10 Actors Whose Careers Are On The Wane
Some beloved actors have a hard time getting back on their feet and some of them may be reaching the end of their careers.
For this list, here are 10 actors whose careers are on the wane.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson is one of the most polarizing celebrities in Hollywood. He burst onto the silver screen in his outings as Max Rockatanksy in the wildly successful Mad Max franchise.
He then took on the role of Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, redefining the buddy-cop genre with the franchise. He then forayed into the direction, making movies such as The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto.
However, through the 2010s he faced accusations of homophobia, battled alcoholism, and had domestic violence-related issues which caused his public profile to drop quite a bit.
He was blacklisted for almost a decade from Hollywood but returned with Hacksaw Ridge which picked up Oscar nominations.
His last few movie roles have been average ones to downright box office flops. This could indicate that it may be time to move to the director’s chair.
Will Smith
In West Philadelphia born and raised, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star has seen massive box office success through his career.
Movies like the Men in Black franchise and Independence Day are evidence of his star power and ability to draw in an audience.
He’s also proved he can handle dramatic roles with movies such as Pursuit of Happyness.
However, fate has not been kind. Movies like Gemini Man, After Earth, and Spies in disguise were not the biggest box office hits.
While they were successful financially, his role as Deadshot in Suicide Squad and his rendition of the Genie in Aladdin were panned by critics.
He’s also faced marital issues that were made public and is going through a rough time at the moment. Here’s wishing him the best.
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl is a force to be reckoned with when talking about romcoms in the 2000s.
27 Dresses, Life as We Know it, Knocked Up, The Ugly Truth, were all major hits that starred her.
She was also a major member of the Grey’s Anatomy cast from 2005 to 2010. However, reports of her being a very difficult actor and a nightmare to work with surfaced.
Movies like The Big Wedding and Jackie and Ryan were critical and commercial failures.
She made her way to television again where she played the role of Samantha on Suits following the departure of Meghan Markle until the show ended.
Major box office roles though still seem to elude her for now.
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen was a man at the top of his game once upon a time. He had it all- a family in the industry and performances in some of the biggest hits of the 1980s and the 1990s.
Wall Street, Hot Shots!, Hot Shots Part Deux, Major League, and the Rookie were some of his major hits.
The television show Spin City won him his first Golden Globe. In 2003, he took on the role of Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men for which he gained three Emmy and two Golden Globe award nominations as well as 1.8 million USD per episode by the end of his time on the series.
Then the downfall happened: Warner Bros. dismissed him over possession of drugs which caused him to go into a public meltdown.
He has also been charged for domestic and sexual assault and his antics contributed to him revealing he was HIV+. A sad end to his tale.
Matthew Perry
“Oh! My! God! Chandler Bing!” Matthew Perry was lauded for his role as the sarcastic man-child in the wildly popular Friends.
He was also starting to develop into a romantic lead with movies such as Fools Rush in and Three to Tango.
During the series in 1997, he suffered an accident which led to alcoholism and addiction. He spent around a month in rehab and was eventually back to work.
He also did The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis but did not get major projects to work on anymore. His last feature film was 17 Again after which he quietly returned to TV where he was on a revival of the Odd Couple.
It’s nice to see him doing what he’s comfortable in, especially with the Friends reunion delayed due to the COVID.
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz got her start as a model as well as the Female lead for 1994’s the Mask. She went on to have a number of box office successes My Best Friend’s Wedding, Shrek, Charlie’s Angels and Gangs of New York.
Her last performance was in 2014 for Annie. She eventually declared she was tired of travelling for filming and ultimately retired. She is involved in various causes as an activist and runs an organic wine brand.
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner wowed us all on her show Alias as well as taking on roles such as 13 Going on 30 and Juno.
Lately, however she has put out a string of average to mediocre romcoms which include performances in movies like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and the Invention of Lying.
She has however had to contend with domestic issues as well as charity and campaigning commitments which might explain why we don’t see her as much.
Jessica Alba
2003’s Honey saw the breakthrough of a young actress called Jessica Alba. Since then, she’s appeared in numerous hits such as the two Fantastic Four movies and Good Luck Chuck, The Eye, and Sin City.
Her last few films barring Mechanic: Resurrection hasn’t been the biggest hits. However, she is focused on her activism and her children for the time being.
Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire made a very successful transition from being a child actor to an adult who could take on more difficult, mature roles.
However, the world remembers him as Peter Parker from the beloved Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy.
He’s also played parts in movies such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Cider House Rules, and Pleasantville. His last major roles were in Pawn Sacrifice and narrating the Boss Baby.
This could also be because Maguire has moved onto producing and directing films rather than being in front of the camera. Here’s wishing him all the luck in the world for his new endeavours.
Bruce Willis
As much as it hurts us, Bruce Willis is having a hard time at the moment.
Yes, our beloved John McClane had no less than 14 releases that went straight to DVD or VOD.
He’s also revisited franchises that he made big in movies such as Glass, Sin City, and even Die Hard, all of which did not perform to the best of their potential.
Despite decent success with the Red franchise, it looks like his career graph may well be on the decline.
