10 Infuriatingly Stale Actors That Should Try Something Different For A Change
Sometimes actors get so comfortable in their wheelhouse that they forget how to do anything else.
Typecasting is a very real thing, although the effects don't always have to be so all-encompassing that they define an actor's entire career.
Chris Evans famously turned down the role of Captain America twice for fears of being pigeonholed as a stoic action hero, and while his time as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will always be what he's best remembered for, it hasn't slowed down his career advancement in the slightest, and if anything the increased profile that came with being the leader of the Avengers has given him more creative freedom than ever.
On the flip-side of that coin, talents that tend to build either their names or reputations in more action-orientated or comedic content are a lot more prone to falling victim to being typecast as one-note macho meatheads or idiot sidekicks. For example, Sylvester Stallone may have two Academy Award nominations for his acting, but he's still best known for blood, bullets and octane, although he did always suck at comedy.
The point is, there are countless actors and actresses that are happy to keep repeating the same thing over and over again to the exact same results, and all that it managed to accomplish is leaving their career feeling staler than a two week-old loaf of bread.
10. Tom Hanks
It might verge on the sacrilegious to include one of the world's most popular and beloved stars on a list of stale actors, but when was the last time you can remember Tom Hanks venturing out of his comfort zone?
Since playing characters with shades of grey in Road to Perdition and The Ladykillers, Hanks has generally reverted to type and embraced one of his two established screen personas as either 'determined everyman' or 'America's Dad'. His multiple roles in Cloud Atlas made for a refreshing change of pace, and he played a nefarious tech mogul in The Circle, but most people have probably forgotten that movie even existed.
Hanks admitted that he doesn't play villains because the audience wouldn't buy it, but surely the entire point of being an actor is proving that you're good enough at the job to convince people to suspend their disbelief?
Seeing someone of his caliber go all-in on playing a bad guy could be something to behold, and he's roughly the same age as Liam Neeson was when he decided to reinvent himself as an action hero, which is another genre the two-time Oscar winner has largely avoided.