Now that we've dispensed with the end-of-year roundup madness, it's time to start looking forward (truly there is no rest for the wicked).

Given that 2011 was an oddly trendless year in film (unless you accept "Dads in emotional anguish" - Take Shelter, Burning Man, Crazy Stupid Love, The Tree Of Life - and "precursors to The Avengers" as definable 'trends'), instead of talking genre for the year in front of us, I thought I'd take a sort of 'reverse yearbook' approach and look at it from an actorly perspective.

To wit, ONWARD. Let's tally the players. 

HOMECOMING QUEEN: CHARLIZE THERON

Kicking off her 2012 in style with a bracing performance in Jason Reitman's otherwise middling Young Adult, Theron looks set to have a banner year. Oddly, despite a terrific body of work stretching all the way back to The Devil's Advocate and That Thing You Do, and that Oscar for Monster, there still seems to be a school of thought that fails to see Theron as possessing any serious acting muscle. That is, of course, ridiculous - she's a subtle comedian and has a compelling dramatic stillness - but with Prometheus and Snow White & The Huntsman on the cards for the 2012 summer season, hopefully this year will be her big one.

HOMECOMING KING: MICHAEL FASSBENDER

Fassy and his shark teeth were everywhere in 2011, a busy year that dovetails nicely into his breaking out the awards season big guns in 2012. With Steve McQueen's Shame and David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method on his dance card, plus (like Theron) a gig in Ridley Scott's Prometheus, this year should see him jump from talented supporting player to leading man. Fun Fact: he'll be playing David, an android, in Prometheus, following in the footsteps of Ian Holm and Lance Henriksen; time and the quality of the script will tell whether, like his robot predecessors, he'll end up either knighted or languishing in sci-fi hell. Even Funner Fact: he's based his characterisation on Olympic diver Greg Louganis. Of course!

DARK HORSE: TOM HIDDLESTON

Having made his mark by injecting Thor's Loki with perhaps more Shakespearean pathos than was necessary for the film's frat/fanboy audience, the British theatre actor's 2012 has "blockbuster" written all over it: he's begun the new year with his fine work in War Horse and Midnight In Paris, and in summer will provide necessary frighteners when he revises Loki (with a seriously Timotei haircut) in the wildly-anticipated The Avengers. Unlike some of his costars, however, it doesn't look as though he'll be stuck in megaplex purgatory for good: he'll be all over the BBC's new telemovie production of Henry V, as the eponymous king.

TAKE A HOLIDAY, PLEASE: CAMERON DIAZ

Between the disappointing Bad Teacher (for all its faults, Young Adult did the whole 'female antihero' thing better) and the upcoming and truly horrible-looking What To Expect When You're Expecting, Cameron Diaz - or her agent - seems to have forgotten that she is, in fact, a winning screwball comedian and has instead pursued the dumbest, lowest-common-denominator roles available. You're 39, Cammy, take a load off and start exploring some different dynamics.

MAKE A STONER BUDDY FLICK, PLEASE: JENNIFER ANISTON

Having settled into a groove after jettisoning her early career's earnest "next Julia Roberts" vibe, 'Poor Jen' has unveiled considerable chops as a hangdog R-rated comedy star. Her scenes with Charlie Day were the best thing about last year's Horrible Bosses, Just Go With It was only watchable due to her easy charm, and this year's Wanderlust with Paul Rudd looks like a hoot. Next step: true stoner comedy supremacy. NB this may just be because I want to pack bowls and make burritos with her, mind.

MAKE MORE MOVIES IN GENERAL: MARTIN STARR

Listen, I got nuthin for ya: he's in a bunch of things coming out that have no Wikipedia pages (though rumours of a Party Down movie still abound). Martin, let's change this state of affairs.

Okay, now it's your turn: who do you want to see more of, or less of, more or less?