Even actors renowned for their selective filmographies have dabbled in franchise cinema. Take Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey, for example; both appeared in lesser-known horror sequels early in their careers. Despite not revisiting the franchise world since, their participation technically places them outside the criteria for a list of actors without any franchise involvement.

Here, we spotlight a rare group of actors who have never appeared in a major franchise, a remarkable feat for those who have ascended to A-list stature. The only exception considered is a minor voice role in an animated series, which applies to just one person on our list.

John Cusack is a notable example of an actor who has steered clear of major franchises, including the superhero genre that has dominated Hollywood for the past two decades. This choice aligns with his longstanding career philosophy, even during his peak as a leading man. Remarkably, Cusack has avoided participating in sequels, even when his films, such as “Hot Tub Time Machine,” have spawned follow-ups.

Despite this, Cusack hasn’t completely closed the door on sequels. In December 2025, he expressed openness to revisiting “1408,” the 2007 adaptation of a Stephen King story. Cusack even proposed an alternate ending to facilitate a potential sequel, indicating a willingness to explore new narratives within familiar settings.

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.