It’s always exciting to see Hollywood actors make major comebacks after a long time away from the spotlight. In some cases, actors have taken a step back intentionally, and in other instances, it’s forced upon them due to a string of commercial failures, but no matter the circumstances, a career comeback reminds viewers what was great about the performer in the first place. Whether it’s silent-era starlets reviving their careers in the age of sound or modern movie stars overcoming personal problems to lead multi-billion dollar franchises, a Hollywood comeback represents the very best of Tinseltown.
Some of the best actors working today had major career setbacks that led to them shying away from the spotlight only to make a grand return several years later. Occasionally, these comebacks were so impressive that the actors gained widespread accolades and Academy Awards for their achievements. Witnessing a movie star reclaim their past glory like a phoenix rising from the ashes and coming back anew always feels like the culmination of an extraordinary underdog story.
10 Mickey Rourke
Comeback film: The Wrestler (2008)
Mickey Rourke began his acting career during the 1970s in lesser-known television films before gaining a small role in Steven Spielberg’s 1941 in 1979. Following this early big break, he worked with acclaimed directors throughout the 1980s, such as Francis Ford Coppola in Rumble Fish, and had an acclaimed performance in the Charles Bukowski biopic Barfly in 1987. However, a string of commercial failures led him to give up acting to become a professional boxer, and, despite some small supporting roles after he retired from the sport in 1994, he remained outside of mainstream cinema.
Rourke then gained recognition in 2005 for his role as Marv in Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City, but it was not until 2008 that he had a major comeback with The Wrestler. The role of the washed-up wrestler Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson felt like the part Rourke was born to play, and he gained widespread acclaim and even an Oscar nomination for his performance. As an inspirational sports drama, The Wrestler opened Rourke up to more dramatic roles as a leading man, and he’s continued to work consistently to this day.
The Wrestler 1
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Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is a 2008 drama that centers around Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a pro wrestler who tries to get his life together while reliving his glory days on the ring. Marisa Tomei co-stars as stripper Cassidy with Evan Rachel Wood as Randy’s estranged daughter Stephanie.
Director Darren Aronofsky Release Date December 17, 2008 Studio(s) Searchlight Pictures Distributor(s) Searchlight Pictures Writers Robert Siegel Cast Evan Rachel Wood , Mark Margolis , Marisa Tomei , Todd Barry , Mickey Rourke Runtime 109 minutes Budget $6 million Expand
9 Michael Keaton
Comeback film: Birdman (2014)
As one of the biggest stars working today, it’s surprising to think just how much Michael Keaton had fallen out of the spotlight before he made a big comeback in 2014 with his Oscar-winning performance in Birdman. Although Keaton got his start in the 1980s with comedies like Mr. Mom and Beetlejuice, and by the 1990s, he had become a household name for playing Batman, his star truly began to fade through the 2000s. While Keaton never stopped acting, his roles became much less relevant as movies like Quicksand and Post Grad failed to make much of an impact.
This all changed with the release of Birdman, a dark comedy about a washed-up Hollywood actor best known for playing a superhero trying to stage a comeback on Broadway. This role was perfect for Keaton, as it truly mimicked his own career and was a powerful showcase of everything that was great and underappreciated about his talents. Following the success of Birdman, Keaton was back on top in Hollywood and has maintained his appeal ever since with films like Spotlight and the recent sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 3
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Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman is a dark comedy drama that stars Michael Keaton as washed-up actor Riggan Thomson, who’s famous for playing a bird-themed superhero and who attempts to stage a comeback by directing and starring in a Broadway play. Shot as one single long take and with Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Stone in its cast, the 2014 film won four Oscars, including Best Picture.
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu Release Date October 17, 2014 Studio(s) Searchlight Pictures Distributor(s) Searchlight Pictures Writers Alejandro González Iñárritu , Nicolás Giacobone , Alexander Dinelaris , Armando Bo Cast Andrea Riseborough , Naomi Watts , Emma Stone , Edward Norton , Zach Galifianakis , Michael Keaton , Amy Ryan Runtime 120 Minutes Budget $16.5–18 million Expand
8 Ke Huy Quan
Comeback film: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Known for his work as a child in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, Ke Huy Quan was considered a figure of the 1980s for the longest time. Quan became a child actor at just 13 years old when he portrayed Short Round, the young sidekick of Indiana Jones, and was the insightful inventor Richard “Data” Wang of the Goonie gang who, along with his friends, pursued the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy. While Quan had some small roles in the 1990s, his American film career ended in 1992 with Encino Man.
Related Ke Huy Quan: Net Worth, Age, Height & Everything You Need To Know
The Everything Everywhere All at Once actor is having a huge career resurgence, but following a hiatus, Ke Huy Quan’s net worth comes as a surprise.
Quan then went on an extended acting hiatus and worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director until he returned for a role in the family adventure Finding ʻOhana in 2021. However, Quan’s real comeback came the following year with the release of the critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once. Not only did this incredible performance get Quan back into the public consciousness, but it also won him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Everything Everywhere All at Once 4
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In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
Director Daniel Kwan , Daniel Scheinert Release Date March 25, 2022 Writers Daniel Scheinert , Daniel Kwan Cast Jenny Slate , Ke Huy Quan , Stephanie Hsu , Harry Shum Jr. , Jamie Lee Curtis , James Hong , Michelle Yeoh Runtime 132 minutes Budget 14.3–25 million Expand
7 John Travolta
Comeback film: Pulp Fiction (1994)
With roles in Carrie, Grease, and Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta was truly an icon of the 1970s and one of the decade’s biggest stars. Although he achieved major success early in his career, Travolta’s star began to falter throughout the 1980s as he suffered box office disappointments such as Brian de Palma’s Blow Out and his Olivia Newton-John reunion rom-com Two of a Kind was a disappointment. By the 1990s, Travolta felt like a relic of the past, doomed to a career categorized by increasingly lackluster roles.
This gangster role cast Travolta against type and was truly a move of genius that showcased his untapped talents.
That was until Quentin Tarantino cast Travolta as Vincent Vega in his megahit and cinematic classic Pulp Fiction. This gangster role cast Travolta against type and was truly a move of genius that showcased his untapped talents. With this late-career success, Travolta got a second wind as he starred in action movies like Face/Off and has remained an important figure in Hollywood.
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Quentin Tarantino’s classic tale of violence and redemption follows the intertwining tales of three protagonists: hitman Vincent Vega, prizefighter Butch Coolidge, and Vincent’s business partner Jules Winnfield.
Director Quentin Tarantino Release Date October 14, 1994 Studio(s) A Band Apart , Jersey Films Distributor(s) Miramax Films Writers Quentin Tarantino Cast John Travolta , Bruce Willis , Ving Rhames , Samuel L. Jackson , Uma Thurman , Christopher Walken , Tim Roth , Harvey Keitel , Eric Stoltz , Rosanna Arquette Runtime 154 minutes Budget $8–8.5 million Main Genre Crime Expand
6 Joe Pesci
Comeback film: The Irishman (2019)
The Academy Award-winning actor Joe Pesci has had an extraordinary career and, in recent years, has embraced being out of the spotlight entirely. With acclaimed collaborations with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro in movies like Raging Bull, Casino, and Goodfellas, these performances alone were enough to make him a true icon of modern cinema. Adding the first two Home Alone movies to his impressive resume, Pesci stood as an actor beloved across all ages and generations for his impressive screen charisma and powerful comedic timing.
Joe Pesci was offered his role a reported 50 times before agreeing to take part, at first saying he did not want to do ”
the gangster thing again
,” while Scorsese tried to persuade him The Irishman would be ”
different
,” (via
The Director’s Cut
.)
Pesci decided to retire from acting in 1999, and despite some small performances, he has enjoyed a life away from the camera. That was until he made a grand return in 2019 in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. This Netflix movie was an extraordinary achievement, as it not only featured Scorsese and De Niro collaborating with Al Pacino for the first time but also signaled Pesci’s long-awaited return to the screen. Pesci was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the mobster Russell Bufalino, a part that proved his time away had not diminished his talents one bit.
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Based on the nonfiction book “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt, The Irishman follows Frank Sheeran and his time working for the Italian mafia. In recounting his past, the mob hitman recalls his possible involvement with the slaying of Jimmy Hoffa.
Director Martin Scorsese Release Date November 27, 2019 Studio(s) Netflix Distributor(s) Netflix Writers Steven Zaillian Cast Bobby Cannavale , Jack Huston , Joe Pesci , Jesse Plemons , Sebastian Maniscalco , Al Pacino , Kathrine Narducci , Stephen Graham , Ray Romano , Aleksa Palladino , Anna Paquin , Robert De Niro , Harvey Keitel , Jake Hoffman Runtime 210 minutes Budget $200 million Expand
5 Gloria Swanson
Comeback film: Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The three-time Academy Award nominee Gloria Swanson was a Hollywood starlet during the silent era in the 1920s. With roles in six films by directing legend Cecil B. DeMille in movies like Male and Female as well as romantic classics such as Zaza from 1923, Swanson was one of the biggest stars of her era. Swanson’s role in Sadie Thompson from 1928 as a fallen woman who moved to Pago Pago to start a new life was a trailblazing representation of female autonomy made right as Hollywood transitioned into the brave new work of sound pictures.
Sunset Boulevard
captured the sad lost potential of Swanson’s career as she imbued her character with all the highs and lows of her professional life.
Swanson’s career began to falter as sound movies became more common, and the 1930s and 1940s were not very prolific for her. However, this would all change when Swanson’s career was revived after her role in Billy Wilder’s classic Sunset Boulevard, where she played Norma Desmond, a deluded former silent movie star. Sunset Boulevard captured the sad lost potential of Swanson’s career as she imbued her character with all the highs and lows of her professional life into a truly powerful, memorable, and now iconic comeback.
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ApprovedFilm NoirDrama
Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, follows the story of a struggling screenwriter who becomes entangled with a faded silent film star yearning for a comeback. Starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson, the film explores themes of fame and delusion within Hollywood’s golden age. Released in 1950, the movie is notable for its critical examination of the film industry and its dark, dramatic narrative.
Director Billy Wilder Release Date August 10, 1950 Writers Charles Brackett , Billy Wilder , D.M. Marshman Jr. Cast William Holden , Gloria Swanson , Erich von Stroheim , Nancy Olson , Fred Clark , Lloyd Gough , Jack Webb , Franklyn Farnum Character(s) Joe Gillis , Norma Desmond , Max Von Mayerling , Betty Schaefer , Sheldrake , Morino , Artie Green , Undertaker Runtime 110 Minutes Main Genre Film Noir Expand
4 Renée Zellweger
Comeback film: Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016)
With an extraordinary career beginning with several iconic 1990s movies, some viewers may have even forgotten that Renée Zellweger was even in Dazed and Confused. From cult classics like Empire Records to beloved favorites such as Jerry Maguire, Zellweger really became a household name following the release of Bridget Jones’s Diary, where she proved her comedic talents and her impeccable British accent despite hailing from Texas. While Zellweger even gained an Academy Award in 2003 for her role in Cold Mountain, a career turndown led to her taking an extended hiatus from acting in 2010.
Zellweger later said she needed to take this time off “to grow” (via Hollywood Reporter) because she was fatigued from consistently taking up new projects with no time in between. The break did Zellweger good, as her career came back with a bang and reprised her most famous role in Bridget Jones’s Baby in 2016 to great acclaim. Zellweger would solidify her comeback with an Oscar-winning performance as Judy Garland in the 2019 biopic Judy, making her a two-time Oscar-winning performer.
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The third film in the Bridget Jones franchise, Bridget Jones’s Baby stars Renee Zellweger returning to her role as Bridget Jones, who after finding out she is unexpectedly pregnant, must determine which one of her two recent flings the baby’s father is and attempt to decide who she wants to help her raise the child when it’s born. Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey, Jim Broadbent, and Emma Thompson also star.
Director Sharon Maguire Release Date September 16, 2016 Studio(s) Universal Pictures , StudioCanal Distributor(s) Universal Pictures , StudioCanal Writers Helen Fielding , Emma Thompson , Dan Mazer Cast Renée Zellweger , Ben Willbond , Gemma Jones , Shirley Henderson , Colin Firth , Julian Rhind-Tutt , Jim Broadbent , Patrick Dempsey , Sally Phillips Runtime 123 Minutes Budget $35 million Main Genre Romance Expand
3 Brendan Fraser
Comeback film: The Whale (2022)
Following his breakout performance in Encino Man, Brendan Fraser quickly became a mainstay of Hollywood in the 1990s and soon earned a reputation as a charming and bankable leading man. With beloved roles in George of the Jungle and The Mummy series, it seemed Fraser could do no wrong, and he stood toe-to-toe with 1990s stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith. However, unlike those other performers, Fraser’s star began to fade as poor box office numbers, health issues, and personal problems led to a major career downturn.
For many years, Fraser’s story was a cautionary tale about Hollywood’s heartless ability to cast talented performers aside as he became increasingly irrelevant during the 2000s and 2010s. Despite these challenges, his fans never forgot about him, and Fraser’s transformative comeback in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, where he played a morbidly obese man, was an extraordinary revival. Not only did Fraser prove himself an engaging leading man once again with The Whale, but he also gained an Oscar for Best Actor, signaling he’s well and truly back.
The Whale 1
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Directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Whale is based on a 2012 stage play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter. The film star Brenden Fraser as Charlie, a reclusive and obese English teacher who, faced with his own mortality and guilt-ridden over his past, attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie, played by Sadie Sink. The film was part of Fraser’s comeback to acting and earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Director Darren Aronofsky Release Date December 9, 2022 Studio(s) A24 Distributor(s) A24 Writers Samuel D. Hunter Cast Brendan Fraser , Sadie Sink , Hong Chau , Samantha Morton , Ty Simpkins Runtime 117 minutes Budget 3 million Expand
2 Robert Downey Jr.
Comeback film: Iron Man (2008)
The career comeback of Robert Downey Jr. may just be one of the most impressive Hollywood stories out there. While Downey gained recognition throughout the 1980s as a member of the Brat Pack in films like Weird Science and Less Than Zero and even gained an Academy Award nomination for the biopic Chaplin in 1992, drug and alcohol problems led to serious career troubles in the late 1990s. These issues reached a head when Downey was sentenced to the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison (via Hollywood Reporter) and spent six months in jail due to cocaine-related charges.
With a notorious reputation, it seemed like Downey’s career was dead in the water, but over the next few years, he maintained his sobriety, and it seemed Hollywood was ready to take a chance on him once again. This led to two acclaimed performances in 2008 in Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Not only did Iron Man revive Downey’s career, but it also kick-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a multi-billion dollar franchise and one of the most successful series of all time.
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PG-13 Sci-FiActionAdventure Where to Watch
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Iron Man is the first film in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, who becomes Iron Man after he is kidnapped and discovers terrorists are using weapons developed by Stark Industries. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Tony’s love interest Pepper Potts alongside Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and Jeff Bridges as the villainous Obadiah Stane.
Director Jon Favreau Release Date May 2, 2008 Studio(s) Marvel Studios Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures Writers Matt Holloway , Art Marcum , Hawk Ostby , Mark Fergus Cast Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Bridges , Gwyneth Paltrow , Terrence Howard , Leslie Bibb , Shaun Toub , Clark Gregg , Paul Bettany Runtime 126 minutes Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe , Iron Man Sequel(s) Iron Man 2 , Iron Man 3 Budget $140 million Main Genre Superhero Expand
1 Cameron Diaz
Comeback film: Back in Action (2025)
Cameron Diaz made an extraordinary movie debut in 1994 opposite Jim Carrey in The Mask and quickly became one of the decade’s biggest movie stars. With roles in rom-coms like There’s Something About Mary, beloved animated franchises like Shrek, and more offbeat movies such as Being John Malkovich, Diaz’s career was packed with acclaimed and interesting parts. By the 2010s, Diaz had also become prominent in the health industry and took a step back from acting as she focused on health books and launched her organic wine brand Avaline.
While Diaz’s most recent role was in the 2014 remake of Annie, she’s set to make her return to feature films with the appropriately titled comeback movie Back in Action in 2025, an action-comedy opposite Jamie Foxx. This exciting return will also include Jonah Hill’s upcoming black comedy Outcome, opposite Keanu Reeves, and her much-anticipated reprisal of Princess Fiona in Shrek 5, which is set for release in 2026. After such a long time away from the big screen, the return of Diaz is yet another exciting example of stars returning after long absences.
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Not Yet RatedActionComedy
Back in Action is an action-comedy film directed by Seth Gordon. Two retired spies, Emily and Matt, are forced to return to the field after their identities are burned, sending them on a mission to discover the ones responsible.
Director Seth Gordon Studio(s) Exhibit A , Chernin Entertainment , Good One Productions Distributor(s) Netflix Writers Seth Gordon , Brendan O’Brien Cast Jamie Foxx , Cameron Diaz , Kyle Chandler , Andrew Scott , Jamie Demetriou , Glenn Close
Sources: The Director’s Cut, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter