For some actors, playing an iconic role can serve as a springboard for future opportunities. For others, it can be a cage destined to keep you from reaching your full potential.

While Russ Tamblyn has enjoyed a varied career in both film and television, musical lovers will remember him best as Riff, leader of the Jets in the 1961 film version of West Side Story.

But in the sixties, it seemed that Tamblyn had given up on the entertainment industry. The actor found himself actively refusing roles that were offered to him, including a pretty iconic television series.

"In the early sixties, I just dropped out," said Tamblyn during an interview with the Lansing State Journal. "I turned down movies, Gilligan's Island, everything."

At some point, the actor returned to Hollywood, but even then, Tamblyn found himself grasping for roles. At some point, he even came to terms with the fact that his career might actually be over.

"I had resigned myself to thinking that I would always be known as Russ Tamblyn of West Side Story," said the actor.  

See More

This Eddie Murphy SNL sketch might seem familiar to old-school Svengoolie fans

As Tamblyn grew older, it only became that much harder to find new roles, even ones he knew he'd be perfect for.

"It was pretty disheartening," said Tamblyn. "The worst was when the agents got a directive for a guy in his mid-40s, a Russ Tamblyn type. I went in and I didn't get it."

Luckily, the famed director and Tamblyn's friend, David Lynch, knew that the actor had talent. He cast Tamblyn in his series, Twin Peaks, without even an audition. No longer was the actor Riff from West Side Story, but rather simply, Russ Tamblyn, actor.