very likable and compassionate, but the character didn't last that long. He made some decent alt-comedy movie choices, popping up in The Baxter and Strangers with Candy, but none of the roles were particularly interesting. Other casting decisions seemed more promising—he's part of the squad in Michael Mann's Miami Vice and reunited with David Lynch for Inland Empire—but those are sadly more background roles than anything else.

Surprising Side-Career

I was still firmly in the Theroux camp in 2008, but I couldn't deny he hadn't lived up to the wonderful potential he showed in his first few roles. Then I was especially surprised to see his name attached as a screenwriter of Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder. Theroux had directed an indie, Dedication, that was released the same year and went nowhere, but Tropic Thunder was a big hit that topped the box office four weeks in a row. All of a sudden, Theroux was an in-demand writer: he was tapped to script the Marvel sequel Iron Man 2, on which he is the sole credited writer, and he also took a pass on Rock of Ages. The weirdest credit of all: he's an executive producer on 2010 DreamWorks Animation comedy Megamind. Gotta wonder why that happened.

Tropic Thunder really holds up, but Theroux's big-studio efforts were both critical flops, and Iron Man 2 remains the most-reviled Marvel Studios film, although it made plenty of money. Hard to know whether Theroux is at all to blame there—Marvel meddling to get its burgeoning Cinematic Universe in order probably played a big part—but still, he's the only writer listed, so he has to shoulder some of the blame. Rock of Ages' flaws go far beyond Theroux, but still, he hasn't written a movie since.