2. Nicolas Cage
What He Was Doing Ten Years Ago: Doing anything for the money. Nicolas Cage is one of the Internets biggest jokes. Hell seemingly do anything that gives him some proper scenery to chew. Thing is, in the days before everyone could judge an entire filmography with one visit to IMDb, Cage seemed like a competent actor, working with Scorcese, the Coens and his uncle Francis Ford Coppola. Theres no distinct point when he changed, but as the naughties began his project choice got worse and worse.
What Hes Doing Now: Doing anything for the money. In 2009 Cage faced some serious tax issues, but while many say this is the reason for his take anything attitude, hed been starring in whatever turned up for years already. The Wicker Man, Lord Of War, Knowing and countless others pad out an unpredictable resume of messy films (although in his sort of defence The Wicker Man highlights that continue to do the rounds skip many of the elements that make that film so bad). Oddly enough, Cage still seems to go into his films with the same fanatical level of research, suggesting he doesnt quite realise just how utterly banal his output is. The Sorcerers Apprentice had him sending up his persona initially, but even then hed fallen back into serious acting by the films midpoint.