8 Former Stars In Desperate Need Of A Comeback

Though it may seem hard to believe, there was a period in Hollywood history when Brendan Fraser was a bankable movie star. Much of that had to do with the Mummy franchise, which grossed well over $350 million in the States alone. During that time, Fraser also took a few artistic chances, landing roles in critically acclaimed films such as the Academy Award-winning Gods and Monsters (1998) and Oscar-nominated The Quiet American (2002).

So what the hell happened? Unfortunately, Fraser followed up with a lot of poor roles. Things got so bad that by 2010, he'd become the laughing stock of Hollywood. That's a shame because there's a certain innocent, likable charm to Fraser that we think deserves a second chance in the business. All he needs are a few out-of-left-field roles in indies—think Matthew McConaughey in Mud (2012)—and his career could quickly get back on track. Maybe not all the way to the Oscars, but enough for Hollywood to start taking Fraser seriously again.

It may sound ridiculous to refer to a twenty-something actor as "washed-up," but in the four long years since the Twilight Saga ended in 2012, it's become difficult to look at Taylor Lautner without thinking, "Wait...he's still around?"

Fortunately for Lautner, Hollywood seems willing to embrace the stars of Twilight, even though most agree the vampire franchise wasn't, um, highbrow. Co-star Kristen Stewart has already teamed up with critically acclaimed directors such as Woody Allen (Café Society) and Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper) and now seems one movie role away from earning an Oscar nomination.

Lautner should borrow a page from Stewart's playbook and find a director who can get audiences to forget that Twilight even existed. In other words, work with the exact opposite of Frank Coraci, who directed Lautner to terrible reviews in the Adam Sandler-Netflix comedy The Ridiculous 6 (2015). Lautner's post-Twilight star power hasn't yet been tested, but he's young enough to be taking risks beyond bulking up and falling for emo teenagers who swoon over sparkling vampires.

For reasons we won't get into at this time, Hollywood seems to be kinder to men than it is to women after age 40. Now that Tobey Maguire fits the bill, we can't think of a better time for him to throw his hat back in the ring.

Between the Spider-man franchise and prestige movies like The Cider House Rules (1999), Maguire has already proven himself to be successful in films big and small. With that kind of track record, we have a feeling audiences would take him back with open arms. Sure, he'd have to play Peter Parker's uncle instead of Parker this time around, but hey, whatever it takes to get Maguire back on-screen.

Speaking of Spike Jonze, Cameron Diaz probably came this close to getting an Oscar nomination for Being John Malkovich back in 1998. That movie alone—not to mention her great comedic work in My Best Friends Wedding (1997)—was proof she can hit a home run. Sadly, few of her subsequent movies have required Diaz to perform at that level. Even worse, she's now at an age where she can no longer play the cutesy, bubbly roles that initially made her famous.

What's a girl to do? Well, she may want to ask Charlize Theron who, at some point over the last few years, transformed from Hollywood glam to bonafide badass. So far, Theron's decision has paid off, thanks to key roles in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Fast 8 (2017). Diaz may have a bit of an uphill battle to climb, considering she's never really been tested in that arena, but then again, everything she did in Vanilla Sky (2001) was terrifying, so we suspect she'd do just fine.