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Top 10 Hollywood Comebacks

By Alastair Smythe · June 21, 2014

Here's calling it; Mel Gibson will make a comeback (in fact it's already in the works, with upcoming roles in the third Expendables and his own starring vehicle Blood Father). Want proof? Take a look at the list below. While not all of these people had as major a scandal as Mel, plenty of them were considered washed-up at one point in their careers. At the end of the day, people love movies so much that they'll always go see a great one. Whether you simply had a string of flops, got yourself into trouble by saying the wrong thing in public, went to prison, went to rehab, or just plain faded into obscurity, all it takes is one strong project and you're back on top. Just as underdog stories work so well on film, they attain a power of their own in life. Hollywood loves a comeback.

 

10. Dwayne Johnson – Fast Five (2011)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E6m4XeCMZwA

Tough to imagine now but at one point Dwayne Johnson's career as an action star was looking pretty grim. After The Scorpion King it seemed he was poised to become the second coming of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fact literally referenced in The Rundown when Schwarzenegger leaves a nightclub Johnson is entering and says "have fun." Unfortunately, the Rock's next four starring roles in action films all underperformed (Walking Tall, Doom, Gridiron Gang and Faster). Meanwhile the Fast & Furious franchise had tried to reassemble the original cast for Fast and Furious (which underperformed with 360M worldwide) and made one big change for Fast Five (adding Johnson) – the film made $626 million worldwide. Next up: the 100M plus Hercules.

 

9. Channing Tatum – 21 Jump Street (2012)

Remember Stop-Loss (2008), Fighting (2009), The Son of No One (2011) and The Eagle (2011)? No one else really does either, all were marketed as Tatum vehicles and all did poorly at the box office. In between he had the first G.I. Joe which underperformed to the point that his character was killed off at the start of the sequel. Everything changed with the double-whammy of The Vow and 21 Jump Street (both 2012). He could lead a box office hit in romance AND action. Girls want him. Guys want to be him. Tatum has established himself as one of the very few younger stars who can open a movie.

 

 

8. Sylvester Stallone – Rocky Balboa (2006)

In the late 90s and early 2000s Stallone was getting into borderline straight-to-DVD territory. Flops like Get Carter (2000), Driven (2001), Eye See You (2002) and Avenging Angelo (2002) piled up. When the news first circulated that he was revisiting Rocky it was treated as sacrilege, resorting to his old classic to revive his career. But he DID revive it, by acknowledging Rocky's age gracefully, with humor and a surprising amount of emotion. The success of Rocky Balboa boosted Stallone back into the mainstream.

 

7. Ben Affleck – Gone Baby Gone (2007)

At the time of Gone Baby Gone the idea of Ben Affleck directing a movie to begin with was met with nothing but skepticism. He had suffered through a series of high profile flops and the disastrous Gigli.He had slightly rebuild some cred after a well-received supporting turn in Hollywoodland but directing? The guy who did Reindeer Games? But along came Gone Baby Gone – one of the best-reviewed movies of 2007. A powerful drama that evoked comparisons to Clint Eastwood's directing style. It didn't blow up the box office. It wasn't widely seen. But it changed the perception about Ben, and led directly to The Town, whose success led directly to Argo.

 

 

6. Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler (2008)

At the time of the Wrestler's release, Mickey Rourke hadn't been seen on film in two years (his prior role was in 2006's little-seen Stormbreaker). He had become known for playing rogues and tough guys, most notably as Marv in Sin City. But he was not widely considered an Oscar-quality actor at that time in his career. It took Darren Aranofsky exposing the tenderness and humanity of Mickey to really elevate the perception of him – leading to his Oscar nomination. Who can't feel bad for a guy that says "I'm a broken down piece of meat – I just don't want you to hate me."?

 

5. Most of the cast of The Expendables franchise – (2010, 2012, 2014)

Is there a franchise that has ever existed which has re-introduced theatrical audiences to more actors? "The Expendables" brought into widespread theatrical release faces that hadn't been up on the big screen in years, people like Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris and soon (in the third "Expendables") Wesley Snipes. By assembling a massive ensemble of action stars Stallone's "Expendables" series exceeds the sum of its parts and becomes must-see viewing for any action fans. 

 

4. Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man (2008)

No comeback list can fail to include Downey Jr., who was arrested numerous time on various drug charges, went to numerous drug treatment programs and ultimately went to jail. Uninsurable – ironically it was Mel Gibson that revived his career by giving him a role in The Singing Detective – Downey ultimately ascended to superstardom (now sober) with his lead in the smash hit Iron Man. He is now one of the most successful actors by just about any standard working today. 

 

3. 3D Films – Avatar (2009)

Forgotten and consigned to joke status, 3D films were most remembered for goofy stunts that exploited the 3D to its fullest effect (ping pong balls approaching the audience, etc). Famous 3D movies preceding Avatar were more like Jaws 3-D and Friday the 13th 3D and more recently My Bloody Valentine 3D. The massive success of Avatar (particularly of its 3D component, which accounted for a huge portion of its 2.7 billion gross and set the record for the highest opening for a film entirely in 3D) led to a major revival of 3D films as a mainstream element, not just for horror movies but for movies of all genres. 

 

2. John Travolta – Pulp Fiction (1994)

Like Downey Jr it's nearly impossible to leave Travolta off a list of comebacks. He went from a string of flops (anyone even heard of Eyes of an Angel, Shout, Perfect, or The Experts?) to a starring role in a cultural phenomena that garnered him an Oscar nomination. He would go on to star in a series of critically and commercially successful films like Get Shorty, Phenomenon, Broken Arrow and Face Off

 

1. Elia Kazan – On the Waterfront (1954)

It's not to say Elia was living in a gutter at the time of On the Waterfront, but it's fair to say he had been embattled ever since his testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1952, where he named names. This ostracized him from many of his peers in the entertainment community – a controversy that would linger even until 1999 when he won an Honorary Oscar and some of the audience refused to applaud (watching the video even now is stunning for the clear tension in the room, as people like Ed Harris and Nick Nolte are visibly choosing not to clap). So imagine for Elia the triumph of making a film that clearly intends to answer your critics about your personal issues and having it get nominated for 12 Academy Awards (it won 8, including Best Picture and Director). It's widely considered one of the best films of all time.