Guy Pearce was once poised to be Hollywood's next Brad Pitt or Matt Damon, but just when it seemed like his career was taking off, it cratered.

NEW YORK – Over the years, Guy Pearce has been good in most all things. But he’s been particularly good at playing characters with a refined disposition who harbor darker impulses underneath.

“The first Batman and The Prestige. But there was an executive at Warner Bros who quite openly said to my agent, ‘I don’t get Guy Pearce. I’m never going to get Guy Pearce. I’m not going ...