Age: 51 Never has an actor so famous and so well-paid needed such a change of direction so fast. Thanks to his success with Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl 12 years ago, Johnny Depp has both become one of the best-known movie stars on the planet and the go-to guy to play characters sporting ridiculous outfits and even more ridiculous accents. But, frankly, Depp's been wasting himself for years on oddball 'character' roles when serious cinema's got every right and reason to want him back. Playing it straight with a gun in his holster is what made Depp so good in films like Donnie Brasco and Public Enemies, and the pair are not just indicators of how compelling Depp can be when he's wearing normal-people clothes and not gurning - he's also a convincing tough guy in both. After major flops like Mortdecai, Transcendence and The Lone Ranger, Depp could do a lot worse than try reinvent himself as a late-blooming action star. Lord knows he could do with a change of pace, especially when the best thing he's done for years is get shot in 21 Jump Street. Which other aging stars do you want to see make an action comeback? Let us know in the comments below.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
