The careers of some of our favourite actors haven't been in the best shape lately, whether it's due to some bad movie choices or being stuck in the same role for too long.
Here we takes a look at eight movie stars whose careers need a jump start, and offers advice for how they can improve things in 2018…
1. Will Smith
Where It Went Wrong:
Smith was once one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, making megahits like Men in Black, Independence Day and Bad Boys. More recently his choices have been, um, less successful – the duff sci-fi movie After Earth, the critically-panned Collateral Beauty, and the forgettable but terrible A New York Winter's Tale among them.
Smith was last spotted in December plugging the most expensive Netflix movie ever made, Bright, which has also been described as the worst movie of 2017.
How To Fix It:
Bright may not have got good reviews but Smith could still be laughing all the way to the bank – more than 11 million people viewed it in the first three days it was on Netflix, and a sequel has already been ordered.
The actor/rapper/producer also has the live action Aladdin in the pipeline – although we're slightly worried that Guy Ritchie is at the helm, since the last two movies he made weren't resounding successes (The Man from UNCLE and last year's dire King Arthur: Legend of the Sword).
Smith was once one of the most fun actors around, so perhaps he should take note of the Roseanne and Will And Grace comebacks and finally sign up for a new season of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? We'd watch even if, as he said to Graham Norton, he's old enough now to be playing Uncle Phil…
2. Bruce Willis
Where It Went Wrong:
The star of our favourite Christmas movie (yes, Die Hard is a Christmas film and we won't hear otherwise) hasn't stopped making films – you just won't have heard of most of them. Precious Cargo? First Kill? Vice? Once Upon a Time in Venice? All direct-to-download or given the briefest of cinema releases due to their extreme awfulness.
It's sad to say, but aside from a 30-second cameo in 2016's thriller Split, Bruce hasn't made a decent movie since 2012's time-travelling drama Looper.
How To Fix It:
Bruce's career has had dips before – back in the early '90s he followed Die Hard with duff choices like the voice of the baby in Look Who's Talking and roles in bombs like Bonfire of the Vanities, Billy Bathgate and Mortal Thoughts – but he always came back with stylish movies like Pulp Fiction, Twelve Monkeys and The Sixth Sense.
2018 isn't looking like a return to top form (sorry Bruce, but we're not getting excited about Eli Roth's Death Wish) and the only glimmer of hope on the horizon is M Night Shyamalan's Glass (the third instalment in the Unbreakable/Split trilogy) in 2019.
Come on Bruce, stop making bad action movies and do some more sci-fi instead. We miss you.
3. Dakota Johnson
Where It Went Wrong:
Accepting the lead role in Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels probably seemed a good idea at the time, at least to then-unknown Dakota's bank balance. However, the combination of ropey dialogue and awkward softcore scenes meant none of the cast came out of it with their credibility fully intact, even those who kept their clothes on. Urgent action needs to be taken or her career could go the same way as Showgirls' Elizabeth Berkley.
How To Fix It:
Johnson needs to take a look at Kristen Stewart's post-Twilight career for inspiration.
Stewart managed to distance herself from the role that made her famous by picking strong roles in arthouse movies like Personal Shopper and Certain Women that displayed her acting skills – which, let's be honest, weren't exactly showcased in the Twilight movies where all she had to do was gaze at Robert Pattinson and look a bit mopey.
Dakota's first role post-Fifty Shades may be a step in the right direction – she is starring alongside Tilda Swinton in a remake of Suspiria, from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino. More of the same, please.
4. Claire Danes
Where It Went Wrong:
Yes, Homeland was good – four seasons ago. Does anyone really care to watch Carrie stare into her bathroom mirror and sob for a seventh season? Danes is far more talented than the Jack Bauer-lite role allows her to be – just check out her early lead roles in My So-Called Life and Romeo + Juliet, or her Emmy-winning performance in 2010's TV biopic Temple Grandin.
How To Fix It:
Reese Witherspoon's a good role model for Claire right now. Despite critical acclaim for movies like Walk the Line and Wild, she wasn't getting the roles she wanted so decided the best idea was to produce something herself – and the result was the hugely successful TV series Big Little Lies, in which she also starred.
Reese is now in pre-production on a TV project with Jennifer Aniston, so perhaps Claire should give her a call, or set up her own production company and find projects to work on that don't involve al-Qaeda terror plots.
5. John Cusack
Where It Went Wrong:
Starting as a teen actor in movies like Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer and the lovely Say Anything, Cusack matured onscreen and mastered dramatic roles (The Grifters, Being John Malkovich) and comedic ones (High Fidelity, Grosse Point Blank), becoming something of a cult favourite in the late '90s.
However, the last few years have seen him making forgettable crime dramas like The Numbers Station, The Frozen Ground and Reclaim, with the high points being when he played a psycho for Lee Daniels in The Paperboy, a TV psychologist for David Cronenberg in Maps to the Stars, and his superb turn as Brian Wilson in 2014's Love & Mercy.
How To Fix It:
Love & Mercy proved what a great actor Cusack can be – he now just needs to find the right material. Whether it's for TV or film, he needs to work with some top-notch directors and choose sharp scripts even if it's for character roles rather than leading ones – he was decent in the 2007 adaptation of Stephen King's 1408, so how about a role as one of the grown-up kids in the It sequel? He looks a bit like an adult version of Finn Wolfhard, who plays Richie…
6. Gwyneth Paltrow
Where It Went Wrong:
Aside from her role as Pepper Potts in the Iron Man and Avengers movies, Oscar-winning Gwyneth hasn't acted much this decade, preferring to spend her time with her children and working on her online business Goop, which is best known for promoting eye-watering gynaecological fads like jade eggs and vaginal steaming.
How To Fix It:
Say goodbye to Goop, Gwyneth. We're sure the company can carry on without her while the actress – who was so good in movies like Seven, Sylvia, Emma and The Royal Tenenbaums – makes a return to the screen, perhaps in a period drama or arthouse comedy (she can be pretty funny – remember Shallow Hal?).
7. Brad Pitt
Where It Went Wrong:
Over the last few years it's felt like Pitt has spent more time in the gossip columns than on the big screen, but in fact he's never stopped working – however, his best performances have been as part of a big cast (12 Years a Slave, The Big Short, both of which he co-produced) rather than as a leading man. Now 54 years old, he needs a big, meaty, Oscar-bait role to remind us of the talent we saw in Seven, Fight Club and Twelve Monkeys.
How To Fix It:
Send a gift basket to director David Fincher. He got terrific performances from Brad in Seven and Fight Club (and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wasn't Brad's fault), and has signed on to direct Brad in the sequel to World War Z. That's a step in the right direction, but a zombie movie is unlikely to thrill the Academy, so perhaps they can team up again for some more serious fare – author Chuck Palahniuk wrote a comic-book sequel to Fight Club they could adapt.
8. Tom Cruise
Where It Went Wrong:
Yes, he is one of the most successful actors in the world, but last year's unsuccessful The Mummy proved that even Tom Cruise doesn't have the golden touch all the time. His film choices have become predictable – slick star vehicles like American Made and sequels in the Jack Reacher and Mission: Impossible franchises (part 6 coming this summer) – rather than performance-led movies like those that won him plaudits in the past (Rain Man, A Few Good Men, The Color of Money, Born on the Fourth of July).
How To Fix It:
Firstly, Tom should stop doing sequels (though we will allow the in-development Top Gun 2, as who doesn't want to see that?). Then he should contact some of the first-class directors he's worked with in the past, like Martin Scorsese, Cameron Crowe and Paul Thomas Anderson, to let them know he's available for work (and doesn't need a huge salary that's bigger than their movie's budget).
