6 Actors Who Should Seriously Consider Retirement

Almost every actor here has starred in at least one noteworthy movie, so this list hasn't been created purely to condemn and mock a star's decline in popularity. Of course, that is part of it, but the failing careers of the actors on this list should be considered more tragic than anything else. If the actors featured here chose to retire now, then perhaps it would be easier for us to remember them as they once were: talented people capable of making good movies. While this list may be more subjective than most, bear in mind that an actor's inclusion is not a condemnation of their entire career, rather a suggestion that now would be a good time to stop, before they sweep the Razzie awards in the near future. 6) Adam Sandler It's easy to deride Adam Sandler now, but back in the day, the SNL alumni had a string of hits on his hands. In an era of tamagotchis and Fresh Princes, Sandler was actually kind of talented, tickling funny bones worldwide with fare like The Wedding Singer and Happy Gilmore. Then the 2000's hit. The decline was subtle at first, but as the years went by, each Sandler comedy became progressively less and less funny, until his filmography eventually reached the lows of Razzie winners such as That's My Boy and Jack & Jill. Unfortunately, Sandler shows no sign of retiring just yet and still has a number of average looking films coming up on the horizon. Surprisingly though, the recently released trailer for Pixels has suggested that the actor may actually have another hit on his hands for the first time in who knows how long. If Pixels turns out be any good, I'll force myself to watch a marathon of Grown Ups as punishment... on repeat... until my eyes give up the will to live and just melt straight out of my face. That's definitely a thing by the way. Science! 5) Nicolas Cage Nicolas Cage is a force of nature, a man whose sanity should be questioned on a daily basis, preferably by someone with a background in psychiatry. Few actors started their careers out so spectacularly in the beginning, only to fly off the rails in the most ridiculous way possible, but Cage is a unique individual. The success of early films like Leaving Las Vegas and The Rock was pretty misleading, considering how his career has since descended into roles where pissing fire and being stung by bees are genuine highlights. "OH, NO! NOT THE BEES! NOT THE BEES! AAAAAHHHHH! OH, THEY'RE IN MY EYES! MY EYES! AAAAHHHHH! AAAAAGGHHH!" 'Movies' like The Wicker Man remake and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance provide ample evidence that Cage should retire ASAP, unless of course you're one of the many who love the absurdity of a good old Cage turkey these days. For some audiences, Cage has become so bad, that he's turned full circle and become good again. For others, the idea of wearing a bee helmet and being stung to death in the face is preferable to watching more than five seconds of Left Behind. Five. Seconds. Send in the bees! 4) Katherine Heigl Grey's Anatomy is certainly not for everyone, but the hit US medical show has enjoyed huge success over its many seasons. It may come as no surprise then that many of the cast have attempted the difficult transition from television to the silver screen, each to varying degrees of success. Whether any of them truly succeeded is up for debate, but Emmy Award winner Katherine Heigl was initially a clear frontrunner in the Hollywood stakes. Knocked Up became a breakout hit upon its release, elevating the careers of basically everyone involved, including Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and of course, Heigl herself. So, what did Katherine do with her newfound success and exposure? She starred in a cliched and creatively barren romcom called 27 Dresses, of course, which was then followed by a string of yet more cliched and generally pointless movies. As her box office appeal diminished, Heigl ran back to TV, starring in the espionage series State of Affairs. While it was admirable of Heigl to broaden her scope outside of the romantic comedies she had become known for, the gamble didn't pay off, due perhaps to either poor scriptwriting or a lacklustre performance from Heigl herself. Wait, maybe it was both? Yup, definitely both. 3) Sylvester Stallone Upon hearing the word retire, many would assume that the performers on this list have reached that point in their lives when buses become free and bowel control is no longer an option, yet the majority of the actors here already ran their careers into the ground long before then. However, Sylvester Stallone is one of those rare actors who gives zero f**ks about playing it by the book and is still happily making films at the grand old age of 68. That in itself wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that Stallone carved a name for himself as an action hero in franchises such as Rocky and Rambo. After The Expendables helped kickstart Stallone's career once more, the geriatric performer continued to appear in more action movies, becoming less and less convincing with each passing second. You can literally see the skin drooping off his face if you slow down the film enough in The Expendables 3. Is it fair to pick on Stallone when Arnold Schwarzenegger is currently enjoying a similar career 'renaissance'? Perhaps not, but at least Arnie impressed recently in the zombie film Maggie, going some way towards rectifying the absolute mess that Terminator: Genisys is likely to be. 2) Shia LaBeouf Who knew that the kid from Disney's Even Stevens would turn out to be an attention-seeking disaster of a human being? Despite battling alien robots in the billion dollar Transformers franchise and baring all in Nymphomaniac, Shia LaBeouf's personal life is now drawing far more attention than his onscreen exploits ever could. From constant legal struggles to bizarre public appearances, LaBeouf couldn't be more unlikable if he tried. Need some examples? How about the time LaBeouf showed up to the Berlin Film Festival wearing a paper bag emblazoned with the words "I am not famous anymore"? Or when the troubled actor got arrested numerous times for drunk driving and fighting? Then there was the time LaBeouf knowingly plagiarised the writing of Ghost World creator Daniel Clowes... The fact that barely any mention has been made of LaBeouf's day job just proves that now is the perfect time for him to retire from acting, or at least take a long hiatus. It would be kind to say that such a move could help LaBeouf focus on improving his mental health, but really, the guy just needs to retire so the press can stop caring about whatever messed up thing he's going to do next. 1) Johnny Depp The final actor on this list is also arguably the most popular, yet it may be time for even the most diehard Johnny Depp fans to accept that the times are a changing. As much as it pains me to say this, Depp needs to consider doing the unthinkable and retire... or at least stop making those bloody Pirates films! It wasn't always like this. When a fresh faced Depp first appeared on 21 Jump Street, the young actor did everything in his power to fight against the poster boy image thrust upon him by Hollywood. This intent to push away conventional roles led Depp to form a bond with up and coming director Tim Burton, whose unusual worldview meshed with his own. Together, the two did some of their best work in phenomenal films such as Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, but like a Britney Spears marriage, some things are just not meant to last. As time went on, Burton and Depp continued to collaborate on a regular basis, but what had once seemed fresh and novel quickly became tired and worn out. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows... how many times can one actor phone in another 'wacky' performance and think they can get away with it? Most actors struggle with blander roles before they finally gain creative control over the types of movies that they wish to make, but Depp isn't one to do things by the book, instead starting out with an incredibly varied filmography before selling out with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. While some are still holding out hope for Depp's role as Whitney Bulger in the crime drama Black Mass, Mortdecai was the final nail in the coffin for me.