I feel like Reddit tends to misunderstand movie stars. People are too inclined to get sucked into the drama and the media presentation.

Costner has had a few things going for him in his career, of which his acting ability has been probably the least important. First, he's a naturally athletic person, which has brought him a lot of roles. He can ride horses, swim, play sports, etc. That's something that has worked for him in everything from Dancing with Wolves to The Bodyguard, from The Postman to Waterworld, not to mention all of his sports films. Actually, that has been a huge aspect of his career. I would compare him to Tom Cruise in that respect. Actors who can actually do physical things on camera have a very different role in Hollywood, and they are not very common. Even something like believably pitching a baseball is not something that just anyone can do.

Second, he can play an Everyman character, especially in historical dramas. And that leads to the third aspect of his career, which is his involvement in political dramas. On the negative side, he's not great with accents, and he doesn't have a huge range. He's been good at playing the Midwestern stoic — usually restricted in emotional range, until a sudden break occurs.

IMO, at his stage in his career, the issue is that the first factor is no longer able to bring in a lot of roles. Basically, he kind of is forced into the role of a classically American patrician.

Nic Cage is a completely different kind of actor. From his earliest days, he cultivated this kind of zany, slightly incredulous Elvis persona. He's chatty, not athletic. He's Southern rather than Midwestern. He's emotive, not stoic. He gets put into ridiculous situations, and he can't believe this is what's going on. But because he can carry on in those situations with humor and charisma, he sells the audience on one ridiculous or outrageous premise after another.

The thing that most people don't seem to appreciate about actors is that they are in a profession characterized by inconstant, unpredictable work. They have limited control over the end product. And there's not a whole lot of difference between being typecast and establishing a niche in the industry. So either of them could be attached to a money-making, popular movie, if a writer, director, and movie studio were able to put them in the right context at the right time.

For instance, although Man of Steel gets a mixed reception on Reddit, Costner's role in that movie was perfect for him — a Midwestern American stoic who carries the implication of having been someone physically formidable and hence someone Clark Kent could view as a role model. But do people really get excited to see a movie about an older white racist becoming slightly less racist, or whatever? To a large extent, our tastes limit the range and number of viable roles for older actors and actresses.