It’s always exciting to seeHollywood actors make major comebacksafter 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 thebest actors working todayhad 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. Witnessinga movie star reclaim their past glory like a phoenix rising from the ashes and coming back anewalways feels like the culmination of an extraordinary underdog story.
10Mickey 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’s1941in 1979. Following this early big break, he worked with acclaimed directors throughout the 1980s, such as Francis Ford Coppola inRumble Fish, and had an acclaimed performance in the Charles Bukowski biopicBarflyin 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’sSin City, but it was not until 2008 that he had a major comeback withThe 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 aninspirational sports drama,The Wrestleropened Rourke up to more dramatic roles as a leading man, and he’s continued to work consistently to this day.
The Wrestler
Cast
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.
9Michael 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 inBirdman. Although Keaton got his start in the 1980s with comedies likeMr. MomandBeetlejuice, 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 likeQuicksandandPost Gradfailed to make much of an impact.
This all changed with the release ofBirdman, 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 ofBirdman, Keaton was back on top in Hollywood and has maintained his appeal ever since with films likeSpotlightand the recent sequelBeetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
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.
8Ke Huy Quan
Comeback film: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Known for his work as a child inIndiana Jones and the Temple of DoomandThe Goonies, Ke Huy Quan was considered a figure of the 1980s for the longest time.Quan became a child actor at just 13 years oldwhen 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 withEncino Man.
Ke Huy Quan: Net Worth, Age, Height & Everything You Need To Know
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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 adventureFinding ʻOhanain 2021. However, Quan’s real comeback came the following year with the release of the critically acclaimedEverything 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
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).
7John Travolta
Comeback film: Pulp Fiction (1994)
With roles inCarrie,Grease, andSaturday 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’sBlow Outand his Olivia Newton-John reunion rom-comTwo of a Kindwas 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 untilQuentin Tarantino cast Travolta as Vincent Vega in his megahit and cinematic classicPulp 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 likeFace/Offand has remained an important figure in Hollywood.
Pulp Fiction
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.
6Joe 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 withMartin Scorsese and Robert De Niroin movies likeRaging Bull,Casino, andGoodfellas, these performances alone were enough to make him a true icon of modern cinema. Adding the first twoHome Alonemovies 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,” (viaThe 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 madea grand return in 2019 in Martin Scorsese’sThe 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.
The Irishman
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.
5Gloria 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 likeMale and Femaleas well as romantic classics such asZazafrom 1923, Swanson was one of the biggest stars of her era. Swanson’s role inSadie Thompsonfrom 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 Boulevardcaptured 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 classicSunset Boulevard, where she played Norma Desmond, a deluded former silent movie star.Sunset Boulevardcaptured the sad lost potential of Swanson’s careeras she imbued her character with all the highs and lows of her professional life into a truly powerful, memorable, and now iconic comeback.
4Renée Zellweger
Comeback film: Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016)
With an extraordinary career beginning with several iconic 1990s movies, some viewers may have evenforgotten that Renée Zellweger was even inDazed and Confused. From cult classics likeEmpire Recordsto beloved favorites such asJerry Maguire, Zellweger really became a household name following the release ofBridget Jones’s Diary, where she proved her comedic talents and her impeccable British accent despite hailing from Texas. WhileZellweger even gained an Academy Award in 2003 for her role inCold 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” (viaHollywood 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 inBridget Jones’s Babyin 2016 to great acclaim. Zellweger would solidify her comeback with an Oscar-winning performance as Judy Garland in the 2019 biopicJudy, making her a two-time Oscar-winning performer.
Bridget Jones’s Baby
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.
3Brendan Fraser
Comeback film: The Whale (2022)
Following his breakout performance inEncino 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 inGeorge of the JungleandThe Mummyseries, 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, andFraser’s transformative comeback in Darren Aronofsky’sThe Whale, where he played a morbidly obese man, was an extraordinary revival. Not only did Fraser prove himself an engaging leading man once again withThe Whale, but he also gained an Oscar for Best Actor, signaling he’s well and truly back.
The Whale
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.
2Robert 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 likeWeird ScienceandLess Than Zeroand even gained an Academy Award nomination for the biopicChaplinin 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 (viaHollywood 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 inIron ManandTropic Thunder, the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Not only didIron Manrevive 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.
Iron Man
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.
1Cameron Diaz
Comeback film: Back in Action (2025)
Cameron Diaz made an extraordinary movie debut in 1994 opposite Jim Carrey inThe Maskand quickly became one of the decade’s biggest movie stars. With roles in rom-coms likeThere’s Something About Mary, beloved animated franchises likeShrek, and more offbeat movies such asBeing 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 booksand launched her organic wine brand Avaline.
While Diaz’s most recent role was in the 2014 remake ofAnnie, she’s set to make her return to feature films with the appropriately titled comeback movieBack in Actionin 2025, an action-comedy opposite Jamie Foxx. This exciting return will also include Jonah Hill’s upcoming black comedyOutcome, opposite Keanu Reeves, and her much-anticipated reprisal of Princess Fiona inShrek 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.
Back in Action
Back in Action follows former CIA operatives Emily and Matt, who are thrust back into espionage years after retiring to raise a family. Released on July 16, 2025, the film unravels their return to the clandestine world when their identities are exposed.
