Even the most talented performers experience dry spells; all too frequently, the buzzy newcomer of today becomes the unemployed has-been of tomorrow. Among the most well-known performers who have fought his way back to the top of the industry after nearly losing his acting career is Robert Downey Jr. However, there are thousands more – Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Keanu Reeves are just a few. These are the 19 performers whose careers collapsed, along with the films that kept them afloat.
Lauren Bacall – Murder on the Orient Express
Bacall’s career was derailed in her middle years for a variety of reasons, including her image as a difficult partner. She also spent eight years away from the big screen between 1966 and 1974. Bacall had a second wind with Sidney Lumet’s Poirot adaption Murder on the Orient Express, and she went on to have newfound popularity in later years, appearing in critically praised films like Misery and Birth.
Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween
In the 1970s and 1980s, Curtis was one of the leading “scream queens” in the business. The actor was propelled back into the spotlight with the 2018 legacy sequel Halloween, which also helped her win an Academy Award for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
He garnered the highest praise he has in decades for his supporting role in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and he was nominated for an Oscar for the first time since 1992’s Cape Fear. Even with the occasional dud thereafter, De Niro has achieved even more success; his roles in Martin Scorsese films The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon rate among his greatest.
Robert Downey Jr – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Due to his well-known drug issues and unpredictable attitude while filming, Downey Jr. was essentially uninsurable at the beginning of the 2000s. Muchly because to his part in Shane Black’s creative comedy from 2005, he went on to become one of Hollywood’s greatest stars with his appearance in the Iron Man trilogy.
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
Early in his career, Colin Farrell was successful, but he had trouble making an impression as a heavyweight actor. This changed when Martin McDonagh’s boisterous criminal comedy In Bruges was released, allowing Farrell to achieve the kind of artistic heights he would go on to repeat in the years that followed.
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Fraser was once a true leading man, but sad circumstances beyond his control destroyed his acting career, and he hasn’t been on film much in the last ten years. However, he has made a much acclaimed return in the past few years, thanks to his physically transformative and Oscar-winning performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which solidified his status as a significant force.
Hugh Grant – Paddington 2
Grant’s dazzling career endured the ignominy of Mickey Blue Eyes and a high-profile sex scandal in the 1990s. The first whispers were in the feel-good opera drama Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), but his career was genuinely reborn by his villainous part in the critically praised children’s charmer Paddington 2, which also earned him an unexpected Bafta nomination in 2018.
Michael Keaton – Birdman
In this bold “one-take” movie, Keaton played a deteriorating actor who had some startling similarities to him. Keaton’s career took a turn for the better after winning Best Picture. The erstwhile Beetlejuice maverick went on to feature in Emmy-winning series like Dopesick and high-gross films like Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Matthew McConaughey – The Lincoln Lawyer
Few performers have changed their careers quite as drastically as Matthew McConaughey, the much-maligned star of romantic comedies who, during the so-called “McConnaissance,” switched to “respectable” acting. The Lincoln Lawyer, a respectable legal thriller that confirmed McConaughey’s abilities as a viable dramatic lead, came before films like Dallas Buyers Club and Interstellar.
Leslie Nielsen – Airplane!
Nielsen’s career was largely defined by the anarchic 1980 comedy Aeroplane! directed by the Zucker brothers; prior to that, he had primarily starred in tragedies, including the smugly named catastrophe film The Poseidon Adventure. His extraordinary deadpan ability was noticed by Aeroplane!, which led to the beginning of his career as a comedy expert.
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
One of the true “forgotten men” of Hollywood, Quan had a dismal career after becoming well-known as a kid performer in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He had trouble keeping up his on-camera persona and eventually turned to stunt choreography. He has secured numerous major roles in the short period after the release of that movie, including a leading part on the television series American Born Chinese and a supporting role in Marvel’s Loki.
Keanu Reeves – John Wick
The actor, whose delivery of lines was frequently the target of harsh mockery, rose to prominence again after landing a part in the stylish 2014 thriller John Wick. After three follow-up films, Reeves has emerged as one of the largest and most renowned on-screen performers in the business.
Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
The Canadian actor’s fortunes changed when he was chosen to play the sultry, foul-mouthed Deadpool in Marvel’s R-rated 2016 adaption; the character made the actor instantly well-known as one of the leading men in mainstream cinematic circles for lighthearted blockbuster flicks.
Edward G Robinson – A Hole in the Head
The 1950s McCarthyist blacklisting severely damaged the careers of some outstanding performers. Following a spell of inactivity during which he accepted small parts in a variety of oddball endeavours, Robinson ultimately returned to the forefront, with the 1959 comedy A Hole in the Head serving as the catalyst for a new chapter in the life of the little actor.
Mickey Rourke – Sin City
His career took off again in less than two years after an intricate, Oscar-winning performance in The Wrestler. Although his public image has recently dropped once more, his comeback was impressive.
Winona Ryder – Black Swan
A fascinating presence on screen, Ryder experienced the glory of her successful films from the 1990s, including The Age of Innocence, Reality Bites, and Edward Scissorhands. But after a brilliant supporting performance in the gloomy ballet drama Black Swan, Ryder’s career took off, and he was cast in the hit series Stranger Things on Netflix.
John Travolta – Pulp Fiction
Throughout the 1980s, the singing and dancing star of Grease had seen his career stagnate. As the bumbling mobster Vincent Vega, Travolta’s role revitalised his career and led to an unexpected Oscar nomination.
Reese Witherspoon – Wild
Up to the Oscar candidate Wild (2014), a poignant drama about a return to nature that earned Witherspoon some of the highest praise of her career. Since then, Witherspoon has amassed a net worth of over $400 million and ruled her own media empire.
Renée Zellweger – Bridget Jones’ Baby
The third Bridget Jones movie saw her emerge out of retirement from the spotlight; the warm comeback to her most well-known part paved the way for a number of other excellent roles, including 2019’s Judy, for which she took home the Academy Award for Best Actor.
