There are some current actors which are still pretty successful in Hollywood due to one or two films and then doing tons of bad ones, even still getting leading roles. Here are the ones I can think of:

1. Kristina Lokan - Terminator 3. She's surprisingly still getting work after being in tons of B-movie/tv garbage such as Dark Kingdom, Bloodrayne, In the Name of the King, Painkiller Jane

2. Jason Statham - Snatch/Lockstock/Transporter. I like him and people like him, but I just don't understand why he's getting so many leading roles. His films are really bringing in dough, i guess?

3. Ray Liotta - coasting off Goodfellas and then a comback coaster after Narc

4. Sandra Bullock - coasting off a couple mid-90s flicks, but there is really no need for her anymore since we now have Michelle Monaghan.

5. Orlando Bloom - I think he may finally be disappearing from Hollywood as long as they don't make any more Lord of the Rings and Pirates films, which he was totally dull in. I personally loved him in Director's Cuts of Kingdom of Heaven/Troy. There really is no need for him in Hollywood though, he's been lucky.

6. Christina Ricci - coasting off her Addams Family flicks. I think she's such a bad adult actress and I don't understand why she's getting leads still, such as Speed Racer and Penelope.

7. Angelina Jolie - Why??? Is she coasting off her Oscar? I don't hate her, but I don't understand why she's getting so many roles. There are better looking/better actresses than her that should be getting her roles, such as Salma Hayak. In fact, Salma Hayak should be the lead in every female lead movie. Forget about Jolie, Hillary Swank, Meryl Streep - just replace them with Hayak.

8. Samuel L. Jackson - coasting off Pulp Fiction. I always thought of him as a great character actor, such as a Steve Buscemi. I think Jackson's best roles are the ones that he has a small role in, not headlining the film...

9. John Travolta - still coasting off Pulp Fiction

10. Hayden Christiansen - coasting off Star Wars. If he doesn't do more roles like Shattered Glass, he's gonna disappear soon.

11. Jack Black / Owen Wilson / Will Ferrell - these actors are so much better in small roles, but very annoying and exhausting to watch for an hour and a half straight.

12. Drew Barrymore - coasting off her late-90s romance flicks. I don't want to see her in a movie again, unless she's gonna be in the sequel - "Sister of the Elephant Man."

13. Cameron Diaz - coasting off There's something about Mary

Sharon Stone has been coasting off Basic Instinct ever since. All of the movies in which she's starred after that have bombed.

Stole my thunder...she is a great example.

'Casino' was a "bomb'?... that was her best work...

I can't really argue with any of those. The biggest offender, IMO is Chris Tucker. Between 1998 and 2007 he made Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3. Friday put him on the map, but he's definitely riding on Rush Hour.

No idea why Jason Statham is on there...

In a short time, he has amassed a nice portfolio of movies that would be awful but he carried them to being entertaining.

I actually thought she was good in these:

Buffalo 66
The Opposite of Sex
Monster
The Ice Storm
Black Snake Moan

Malcolm McDowell

Though I'd hardly say he's been coasting for 37 years.

But has he ever surpassed, or equaled, his performance in Clockwork Orange?


Anthony Perkins may be a similar case... plenty of work after Psycho, and some good stuff too, but really, he will always be Norman Bates.

I knew someone would mention that one.
Casino didn't really make a lot of money, only about $40 million theatrical.
And any success the movie did have had a hell of a lot more to do with Scorcese, DeNiro, and Pesci then with Stone, she wasn't the star of it.

Steve Carrell - The 40 year Old Virgin

Chris Tucker. Aside from Friday, he's been coasting on the success of the Rush Hour films for over a decade without doing a single thing else!

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4. Sandra Bullock - coasting off a couple mid-90s flicks, but there is really no need for her anymore since we now have Michelle Monaghan.
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But i don't have a michele monaghan and i really, really want one

adding the list though, i'd definitely put cuba gooding jr. at or near the top - nothing substanstial of note since jerry maguire.

Samuel L. Jackson may have done some shitty movies since Pulp Fiction, but I can't agree with saying he's "coasting" off the success of just that one movie.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is coasting off of his Jerry Maguire success.

Hayden Christensen was awesome in Jumper. Also good in Shattered Glass and Life As A House. No cruising there, he can act. He's actually lucky SW didn't ruin his career. Angelina Jolie was great in A Mighty Heart, barely recognizable. And there's not a whole lot of women that look better than her... (although her arms are getting a bit too skinny). Meryl Streep is an awesome actress. She has the acting chops.

In some respects... Bruce Willis - Die Hard, he beats that franchise to death and it sort of gives him a resurgence everytimes a new one comes out. His acting isn't exactly the greatest and other than Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense, much can be forgotten.

I disagree with you're entire list except for Kristanna Loken, Liotta and Hayden Christensen, but then what do you expect considering Loken had no dialogue and Hayden was in a Star Wars. I do agree with Cuba Gooding Jr, though.

Ricci was never a huge star, and is a pretty decent actress in most flicks I've seen her in.


he's hardly coasting though. I've enjoyed a good number of his departure-from-die hard flicks (16 Blocks, 5th Element, Hostage, Slevin, Sin City, Unbreakable, The Whole Nine Yards, etc; ) Die Hard is undoubtably his most memorable series, but hardly a coaster.

While it was an okay performance, her accent was horrible.

holy crap..

i just figured out Michelle Monaghan is that insanely beautiful girl from 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'...

yeah she's terrific...

I would venture to say that those films are very Die Hard-esque. They're not a far departure from the McClane character.

Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx.

Matthew McConaughey off A Time to Kill which wasn't all that successful to begin with

How dare you speak ill of Matthew McConaughey! Women want him and men want to be him!

I'm confused.

Is "coasting" when a talented actor begins to tune out and play the same "role" over and over for the paycheck?

Is "coasting" when an untalented actor manages to find success and proceeds to exploit that?

A combination of both?

I would not consider "coasting" when a talented actor works for a very long time, in many different roles, although ultimately his legacy for most will be remembered in one role. For example, McDowell, Perkins, in my opinion Liotta...Travolta (although will Travolta really be remembered for just Pulp Fiction)?

I also wouldn't assume an actor is "coasting" just because they have "nothing substantial of note" lately. (Cuba G Jr.)

coasting or not he's made some good decisions career wise post Ray/Collateral. Dreamgirls, Jarhead, and The Kingdom were pretty good. Stealth and Miami Vice notsomuch.