Major Actors Who Have No Movies Or Shows In 2024

If you sit through the end credits of any movie, you'll see just how many people it takes to bring it from the storyboard to the big screen. While the recent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have brought to the forefront just how crucial everyone is to a film's production, there's no denying that the actors themselves are an important part of making any film or show a reality. Crucially, they are often the big draw that encourages audiences to spend their time or money on watching them. 

Hollywood's shining stars can't dazzle all the time, however, and there are many who currently don't have any projects scheduled for release in 2024. For some, their personal lives are taking precedence over movies for now, while for others it's simply time for a much-needed break after a busy year. Whatever the reason may be, we'll be taking a look at some of the biggest names in Hollywood who won't be seen on screen in 2024.

Few stars in Hollywood today are as recognizable to audiences as Leonardo DiCaprio. With a remarkable film career that began with an appearance in a not-so-memorable "Critters" sequel in 1991, DiCaprio quickly rose to career dominance before the end of the decade with "Romeo & Juliet" in 1996, and "Titanic" in 1997. Since the turn of the millennium, he's been working alongside some of the biggest names in the business — and under some of the most respected directors in the game — including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino. But despite this, it turns out that 2024 is looking decidedly quiet for the actor.

While a hiatus for DiCaprio might sound like big news, it turns out that taking a year or more off from acting isn't anything new for the actor. Following his Oscar-winning performance in 2015's "The Revenant," the actor took a four-year break before returning in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" alongside Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. That's not to say that DiCaprio doesn't have anything in the works, however. On the acting side, a trio of films seems to be on the docket for him, with a film adaptation of the novel "The Wager" and a biopic on the infamous cult leader Jim Jones among them, and there's plenty more in the works with DiCaprio as a producer.

Tom Cruise's 40-year-long career began with a supporting role in the romantic drama "Endless Love" back in 1981. He soon advanced to leading roles just a few years later, with a career-defining role in "Top Gun" arriving in 1985. Cruise has appeared in films nearly every year since, thanks in part to the hit action franchise "Mission Impossible," which put Cruise in the shoes of fictional spy Ethan Hunt.

In the competitive summer of 2023, the series continued with "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One," which saw Ethan Hunt once again teaming up with fellow Impossible Mission Force agents Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg). This time around, the crew set out to stop a dangerous and highly advanced artificial intelligence from falling into the hands of some of the most dangerous people on the planet. Despite not performing quite as well as anticipated at the box office — competing with both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" — "Dead Reckoning Part One" left audiences with an open ending that begged for a swift sequel. But as relayed by The Hollywood Reporter, production shut down while the cast and crew promoted "Dead Reckoning Part One," and the nearly four-month-long SAG-AFTRA strike delayed things further. This means we won't be seeing "Dead Reckoning Part Two" until 2025.

The first of two Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) stars without a big role on the horizon in 2024, Jeremy Renner is known for more than just playing the arrow-shooting Hawkeye on film and television. Among some of his most noteworthy performances were his roles in "The Hurt Locker" and Taylor Sheridan's crime drama "Wind River." More recently, he partnered up with Sheridan once again, taking on the role of Mike McLusky in the series "Mayor of Kingstown." With a flourishing career that's as strong as ever, it's worth looking at why he's set to hit the brakes on acting in 2024. 

Unfortunately, the reason for Renner's recent departure from performing is the result of an accident that could've had even more serious consequences. As reported by CNN, the "Avengers" star was involved in a serious accident after being crushed by a snowplow in January 2023. For a while, it looked like the injury could spell retirement for Renner. But thankfully, nearly an entire year after the accident, he looks to be on the road to recovery, with posts on his social media chronicling his progress. In another piece of good news, episodes of his series "Mayor of Kingstown" will likely begin filming in 2024 (per Deadline). With no release date yet for "Mayor of Kingstown" Season 3, it looks like fans will have to wait a while longer before seeing him return.

Johnny Depp made his film debut as the troubled teen Glen Lantz in the first "Nightmare on Elm Street" film. His acting career would flourish in the '90s, taking on starring roles in titles like "Edward Scissorhands," "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." In 2003, however, he landed perhaps his most iconic role, starring as the swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

While the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series proved immensely popular — and lucrative — for Depp, it all came crashing down shortly after the fifth entry, as serious allegations of domestic abuse were levied against the actor. In the immediate aftermath, Disney cut ties with Depp, axing him from any plans for a sixth installment in the franchise. While he continued to work on a number of smaller-scale film roles before and during the highly publicized and contentious trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, 2024 is set to be the first year in over a decade without an appearance in a new film or television project by Depp — at least, in front of the camera.

As reported by Variety, Depp is instead looking to return to directing, with a new project titled "Modi" focusing on the life of the late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. It's set to feature a mix of Italian and American stars, with Al Pacino joining Luisa Ranieri and Riccardo Scamarcio, who will play Modigliani.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

Though she started acting years earlier, it was the release of the action thriller "Speed" that made Sanda Bullock a recognizable name. Much like the bus in that movie, her career after that showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Over the years she went on to appear in and produce a number of films, before starring in the stunning sci-fi film "Gravity" opposite George Clooney. It was in Gravity that Bullock put her earning power on display, netting a cool $70 million in one of the highest-paid film roles of all time. More recently, she starred in the Netflix original film "Birdbox," which became something of an overnight sensation for the streaming giant.

It's perhaps thanks to those huge paychecks that Bullock revealed to Entertainment Tonight in 2022 that she would take a break from acting for the foreseeable future — though she stated that being with her family was the most important factor in her decision. Whether Bullock will make a return to Hollywood at some point in the future, or if she will choose to retire is still anyone's guess. Tragically, any plans she may have had to return have likely been put on hold following the passing of her partner Bryan Randall in August 2023.

With one of the most prolific careers on television among all of the performers we're looking at, Bill Hader has more than a few commendable films under his belt too. Like many great actors and comedians before him, regular appearances on "Saturday Night Live" for nearly a decade transformed Hader from an unknown to top talent. After largely moving on from the nighttime comedy series, Hader would star in films like "The Skeleton Twins" and the second installment of the recent "It" film adaptation, before landing the title role in the critically acclaimed dark comedy series "Barry."

With the conclusion of "Barry" after a four-season run over five years in Spring 2023, though, Hader is left without a regular television role for the first time in his career. But as part of what seems to be an emerging pattern among some of acting's top talent, he's publicly shared intentions to reposition himself when it comes to film and TV. In an interview with Hader published by The Hollywood Reporter shortly before the final episode of "Barry" aired, he signaled that the next move is likely shifting over to directing, but that he's also "learning to just remain open," meaning not even Hader knows what'll come next. Whatever it may be, it will certainly be something worth keeping your eyes open for. 

It's safe to say that prior to 2016, few audiences were familiar with the name Tom Holland. Though the then 20-year-old actor had appeared in a handful of noteworthy dramas, working alongside big names like Tom Hardy in "Locke" and Chris Hemsworth in "In The Heart of the Sea," they couldn't compare to what was to come. First appearing in a memorable reveal in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War," Holland's time as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man is undoubtedly a career-defining role and one that he's translated into further success across the landscape of film and television.

Among those more recent roles was Holland's first foray into a lead role on television, playing the character of Danny Sullivan in "The Crowded Room." Adapted from the pages of the non-fiction novel "The Minds of Billy Milligan," the series is a much darker story than what fans are used to seeing the "Spider-Man" star featured in, focusing on issues of mental health and a mystery surrounding a brutal crime. As a result of working with the difficult subject matter of "The Crowded Room," the English actor recently announced to ExtraTV that he'd put a pause on any future roles for now. How that break in performing will play into an unconfirmed but still probable fourth "Spider-Man" film, however, remains to be seen.

Entering the acting scene in the late '00s with a recurring role in the Australian soap "Neighbours," it wasn't until a breakout role in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" in 2013 that Margot Robbie became a rising star in the world of Hollywood. From there the roles started pouring in for the Aussie actress, and she has appeared in some of the past decade's most memorable films. Standout titles include "Suicide Squad" where she played the Joker's partner in crime Harley Quinn for the first time, Oscar-nominated performances in "I, Tonya" and "Bombshell," and a lead role in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

If anything, the 2020s are shaping up to be another excellent decade for the actress, who returned for James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad," before taking on a highly anticipated role in the box office juggernaut "Barbie." Now that the dust has settled over the viral "Barbenheimer" battle at the box office, it's only natural to wonder what's next on the horizon for Margot Robbie. Given just how much the SAG-AFTRA strike affected the world of Hollywood, it perhaps isn't that surprising that there's a whole lot of nothing on the horizon for Robbie — at least for 2024.

If we set our sights a bit further, there's another high-profile title in the works that will see her not only return to the silver screen in a big way but will also reunite her with "Barbie" costar Ryan Gosling. As covered by the Associated Press in October 2023, the two have been cast in an upcoming entry in the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise, set to be helmed by "Austin Powers" and "Bombshell" director Jay Roach.

Christian Bale was already on a path to success from a young age, starring in Steven Spielberg's wartime coming-of-age film "Empire of the Sun" at just 13 years old. And while he'd continue acting throughout the '90s, it wasn't until the turn of the millennium that he would again land a memorable lead role, this time as Patrick Bateman in the film adaptation of "American Psycho." The '00s would prove to be a particularly strong decade for Bale, who was cast in a role most actors can only dream of playing, taking on the title of the caped crusader for a trio of "Batman" films directed by Christopher Nolan.

Despite Bale's impressive movie career, the actor seems content to take on new work slowly, if at all. In a detailed interview with GQ back in 2022, the British actor revealed some similarities between himself and the other stars we've featured here. When asked if he was content not to work, Bale stated: "More than content: f***ing ecstatic. I've always been bent on 'When's this gonna end? This has to end.' I like doing things that have nothing to do with film. And I find myself very happily not playing dress-up, not pretending to be somebody else for long lengths of time." Despite his claims, we likely won't be saying goodbye to Bale forever, as he's reportedly been cast to star in an upcoming remake of the 1930s classic "Bride of Frankenstein."

A titan of the industry, George Clooney is another of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, commanding impressive salaries for equally impressive films. Among his most memorable are 1999's wartime comedy "Three Kings," several entries in the "Oceans Eleven" series, and the out-of-this-world "Gravity." But come 2024, there's little we can expect to see from Clooney. This is consistent with his reduced output in recent years which has seen him drifting away from acting and diversifying what he's doing with his career.

That doesn't mean he's walking away from Hollywood entirely of course, as evidenced by a soon-to-be-released period piece titled "The Boys in the Boats," which Clooney has directed. Additionally, it's been reported that Clooney will be teaming up with Brad Pitt in an upcoming thriller titled "Wolves," however in light of what was a tumultuous year, to say the least for film development, its release date is still murky.

As recognizable a name in 2023 as she was over a decade ago thanks to being cast in the lead role in "The Hunger Games" series, Jennifer Lawrence further established herself by playing Mystique in a trio of "X-Men" prequels. Her filmography isn't shoulder-to-shoulder popcorn movies, though, and any doubters of Lawrence's range need look no further than a film like 2017's disturbing and divisive "Mother!" for proof. She's also had less memorable yet still commendable performances in films such as the Bradley Cooper-led "Silver Linings Playbook," and the comedy "American Hustle," opposite Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner, and Bradley Cooper once again.

Unlike those who've declared they need some time away from acting in 2024, Jennifer Lawrence has pretty much been there and done that. After taking two years off from the field before returning in 2021, work has remained slow for the acclaimed actress. But her most recent title "No Hard Feelings" has reportedly convinced Lawrence to make a comeback, giving fans hope that they might get some news on exciting new roles in the next year and beyond.