10 Best Career Comebacks in Hollywood

10 Best Career Comebacks in Hollywood 

Every actor has the period of time where they’re in their prime. Where they’re firing on all cylinders in crafting great movies with great performances. But some actors point in their careers where their careers slow down and they disappear for a while. Some actors have a comeback that makes you realize how much you love them. Who are those actors? What are some of the best examples of this in Hollywood?

NOTE: The actors I’m going to list here are in any particular order. Because I found it hard to rank who had the best career comeback because they all happened at different points and in different ways they’ve had success since their come back. Keep that in mind as I talk about these 10 actors.  

• Marlon Brando: A true Hollywood legend that rose to fame in the 1950s. His breakout performance was in A Streetcar Named Desire which gave him his first Oscar nomination. His performance in On the Waterfront won him his first Oscar. He continued that success all throughout the 1950s with other hit films. Starting in 1963 his career went on a decline when his personal life started to get in a way. He started taking roles that people thought were way below his acting abilities. He acknowledged his career decline as he stated he was only accepting roles for the money because of favors. He was cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather that was released in 1972 and it was his first box office success since 1958’s The Young Lions. When The Godfather came out, it reminded everybody just how good of an actor that he was. He even won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Following his success in the 1960s, he starred in several films that were received very well by critics and made money. He starred in 1978’s Superman the Movie from Richard Donner, he was the highest paid actor of the film. His friend, Francis Ford Coppola cast him in Apocalypse Now, which famously had a very long and troubled production. Then after that his career was on a downhill once again, as in the 80s he was doing more box office bombs that weren’t well received by critics. In the ‘90s, he received his first Razzie nomination for The Discovery and the infamously bad The Island of Dr. Moreau. He starred in a few more movies until his passing in the early 2000s. I knew about his career resurgence in the 1970s and it’s interesting to include because it’s from such a different time in Hollywood. 

• Hayden Christensen: To state the obvious, Hayden Christensen’s career and comeback isn’t as legendary as Brando. But I think it’s an interesting one to talk about. That’s fairly different from all of the other comebacks on this list. His big break in Hollywood was of course playing Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. He was this fresh up and comer that got a lead role in the Star Wars franchise. And unfortunately, was kind of rejected from Hollywood since then. There’s arguments that maybe it was George Lucas’ weak direction. Maybe that’s true, but you also have Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman that were able to brush right past the prequels after they came out. Hayden Christensen wasn’t able to do that, his career suffered a fair amount after Revenge of the Sith came out. He did movies after Revenge of the Sith came out. But they sort of went under the radar, they weren’t these big hit films. They announced that he would return as Darth Vader in Kenobi, then he was in Ahsoka. Ever since then, there’s been this new found appreciation and love for the prequels and Christensen. He’s been doing Star Wars panels at comic cons. It’s not quite on the same level of a comeback as other actors on this list. But I think it is one worth talking about, as right now he’s the most loved that he’s ever been. 

• Robert Downey Jr: There is a strong argument that RDJ’s comeback career is the best in Hollywood. When he came onto the scene in the 90s with Chaplin, he was the fresh new face that established himself as the future of Hollywood. He got Oscar nominated and appeared in several other films in the 90s. Then of course, his personal issues got in the way with drug issues where he was fired from all of his movies. He got a role as the fifth or sixth billed on Ally McBeal in the 90s. And a big movie star appearing on a tv show like that, was not a good sign. He was then arrested for his drug issues, he got out of jail and was trying to rebuild his career. Jon Favreau cast him as Iron Man and the trajectory and the legacy of Robert Downey Jr changed forever. Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man is one of the greatest cinematic castings of all time. Where he maintained being the biggest movie star of the 2010s. He also got roles in Tropic Thunder which he was Oscar nominated for. He was in Sherlock Holmes as well as its sequel. Throughout the 2010s he was a legend, he was the face of the MCU that was the biggest movie franchise of the 2010s. I grew up watching the MCU and so RDJ is one of those formative actors for me. Last year he was in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, where he gave a fantastic performance. Then earlier this year he won an Oscar for the movie that was so well deserved. He did have a fantastic comeback career that felt like this whole journey for him. Easily, RDJ had to make this list. 

• Brendan Fraser: This is probably the most recent comeback on this list and because of that it’s still in the process of taking place. Brendan Fraser was this huge movie star back in the day. In the 90s, he had a number of hit films whether that’s Encino Man, School Ties, George of the Jungle, and The Mummy. He continued this success into the 2000s with more Mummy movies. As well as Journey to the Center of the Earth, which isn’t great but that was my introduction to Brendan Fraser, I have quilty pleasure with that. Then as you move into the 2010s, he started to disappear. He wasn’t doing as many high profile movies as he was doing before. This was due to unfortunate circumstances that made him leave Hollywood for a bit there. He gets cast in Darron Aronofsky’s The Whale, that is this transformative performance from him. It’s quite the performance that won him an Oscar. He went from being the guy who starred in Encino Man to beloved Oscar winning actor. Martin Scorsese cast him in Killers of the Flower Moon. So far in the 2020s, Brendan Fraser is the comeback king. With him coming back, maybe we’ll get another Mummy movie out of him. Hopefully he’ll get another chance in a comic book movie. He was going to be Firefly in Batgirl. I’m very excited to see what upcoming films he does. 

• Michael Keaton: This is a guy who’s had a very interesting career. Because the career that he started off with, isn’t necessarily the career that he had. Back in the early and mid 80s, Keaton was a comedy actor. He did films like Mr. Mom and Beetlejuice, who showed his comedic chops. Tim Burton cast him as Batman and people didn’t take that casting seriously when it was announced. People didn’t think that Keaton would be a good Batman based on his career up to that point. Well Batman (1989) came out, a big hit film at the box office and it made a lot of money. He maintained success throughout the 90s with Batman Returns, Much Ado About Nothing, Multiplicity, and Jackie Brown. Then in 1998, he had two films come out with Desperate Measures and Jack Frost, movies that tanked at the box office. He’s said in interviews that he needed a mental recharge. He needed to take a break from being this big movie star and focus on his family. This break happened from about 1998 to 2005. In the late 2000s, early 2010s he started taking supporting roles in films like Cars, Toy Story 3, and The Other Guys. In 2014, Michael Keaton came back when he starred in Birdman. A movie that won Best Picture, it gave Keaton a Best Actor nomination. It’s widely regarded as one of Keaton’s best performances. Since then he’s joined the Marvel universe as The Vulture, mainly in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He even returned as Batman in The Flash from last year. Earlier this year, he’s teaming up with Tim Burton once again for the long delayed sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Which has been a wild success at the box office and with fans. 

• Matthew McConaghey: His career started in the early 90s, when he was cast in Richard Linklater’s film, Dazed and Confused when he played this stoner, that made him this face you recognized. He starred in a number of films in the 90s, he dabbled in horror with Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, that film got terrible reviews and is regarded as one of the worst films of the franchise. He does give this crazy over the top performance. He transitioned into rom coms in the 90s with The Wedding Planner opposite Jennifer Lopez. He co-starred in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Kate Hudson. He established himself as this handsome learning man with charm, who can do a lot of different things. His career after How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was a bit weird. He was still starring in movies, but they weren’t hit films. They tanked at the box office, got bad reviews. Even some of his other movies were more side roles. Then in 2013 hits, he gets cast in Dallas Buyers Club. It just relaunches his career. He won the Oscar. He went from handsome rom com guy to Oscar winning dramatic actor. His two films after that were The Wolf of Wall Street and Interstellar, directed by Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan. He starred in the first season of True Detective opposite Woody Harrelson. Since then, he’s shown his dramatic talents in other hit films. He’s done voice work like in Sing, Sing 2, and Kubo and the Two Strings. Guy Ritchie cast him in The Gentlemen. There has been this new found respect and appreciation for Matthew McCoanghey, people calling it “The McConaissance”. Some people argue that his career post Dallas Buyers Club is better than his career before Dallas Buyers Club. Safe to say his career is going alright, alright, alright. 

• Ke Huy Quan: He’s one of the quintessential child stars of the 1980s. Back to back years, he was one of the stars of big hit films. In 1984, he was in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as Short Round. The following year he played Data in The Goonies. Both of them are classic to this day, they’re still watched and beloved all these decades later. His last ever role before his career break with Encino Man, which also stars Brendan Fraser that we talked about earlier. Then he went to school to get a degree in film, he became a stunt coordinator for a little while. He worked as a stunt coordinator on X-Men (2000), which is very cool. Ever since Everything Everywhere All at Once came out, he’s been very open about why he took a break. He’s said that Hollywood wasn’t casting him, he didn’t think Hollywood was casting Asian actors. But when he saw Crazy Rich Asians, he decided to get back into acting. Of course, his big comeback film was Everything Everywhere All at Once. A movie that came out, won SEVEN Oscars, he won Best Supporting Actor. A couple of months later, he was cast in season two of Loki. He’s talked about how because he worked in X-Men (2000) and Kevin Feige was a producer on the film. Feige personally called him to ask him if he would want to join Loki. He was in Kung Fu Panda 4 earlier this year. Next year he’s starring in an action thriller. His career is going great right now. 

• Keanu Reeves: He’s actually had a couple of comebacks in his 30 year long career. His claim to fame was back in the late 80s when Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure came out. To this day, it’s regarded as one of his best movies. It’s a hilarious time travel comedy that everybody should watch. A couple years later he did Point Break with Patrick Swayze. The one-two punch of those movies launched him to the A-list. In the mid-90s, his career was a bit dicey. Sure, he had a hit film with Speed (fantastic movie). But everything else was kind of a dud, and didn't make much of a splash at all. 1999 rolls around and he does a little film called, The Matrix. That became this instant classic and has stood the test of time 25 years later as just being this great sci-fi action film that perfectly blends together martial arts, philosophical questions, sci-fi, world building, and action all into one movie. Then the 2000s happen and once again, his career goes down. The two Matrix sequels, not the best movies out there. You look at the movies that he did, one of them is talked about or remembered. Cut to 2014, we have John Wick come out that has this Keanassiance. Where everybody has loved Keanu Reeves once again for 10 years now. The John Wick franchise spawned four movies plus a spin-off coming out next year. He’s joined Pixar with Toy Story 4. He’s returned to Bill & Ted and The Matrix. He’s really beloved now, he’s a great action star. It’s interesting that he was able to rise and fall a couple of times and still come back and be this big movie star. That rarely happens, he was able to do it and I think it shows just how much people love him. 

• Sylvester Stallone: One of the biggest movie stars of the last nearly 50 years. Of course, the thing that made him famous was Rocky. That launched this franchise that’s still putting out movies up until last year with Creed III. If you didn’t know, Stallone wrote the original Rocky. He wrote the film in order to sell the film rights to provide for his family. The movie went on to win Best Picture, Stallone himself was nominated for that movie. It became this insanely popular franchise in the late 70s throughout the 80s. In the 80s, he also had the Rambo franchise. Became one of the ultimate 80s action stars, where the ridiculousness of both Rocky and Rambo kept on going up. In the 90s we got Cliffhanger and Demolition Man, solid performers with critics and at the box office. He also did Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Which has a funny backstory involving Arnold Schwarzenegger, who tricked Stallone into doing the movie. The movie was terrible and bombed at the box office. After Stallone did Demolition Man, he had a run of not well received movies or movies that just failed at the box office. Judge Dredd is one of Stallone’s more infamous movies. The early 2000s he was doing stuff like Spy Kids 3, which really showed he wasn’t what he used to be. Then in 2006, 30 years after Rocky (1976) he returned with Rocky Balboa. A great sequel, that’s easily one of the best of the Rocky franchise. He got great reviews and was profitable and ever since then has cranked out solid films that were hits at the box office. Then in 2015 he did Creed, which was a return to the franchise. Many people were highly skeptical of the idea. But it turned out to be great and Stallone was great, earning him an Oscar nomination. Maybe delivering a career best performance. He’s joined Marvel and DC with Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad (2021), becoming a regular in James Gunn’s filmography. He’s moved over to television with Tulsa King that got great reviews, season two is coming soon. He has his only reality tv show called The Family Stallone. He was a legend back in the 80s and 90s, late 90s to mid 2000s his career went down. But from Rocky Balboa to present, his career is back and branching out and doing different things.  

• John Travolta: Travolta’s rise to fame happened as this triple punch of movies that came out within three years. He did Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease from 1976 to 1978. Three iconic movies are all different in another sense, but a couple of them do have similarities here. He did a follow-up to Saturday Night Fever in 1983 called Staying Alive, which was directed by Stallone. The movie wasn’t all that well received, despite having a lot of talent. The 80s was not Travolta’s decade, you look at the iconic movies of Travolta’s career, none of them are from the 80s. This up and coming director named Quentin Tarantino cast him in Pulp Fiction, that made people remember just how good he was. He was Oscar nominated for that role, which of course is an iconic film that turns 30 years old. He had a number of other hit films in the 90s with Get Shorty, Broken Arrow, and Face/Off. He also does a movie called Phenomenon, that’s not a super talked about movie. But it was filmed in my hometown, several locations in the movie I’ve been to many times. In 2000 he did the beloved classic, Battlefield Earth. A movie that’s a classic…for being a bad movie, it’s not a beloved movie. I actually haven’t seen it, so I can’t comment too much about it. But from what I’ve heard, it’s a terrible movie. This was kind of the start of Travolta’s downhill career once again. He did have hit films in the 2000s, Hairspray is a cult classic musical from 17 years back. He did a Disney movie called Bolt that’s pretty solid and an underrated Disney movie. Besides that, his career in my lifetime hasn’t been the best. Tarantino has said his 10th movie (his next movie) will be his last film. People are wondering if Tarantino can get Travolta to come back and do another great movie. Maybe he can have another career resurgence in his late 70s if Tarantino decides to cast him again.