Everyone suffers a failure now and then. Celebrities are no different. Sometimes they make career-killing decisions that can end their celebrity. Sometimes they can overcome them.

Even Tom Hanks, the poster child for an abiding career, has experienced his duds.

“I know that I'll probably never do a movie as good or as accomplished or as celebrated as 'Forrest Gump,' " he says. “Just as I'll never do a movie as bad as 'Bonfire of the Vanities.' I've swung to both sides of the spectrum here.''

The same defense mechanism goes into effect, whether you've come up with treasure or trash, he says.

“With 'Forrest Gump,' it was great, it was fabulous. It lasted much longer than anybody thought and brought me a degree of attention that no human being on the face of the planet deserves. But thank goodness that's over with now. Oddly enough it'll live forever because of video and cable and also — in all honesty — the effect it had on people's lives. I'll be Forrest Gump for the rest of my life,” he admits.

“That's OK, that's a good thing. I'll also be to certain people Sherman McCoy (of “Bonfire'') for the rest of my life, too. It's an even trade-off. ... Any sort of achievement is something to get over, just as any sort of failure is something to get over.”

Hanks is currently starring in the feature “Here,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, who directed him in his evergreen “Forrest Gump.”

Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, who’s returning in the hilarious series “Bookie” Dec. 12 on Max, mourns when his comedy doesn’t always hit the mark.

“For me, it used to really bother me when I was younger on stage if I didn't do a joke and it didn't land,” he says.

“I really used to kind of marinate in that bombing a long time. But I think as you grow as a comedian, you kind of expect that some of the things that you say are not going to be as funny as others, and it's just kind of part of the process. It does hurt. It stings when you're doing it, I think. You're like, ‘Oh, wow. It's really painful to hear nothing!!’ But I think right after that, you have a joke that does well and maybe you forget about that. But there is a little bit of pining that goes on as you go home.”

John Lithgow, who’s costarring in Hulu’s “The Old Man” and the movie “Conclave,” says, “The only really stupid mistake I ever made, the only stupid choice I ever made as an actor, was in late 1979. I chose to do a little play off Broadway at the Public Theater written by a friend of mine instead of Pinter’s ‘Betrayal’ on Broadway,” he recalls.

“Joe Papp (the director of Public Theater) —darn him — he persuaded me: ‘You don’t want to do that English play. You should be doing new American writing.’ So I did this little play that was a total flop; lasted three weeks.

‘Betrayal’ was this huge hit. I was miserable. I only found out afterward that my agent, who helped persuade me to make this choice, also represented the director of this little play. I was like, how could I be so stupid?’

From there he trekked to L.A. where he met his future wife, Mary. “If I’d made the right choice I would’ve done ‘Betrayal’ for a year, I wouldn’t have these two wonderful children. I wouldn’t have this 43-year marriage. My whole life would be completely different, had I not made the one mistake that I made.”

Will Smith was lucky enough the star in three “Men in Black” movies. “I love having the franchise film. What a franchise film does is it lets you flop three or four in the middle,” he chuckles.

“And then you can go ahead back in and say, ‘You know, you try your artistic pieces, you do three or four of them,’ then you say, ‘No, I was just playing you. I was just playing. "Men in Black III” — I was JOKING.’"

Of course, sometimes when a movie fails, it can snarl an actor's career for years.

Sandra Bullock, whose last film was “The Lost City,” recalls the hazards of speeding in the sequel to the super successful “Speed.” “I don't make any choices because of a professional end result,” she says.

“I don't choose a type of film because I know it's a sure thing at the box office, OBVIOUSLY. There's a reason I had to go through 'Speed 2' and deal with what it was. There's a reason I had to do certain things. I would make 'Speed 2' again and deal with the failure again.''

After “Moment by Moment'' bombed, John Travolta's career faltered. “I'll tell you what happens,'' he says. “For about a month I was upset but then I got `Urban Cowboy' and forgot about it. It's not like we're all day preoccupied with it. We were like kids —a toy distracts you and then you're cool again.''

But Travolta's career wasn't to rally for 14 years until he played the slow-witted gangster in “Pulp Fiction,'' and he hasn't quit working since. His latest thriller, “Cash Out,” is streaming on Prime Video, YouTube and Apple TV+.

Billy Crystal, who’s starring in the AppleTV+ thriller “Before,” remembers when his “Mr. Saturday Night'' bombed big time. “Emotionally that was lowest period I've ever had,'' he says. “You say you're gonna quit. You say, 'I'm gonna go off to Provence and write a book.' And then you go, 'About what? I love the food, but after while, what am I doing?'''

Crystal not only starred in that movie, but he directed and was more than usually responsible for the outcome. “As exhausted as I was, from everything I'd done -- directing it, makeup and pouring my heart into my first movie like that, I was very low and very angry and very confused about what does an audience want?''

Sylvester Stallone who’s starring as the demoted don in “Tulsa King” on Paramount+, says, “The only movie I really despise is ‘Stop: Or My Mom will Shoot !’ “It makes me nauseous. It’s like that scene in ‘Clockwork Orange’ when he's exploding. ... It's like you're an airplane pilot and you're a passenger and the plane's going down in flames, like — ‘Knock, knock, can I be of some help in there? Naw, I’ll just sit back and watch this crash.’”

Soap celebrates a landmark event

On Monday (Dec. 2) the soap “Days of our Lives” hit its 15,000th episode and still is not on life support. Now the exclusive property of Peacock, the show has earned 62 Emmy Awards and 392 nominations, including Dick Van Dyke’s win for his guest-star appearance on the series.

Deidre Hall, who has played Marlena Evens on and off for years, says when she returned to the show it brought her a new awareness. “As an actor when we get a script, we have to look at it and break it down and dig deeply to see how we would feel if this happened to us,” she says. “Doing it in daytime means you do it every day with very real emotions.

“I realized I had (to portray) how I would feel if I came home and everybody else had moved on without me. A lot of things I knew were true — and I trusted in my life — had changed. And I began to feel more awake emotionally in my OWN life. I had this flood of appreciation for my family and my friends. Just to realize — people have stood by me for a long, long time. And that is often taken for granted. But it's a nice reminder.''

Detective returns for 6 more episodes

Detective Adam Dalgliesh has returned to Acorn TV for six more episodes. The British series, starring Bertie Carvel (“The Crown”), enters its third season, which will see the indefatigable Dalgliesh solve three cases. The role of the famous P.D. James character has been played by some of England’s top actors including Martin Shaw, Robin Ellis, and the wonderful Roy Marsden.

Carvel thinks that we all have the propensity for acting. “Acting comes naturally to everyone and most of us forget,” he says.

“Kids can do it, and a lot of people sort of lose their knack, and I’m at my happiest really in my imagination. I love it. I think I'm good at it, it’s nice to do things you're good at.

“I wasn’t one of those people who always thought they’d be an actor. I did do acting at school. And I would’ve said to you I’d basically never acted until I went to acting school at university, but the truth is that all through my teenage years I used to go role-playing, which is kind of fun. It’s acting with no audience: You make up characters and tell stories for the sake of your own fun, a bit like kids do when they dress up. So that’s the best acting training you could’ve had. When I got involved kind of by accident when I was at university, I got involved in a play, and it just was like coming home. It comes very easy.”

Rachael Ray heats up the kitchen

No doubt about it, Rachael Ray loves to cook. And she’s back slaving over a hot stove for the yuletide season in her new “Rachael Ray’s Holidays” beginning Dec. 8 on A&E. While it’s too late to save your Thanksgiving turkey, Ray is on duty for your gingerbread house, eggnog and Christmas cookies. From sausage stuffing to chorizo chili to succulent prime rib, Ray will cover them all and try to keep SOS out of your kitchen.

“Cooking and entertaining are both central parts of my life, but around the holidays it takes on an especially significant role for myself, my family and many others” says Ray.

“It’s a time where we all gather to celebrate, and the joy of food and cooking is so unifying, so I’m especially excited to invite audiences into my home to share the familial traditions and recipes that make this time so meaningful.”

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