She Was Supposed to Be the Next Big Thing

Claire Forlani’s Rise to Recognition

Claire Forlani seemed poised for leading-lady status after playing Susan Parish opposite Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins in Meet Joe Black (1998). The film’s slow, quiet love story wasn’t the box-office smash its studio hoped for, but Forlani’s warmth—and especially the memorable coffee-shop scene—stayed with audiences. She described her role as being “the straight man” amid Pitt and Hopkins’s more active characters.

Early Career

After studying acting and ballet in London, Forlani moved to the U.S. to pursue film roles. Early jobs took her from Police Academy: Mission to Moscow—where the cast experienced a real political crisis during filming—to Kevin Smith’s Mallrats. The movie initially flopped, as Smith later joked, “Nobody went,” but eventually gained a cult following and helped put Forlani on Hollywood’s radar.

She went on to appear in The Rock and Basquiat. Forlani also fondly recalled sharing Chinese food and old home movies with David Bowie on set.

One surprising early career decision was leaving Deep Rising after three days of filming, reportedly over creative differences. The production replaced her with Famke Janssen, but Forlani continued working and soon landed Meet Joe Black.

Career Challenges and Later Roles

The quieter stretch that followed came amid several personal and professional challenges, though the reasons for her career trajectory aren’t fully clear. Forlani’s mother, Barbara, died of cancer the year Meet Joe Black brought her wider recognition. Forlani later said the loss changed her and that she began choosing safer roles.

In 2017, she also said she had escaped Harvey Weinstein’s unwanted advances five times, using jokes and excuses to get away. Whether this affected her career is unknown.

Her subsequent film roles included Mystery Men, Boys and Girls, Antitrust, The Medallion, and Green Street Hooligans, but none restored the momentum of her breakthrough. From 2006, television offered steadier work, including CSI: NY, Camelot, and NCIS: Los Angeles. She continued making films too, among them Hallam Foe and Flashbacks of a Fool.

Personal Life and Legacy

Forlani married Scottish actor Dougray Scott in 2007. In 2014, she took a new risk by making her professional stage debut, and she and Scott adopted their son, Milo, that same year.

Although her career didn’t follow the blockbuster path people expected in 1998, Forlani kept acting. Her performance in Meet Joe Black remains the role many viewers remember.

Personalities Featured or Discussed

Claire Forlani, Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Martin Brest, Sean Connery, Michael Bay, Nicholas Cage, Kevin Smith, Shannon Doherty, Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, David Bowie, Jeffrey Wright, Famke Janssen, Harvey Weinstein, Dougray Scott, Elijah Wood, Jackie Chan, Jamie Bell, and Daniel Craig.