Hollywood Resurrections: The Most Remarkable COMEBACKS that Defied All Odds

We all love a comeback. When our favorite actor goes off our screens, we do miss them and wonder where they’ve gone to. We are well aware that a Hollywood comeback isn’t unnatural, and there have been many that have come, gone and come back again. Below are some of the best Hollywood comebacks.

Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man

Downey’s career took a turn for the worst when he had issues with substance abuse. This led him to becoming a bit of a liability, especially within his career. He went through multiple stings in jail and rehab, and this is something that producers didn’t want to deal with. His lowest moment was when he was arrested in 2001 and ultimately fired from Ally Mcbeal. When he became clean, he made a huge comeback, with roles in Zodiac, A Scanner Darkly and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. However, it was 2008’s Iron Man that gave him the comeback he desired.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Mickey Rouke was in his prime in the early 1980’s and was in hit films like Diner & Barfly. By the late 80’s, he quickly went from a rising star to a fallen one due to poor on-set behavior. He left acting in 1991 to chase a boxing career. In the late 90s and early 2000s, he had a few supporting roles in smaller films, but it was in 2005 when he casted in the film Sin City that he came back to our attention. In The Wrestler, he played a former wrestling star who tried to make a comeback after his personal and professional lives were tarnished.

Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club

Even though he never really went away, the 2000s were marked predominately by romantic comedies. After a two year break, he began his journey in more dramatic roles. However, it was in 2013 when he played part of the Dallas Buyers Club, and even won an Oscar for his performance. He portrayed a real-life AIDS patient who smuggled drugs into Texas because he found out they helped his symptoms. Matthew continued his career after this movie with roles in The Wolf of Wall Street, Kubo and the Two Strings, Interstellar, and True Detective.

John Travolta in Pulp Fiction

In the late 70s, John Travolta became a superstar with the movies Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Even though he had some box office success with the Look Who’s Talking films, it was actually Pulp Fiction that gave his career a makeover. He received an Oscar nomination for his part in Pulp Fiction and he’s been working steadily ever since.

Winona Ryder

Ryder, a thriving actress during the vibrant 80s and 90s, graced the silver screen with memorable performances in movies like “Beetlejuice” (1988) and “Edward Scissorhands” (1990); unfortunately, her career experienced a setback in the late 90s following an arrest for shoplifting, yet she reclaimed her spotlight in 2009 with a triumphant return in the film “Star Trek.”

Keanu Reeves in John Wick

Keanu Reeves first came onto the scene in the late 80s, and was well known for his part in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. He became cemented as an actor star in films like The Matrix, Point Break and Speed in the 90s. By 2010, Keanu Reeves disappeared and was only recognised by Sad Keanu memes. However, in 2014, his career rebounded with John Wick who was directed by his stuntmen in The Matrix films.

Michael Keaton in Birdman

Michael Keaton is known as Batman, and he will always be known as that. Even though he had roles in Beetlejuice, Night Shift and Johnny Dangerously, it was Batman that gave him his stardom. However, he left the role of Batman and even though he had plenty of work during the 2000s, nothing was as successful as his earlier work. He had a career resurgence in 2014’s, Birdman, and this has been known as one of the best role he’s had.

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

In the 2010s, one of the most frequently asked questions was, “What happened to Brendan Fraser?”. Brendan Fraser was a favourite in the 1990s and early 2000s, playing characters in The Mummy, George of the Jungle, Looney Tunes Back in Actions and Bedazzled. However, in the 2010s, he vanished. He withdrew from the industry when he opened up about being sexually assaulted by the former President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Philip Berk. He has been making a quiet comeback for the last few years by appearing on the hit show The Affair and having a starring role on FX’s series Trust and DC’s Doom Patrol.

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Ke Huy Wuan is an actor that disappeared with fans wanting to know where he got to. He started out as a child playing Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. However, then he just vanished like Brendan Fraser, who he had a role with in Encino Man. The reason he left the scene is due to the fact there weren’t opportunities for him as an Asian man. During the casting of Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Daniels, a directing pair, wanted to know what happened to Ke, and so they sent him an offer which led him to mainstream acting with the release of the movie in 2022.

Mel Gibson

Gibson, a prominent figure in the 80s and 90s, achieved great success as both an actor and director, starring in iconic movies like “Lethal Weapon” (1987) and “Braveheart” (1995); unfortunately, his career faced setbacks during the early 2000s due to a string of personal controversies, yet he made a triumphant return in 2016 with the highly praised film “Hacksaw Ridge.”

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