10 Actors That Really Need To Stop Repeating Themselves

The old saying goes that 'familiarity breeds contempt', and the phrase definitely applies to the movie business.

Whether it be too much of a good thing or a filmmaking trend that becomes so popular that it borders on the nauseating, Hollywood usually has no problem in running something into the ground. Think about the wave of gritty reboots that followed in the wake of Batman Begins, the Harry Potter-inspired rash of literary adaptations or the 'Avatar Effect' that saw seemingly every major movie given an often-shoddy 3D post-conversion.

Of course, this kind of repetition isn't just limited to movies themselves but often the people that star in them. We've become accustomed to expect a scene of Tom Cruise running, Shia LaBeouf's 'no no no no no' and Harrison Ford's continued concern for his wife and family to name but three. If an actor keeps repeating themselves, then it can quickly become an established part of their big-screen persona.

Matthew McConaughey managed to rehabilitate his career by keeping his shirt on, ditching the romantic comedies and reminding people that he was actually a great actor all along, but not everyone gets such a startling career reinvention. There are plenty of talented actors that have no problem doing the same thing in every movie, but in doing so run the risk of becoming stale.

One of cinema's greatest-ever deliverers of exposition and perhaps its favorite wise old sage, the iconic syrupy tones of Morgan Freeman have been a constantly reassuring presence on our screens for decades now. Even at the age of 80 he shows no signs of slowing down either, appearing in seventeen movies in the last four years alone.

With his reputation assured as one of the all-time greats, Freeman has admitted that he still enjoys working, which is the reason why he takes on so many projects despite his octogenarian status. However, it would be nice to see him stretch his acting muscles a little more often as so many of his performances have become increasingly familiar.

Recent turns in the likes of Oblivion, Olympus/London Has Fallen, the Now You See Me franchise, Lucy, Transcendence, Ted 2 and Ben-Hur have all been variations on 'Morgan Freeman showing up to advance the plot', which has become something of an archetype unto itself.

While its always a pleasure to see the actor turn up and spout exposition like only he can, its been a long time since he's worked with material that he's really been able to sink his teeth into. The last time was arguably 2009's Nelson Mandela biopic Invictus, which was a well-known passion project for Freeman and scored him Best Actor nominations from the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild. Less forgettable genre movies and more of that, please.