The last few years have seen some surprising actors bounce back from the ignominy of starring in Razzie-winning films to winning actual awards that don't chip when you drop them.
There's been the legendary McConaissance which has seen Matthew McConaughey go from gurning beside Kate Hudson in bland mall audience-pleasers to winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club. More recently, Reese Witherspoon has also been released from her rom-com shackles and nabbed a nomination for her role in Wild.
So who's next? Here's our pick of the seven actors who might soon be allowed back into the VIP area.
Johnny Depp
Admittedly, 2015 hasn't started off particularly well for Johnny Depp. His spy comedy Mortdecai has just created an unholy stench at the box office with a disastrous opening weekend of just $4.1 million in the US from a $60 million budget. And this on top of a string of flops from The Rum Diary to Dark Shadows to The Lone Ranger to Transcendence. Outside of the big franchises, Depp is no longer the sell that he used to be and the pressure is on for him to present a film that's worthy of his talents. This could come in the shape of Black Mass, a highly-anticipated new crime drama that tells the tale of infamous criminal Whitey Bulger and could bring him some awards recognition. He'll also crop up in an adaptation of the cult Martin Amis novel London Fields, where he will allegedly be playing a normal person without any make up/special effects/moustache.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
After a mammoth nine year gap, excluding brief cameos, Arnie rejoined Hollywood and proceeded to make an ambitious five films in just two years. But despite a truckload of hype, the response was muted at best and disastrous at worst. His last three starring roles (The Last Stand, Escape Plan and Sabotage) were all box office poison but this year sees him going back to his comfort zone with a role in the rebooted, and hideously spelled, Terminator: Genisys. He's being used front and centre for the film and with support from the younger cast, including Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney, it could be a big summer hit for him. He's also starring in the intriguing drama Maggie about a father who cares for his daughter as she becomes infected by a zombie.
Colin Farrell
A classic example of an actor that Hollywood didn't know quite what to do with, Colin Farrell, who can be so good in supporting roles or in more leftfield fare, has been involved in an unholy string of stinkers. While he's had the odd gem since breaking out (In Bruges, Crazy Heart, The New World), it's mostly been a downhill sprint with Alexander, Miami Vice, Cassandra's Dream, London Boulevard and last year's horribly received Winter's Tale all harming his reputation. But this year sees him making a wise move back to the small screen with a key role in the second season of True Detective as well as a role in The Lobster, the intriguingly odd-sounding new film from Dogtooth director Yorgos Lanthimos, which takes place in a distant future where single people are forced to find a mate with horrifying results if they fail.
Ben Stiller
For a while, Ben Stiller was operating at the top of his game in Hollywood with a string of hits from Meet the Parents to Zoolander to Dodgeball but his shtick grew tired and audiences stopped showing up. He suffered through alien comedy The Watch and crime caper Tower Heist and decided to churn out more Madagascar and Night at the Museum sequels, the latter of which underperformed recently. Even his return to the director's chair for the ambitious remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty didn't work out for him. But he's about to regain his mojo by reteaming with his Greenberg director Noah Baumbach for While We're Young, a smart comedy drama which has already received strong reviews on the festival circuit.
Keanu Reeves
It's been a long time in the wilderness for Keanu Reeves. Even back in his prime, he was shooting blanks with roles in Johnny Mnemonic, Chain Reaction and Sweet November but in recent years, we haven't heard too much from him, other than the brutally reviewed Generation Um... and the disastrous 47 Ronin. But at the end of last year, he scored with a surprising sleeper hit in the US in the shape of revenge thriller John Wick, out April in the UK, which brought him some of the best reviews of his career. This looks set to continue with his role in Knock Knock, an Eli Roth-directed shocker that just premiered to great reviews at Sundance. Roles in The Whole Truth, a legal thriller from Frozen River director Courtney Hunt, and a small screen lead as an assassin in new show Rain bode well.
Nicole Kidman
After escaping from the, admittedly small, shadow of being Tom Cruise's wife with excellent performances in Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, The Others and Dogville, things went a bit wrong for Nicole Kidman. Misjudged remakes The Stepford Wives, The Invasion and Bewitched, failed Oscarbait Australia, Fur and The Human Stain and last year's unintentional camp classic Grace of Monaco have all led to her no longer being the draw she once was. But things are on the up. She nabbed a villainous role in last year's critically adored Paddington and while her Sundance drama Strangerland might have met with middling reviews, a role as Gertrude Bell in Werner Herzog's Queen of the Desert might get her back in the Academy's good books. She'll also crop up alongside Jason Bateman in The Family Fang, the star-studded literary drama Genius with Colin Firth and Jude Law and promising Australian drama Lion.
Ryan Reynolds
With one of the more notorious losing streaks in Hollywood, Ryan Reynolds has made many a questionable choice since breaking out. He tried the superhero thing in the woeful Green Lantern, he attempted to show off his comedic chops, unsuccessfully, in The Change-Up and he even went down the "serious" route with Fireflies in the Garden and The Captive but failed miserably. This year could see things turn around for him. First up is a lead in the well-reviewed dark comedy The Voices, which sees him star alongside a talking cat and dog (but really) and then roles in Mississippi Grind, a drama from the Half Nelson team which just premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance, Selfless, a sci-fi thriller from visionary director Tarsem Singh, and a starring role in Woman in Gold, a holocaust drama with Helen Mirren.
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