Dirk Bogarde Should Have Been The Biggest Star In Hollywood, But One Twist Changed Everything

Actors often complain about getting typecast and having to play the same roles over and over. But one star stands out for the dramatic change that he made in his career: Dirk Bogarde. In the 1950s, you see, he looked set to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Yet it never happened — and it was all down to one major decision that he made.

Pretty face

After Bogarde first began starring in films, he had a honeymoon period that saw him capture the hearts of British filmgoers. But after 1961 he started to fall out of favor with matinee movie lovers. He chose roles that were far more challenging, and far from just having a pretty face, he revealed he had an enormous talent as an actor, too.

Popular star

Bogarde was hailed in a trailer for a film in 1958 as “Britain’s most popular star,” and he presented the British romantic ideal. Dashing and handsome, he hit his peak as the eponymous doctor in Rank’s Doctor films of the mid-1950s. But in the 1960s that would all change.

Arthouse

Because Bogarde started to be seen in a very different type of film that decade. Far from the heartthrob cinema where he’d made his name, he starred in more difficult, arty films. They included The Night Porter, The Damned, and Death in Venice. In these, the beloved Dr. Sparrow is not at all visible, as the actor took on much more challenging work.

An art critic beckons?

The son of a Flemish art critic, the future actor was blessed with the resplendent name of Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde. His dad fancied him as a future art critic too, but it was drama rather than art that captured the young Bogarde’s heart. Perhaps he was influenced by his mom, who was an actress.