Unemployment of fading or washed-up actors

You know that saying "When you're hot, you're hot, when you're not, you're not?" Well, the industry has that mentality too when it comes to employing actors and actresses based on their relevance, and then eventually forgetting about them once they have had their big break, thus leading to them getting fewer, minimal, or even no parts at all, just so the industry can cast more popular ones and forget about the other ones.

This has always been a problem in the industry, as actors who were once popular or beloved at the time eventually faded into obscurity with them getting only fewer parts than usual, or only got supporting or minor roles in movies or even TV series (usually in mentor-like roles to the main character), and were replaced by the more relevant actors, however, some of the fading ones still showed up every now and then, but not as often as they used to. However, it got even worse in the mid-2010s, where mostly every well-known actor who frequently (or sometimes) appeared up until then nearly were forgotten about by the industry completely, just so the industry could employ the more popular ones like Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Gal Gadot, Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Jason Statham, Idris Elba etc., leaving some of the ones who were already popular in previous decades like Denzel Washington, Jim Carrey, Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Garner etc. to eventually fade away and be forgotten about as a result, just to pander to younger audiences nowadays, simply because the industry seems to think that younger audiences now won't care about actors from their parents' younger days like Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers or Steve Buscemi even if this was proven otherwise.

Now the reasoning for why many actors fade away can be justifiable enough: maybe it's due to old age, maybe audiences lost interest in the actor (or even the opposite, maybe the actor just wasn't interesting to audiences or maybe they weren't profitable enough), maybe the actor was even a heinous/toxic/egotistical or at least controversial person who actually bullied other people and hurt them or similarly, maybe the actor was in movies that were either box office flops or were universally hated therefore giving them a negative reputation, or maybe they were typecast too often in the same role or genre. However, other times it is proven that the actor was simply selfishly forgotten about by the industry and were "thrown under the bus" just because another actor became popular unexpectedly and got more parts than the other actor, even if said actor was already popular in the past, which is already bad, but even worse if the actor was an overlooked B-list or C-list actor (but still had a sizable fanbase) or even a child actor.

Examples of once popular or beloved but now washed-up or fading actors

 * Denzel Washington: Despite being a big star and box office powerhouse in the 1990s, the 2000s, and the early 2010s, he seems to have veered into this territory from 2014 onwards, and especially from 2018 onwards, as well. Despite this, however, he still remains popular amongst moviegoers and moderately successful, though he has faded almost into obscurity at this point.
 * Jack Nicholson: He hasn't been seen in a movie since the Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd-led romantic comedy How Do You Know, released way back in 2010!
 * Russell Crowe: Seems to have been forgotten about during the 2010s, though he did appear in the 2016 action buddy comedy The Nice Guys alongside Ryan Gosling.
 * Hugh Jackman: While he is still very popular, after 2017's Logan and The Greatest Showman, he might have possibly entered this territory due to being surprisingly overlooked in the industry.
 * Jet Li: Despite being a huge action star in the late '90s and through the 2000s, he faded into obscurity in the 2010s.
 * Adam Sandler: Both his infamous films Jack and Jill and That's My Boy seemed to be the end of the line for him, with him and his production company making movies for Netflix now.
 * Jessica Alba: Was perhaps forgotten about during the 2010s, although she may just be overlooked in spite of being very famous.
 * James Franco: After around 2014-2015, he has been appearing less, and it was made worse by the sexual assault allegations against him.
 * Ben Stiller: After 2016's Zoolander No. 2 flopped miserably, he seems to mostly have moved on from appearing in films and instead producing them.
 * Rob Schneider: Has rarely been seen since 2010's Grown Ups.
 * Will Smith: Most of his films from 2013 onwards were either box office flops, universally hated, or at least were divisive at best - the only possible exceptions being Spies in Disguise, Bad Boys For Life, and King Richard, so he's become one of the industry's laughing stocks. Despite this, he is still popular, though.
 * Tom Cruise: Has faded into this territory after 2014's Edge of Tomorrow, eventually becoming another one of the industry's laughing stocks. Despite this, he is still popular.
 * Jason Segel: Has rarely been seen since 2014's Sex Tape.
 * Owen Wilson: Has faded into this territory in recent years, and hadn't even appeared in anything in between 2017 to 2021.
 * Natalie Portman: After winning both a Golden Globe and Oscar for her performance in Black Swan, she's mostly just appeared in indie/arthouse films, but with the occassional exception.
 * Antonio Banderas: While he might just be overlooked despite being very popular, Banderas seems to have veered into this territory in the 2010s.
 * Bruce Willis: Is nowadays only known for (mostly) appearing in shoddy direct-to-video action films.
 * Sharon Stone: The industry seemed to stop caring about her as the 2010s came to a start. Her reportedly stubborn attitude (e.g. using a film production's credit card to shop for expensive personal items) might have had something to do with it.
 * Julia Roberts: Despite being a big star in the 1990s and 2000s, she eventually faded into obscurity during the 2010s.
 * Luke Wilson: Has faded into obscurity.
 * Jim Carrey: Hasn't been seen in much after 2013.
 * Carla Gugino: While she was already overlooked in the industry, during the 1990s to the 2000s to the early 2010s she seemed to have a potentially promising career by appearing in films such as Son-in-Law, the first three Spy Kids films, Sin City, Night at the Museum, American Gangster, Race To Witch Mountain, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and Mr. Popper's Penguins, however, sadly for her, most of the films she appeared in were either flops and/or had a mixed or negative reception (with a few exceptions, like Spy Kids, American Gangster or Watchmen). Ever since 2012, she's mainly appeared in indie or arthouse stuff, but has starred in the occassional bigger budget film like 2015's San Andreas (which didn't bode well), 2017's The Space Between Us and Gerald's Game, and 2021's Gunpowder Milkshake. Thankfully, Mike Flanagan is giving her potential to shine with his Netflix projects such as the aforementioned Gerald's Game as well as the miniseries The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, but since she isn't as famous, that still isn't enough.
 * Martin Lawrence: Ever since the failure of 2011's Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son, Martin Lawrence didn't appear in another big budget film for nine years until 2020's Bad Boys For Life, but still hasn't really been seen since then.
 * Jackie Chan: Primarily does dubbing work these days.
 * Val Kilmer
 * Christian Bale
 * Glenn Close
 * Michael Douglas
 * Lindsay Lohan
 * Tobey Maguire: Has been producing more films than actually starring in them.
 * Christian Slater: His career took a downturn when he got into legal trouble.
 * Mel Gibson: His career took a downturn after his infamous drunken phone call.
 * Kevin Costner
 * Robin Wright: For the longest time, the only mainstream movies she was known for were Message in a Bottle, Forrest Gump, and The Princess Bride. While one could argue that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Wonder Woman resurged her career, that was already past the point of her leading role prime.
 * Michelle Pfeiffer
 * James Caan
 * Robert Redford (who eventually retired, so he does not really count)
 * Elijah Wood: Though he just may be very overlooked despite being very famous.
 * Mike Myers
 * John Travolta
 * Eddie Murphy
 * Cameron Diaz: Before she retired in 2014, she had been starring in many critical and commercial flops with only her appearances in the Shrek movies keeping her career afloat. (Though she does not really count now since she's retired)
 * Alexa PenaVega: Although she made her big break appearing in the first three Spy Kids films, Sleepover and Repo! The Genetic Opera in the 2000s, she was forgotten about in the 2010s, though it's possible that she's just overlooked.
 * Daryl Sabara: Like his Spy Kids co-star and onscreen older sister Alexa PenaVega, although he made his big break in the 2000s appearing in films such as the first three Spy Kids films, The Polar Express and World's Greatest Dad, come the 2010s he seems to have been forgotten about, primarily doing voice work nowadays, though he just may be overlooked. Nowadays he's just known as the guy who married Meghan Trainor, unless you're familiar with his work in Spy Kids.
 * Vince Vaughn: Has faded into obscurity by this point, only appearing in supporting roles nowadays.
 * Elizabeth Berkley: Was forgotten about come the 2010s.
 * Steve Carell: After he left the US remake of The Office towards the end of it's seventh season, he sadly started fading away from the industry to considerably reflect this, mostly appearing in indie or arthouse films nowadays, though he was in the occasional bigger budget film like 2013's Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, 2014's Foxcatcher, or 2017's Battle of the Sexes, for example.
 * Jenna Fischer: Was forgotten about once The Office ended.
 * Rainn Wilson: Was forgotten about once The Office ended.
 * B.J. Novak: Was forgotten about once The Office ended.
 * Jesse Eisenberg: After The Social Network and the Rio movies, he's been largely forgotten about.
 * David Koechner: Faded into obscurity around the mid-2010s.
 * Will Ferrell: He eventually fell into this territory as of 2015, by mostly appearing in comedies that were either negatively received or were flops, though it seems that his career had bitten the dust due to the brutal failure of 2018's Holmes and Watson. Thankfully he was in 2019's The Lego Movie: The Second Part and 2020's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which were positively received by both audiences and critics, but still, even those weren't enough to save his career.
 * Chevy Chase: Thanks to his arrogant nature, he faded into obscurity come the mid-2000s, and especially in the 2010s.
 * Anne Hathaway: After 2012, she was largely forgotten about.
 * Jack Black: Was forgotten about during the 2010s, only getting supporting roles nowadays, though he will be getting another moment in the spotlight as Bowser in the upcoming Mario Movie.

More to be added.