You'd think that having won two Oscars before she was anywhere near 40 a huge career would have awaited Swank but she seems to have done nothing and is still usually more of a supporting actress.
shareShe seems to have disappeared.
shareMaybe she does not want to be in lead roles anymore.
shareIts a strange situation to be sure. She deserves better. But even if she cools off for the rest of her career, how many people can say they rightfully earned not one but two Oscars? Even some HUGELY popular actors haven't done that.
share2007 was a good year for her. Freedom Writers and P.S. I Love You were very popular. 2014 too with her good notices in The Homesman and You're Not You.
As for her low key and arguably disappointing career, she's unconventionally beautiful so she's hard to cast.
Also, according to an article I read, she's busy with charity work and personally helps take care of her sick father.
She also made some flops that sounded good on paper like The Black Dahlia and Amelia but turn out otherwise.
We try but we didn't have long
We try but we don't belong...
-Hot Chip (Boy from School)
She's a weird case really, she'd be in a way one of the lesser known Oscar winner's known by the public.
But she put in two storming performances in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby, although I think I prefer her role in Boys Don't Cry. Outside of that probably P.S I Love You is her most well known work and probably more known publicly then her Oscar winning roles.
But she's done good work that's just not been seen by a large viewing audience. Freedom Writers, Conviction, You're Not You, The Homesman, Logan Lucky, Iron Jawed Angels, Insomnia, The Gift, Red Dust, Mary and Martha, 11:14 and 55 Steps. A lot of good performances in those films just not big commercial work. Okay Insomnia is directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams but it's a underseen compared to Nolan's other work and Freedom Writer's has gain a cult following.
Also throw in the fact a lot of her commercial big budget work that would get her notice is actually her worse films. The Black Dehlia, a film with a top director, top cast and story from the writer of Oscar winning L.a Confidential. Should have been great but was a disaster. The Core, a disaster film that ended up a disaster. The Reaping, a big budget horror that didn't exactly set the box office alight. Amelia, her biopic of Amelia Earhart. She had a top cast with a respected International Director. It was Swank's attempt for a third Oscar but it flopped badly.
She's just one of those actresses who's just not a leading lady and works at her best in lower key work. She struck gold with her Oscar winning roles, let's not forget Boys Don't Cry was a indie film. She's just more comfortable in work that doesn't attract massive audiences.