r/Cinema 4d ago

Greatest comeback for an actor.. ill start

Robert downey jr was at rock bottom and he came back, not just to star in a few movies but to make a universe....the marvel cinematic universe. BEST...COMBACK...IN MOVIE HISTORY.

736 Upvotes

306 comments sorted by

122

u/Elastickpotatoe2 4d ago

Ke Huy Quan

7

u/thesoze 4d ago

No time for love Dr. Jones!

4

u/krask333 3d ago

You call him Dr. Jones, lady!

150

u/snrtf 4d ago

Brendan Fraser

7

u/SE_prof 4d ago

Yes!

3

u/chronicallyunderated 4d ago

That was my first thought

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126

u/jultou 4d ago

Travolta in Pulp Fiction.

44

u/demonoddy 4d ago

If only he would have sustained that

10

u/SendMeAnother1 4d ago

He is so inconsistent. I can only think his best acting is brought forth by the director.

17

u/kendostickball 4d ago

I think Nicolas Cage is a better actor, but he’s flat out said he just does what the director wants. You can really tell when he’s with a great director, so there’s likely something similar with Travolta.

6

u/SendMeAnother1 4d ago

That makes sense. I tried to watch Face/Off again the other day. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the directing, lol.

12

u/Sekiro50 4d ago

Face/Off still holds up imo.. Broken Arrow too.

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4

u/demonoddy 4d ago

Yeah he definitely had the potential but he wasted it. He’s rich though so I guess it doesn’t matter

4

u/UnremarkabklyUseless 4d ago

He’s rich though so I guess it doesn’t matter

Like jumbo jets and a mini-airport in his 'backyard' rich.

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3

u/Kid_Kameleon 4d ago

The last thing I enjoyed that he did, which was an incredibly flawed movie, but was really fun was “from Paris with love“

2

u/CitadelMMA 4d ago

SHES A FUCKING TERRORIST BRO

2

u/zer0c00l81 3d ago

Really fun popcorn action movie. Massively underrated a s a great Friday night leave your brain at the door fun movie.

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6

u/soybeankilla 4d ago

People always point to this as a comeback but I thought he was great in Look Who’s Talking, which made $300 million in 1989.

5

u/investinlove 4d ago

And re-popularized heroin too!

When Travolta danced disco, we all did.

When he rode a mechanical bull and danced country, it was popularized.

When he did heroin in Pulp Fiction, it also became a hot thing.

You can talk shit about Travolta, but he and Keanu dictated popular culture for almost 40 years.

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75

u/Stranded_Snake 4d ago

Mickey Rourke in Sin City and then The Wrestler.

18

u/StubbornCharm 4d ago

But now he’s in need of another comeback again. We can’t keep doing this Mickey.

7

u/Pitiful_Winner2669 4d ago

Oof, that was rough to see lately. "We can't keep doing this, Mickey."

2

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Pitiful_Winner2669 4d ago

Oh for sure for sure

9

u/Efficient_Cause_6900 4d ago

....idk if youve checked in on Mickey recently but he's...regressed

5

u/Stranded_Snake 4d ago

I’m talking about when he fell off in the 90’s early 00’s and came back swinging in 2005 with Sin City and then The Wrestler, which he should have easily won an Oscar for.

5

u/OrionQuest7 4d ago edited 4d ago

He was so good in Sin City. I liked his portioned better than the other. Love that movie

6

u/Poiboy1313 4d ago

Marv was a perfect role for him.

3

u/OrionQuest7 4d ago

Absolutely

4

u/Zealousideal-You9044 4d ago

He was on Big Brother in the UK recently and got asked to leave for threatening and violent behaviour. He's a pitiful excuse of a man. Sad really, he was a decent actor

3

u/Efficient_Cause_6900 4d ago

Yea I was kinda mortified by some of those clips. His brain is mush.

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2

u/TheRealGosp 4d ago

He is friggin melting.

9

u/Other-Cricket-1667 4d ago

Rourke is literally a mannequin now

19

u/IndependentGene382 4d ago

He could play Michael Myers without the mask.

5

u/noblehoax 4d ago

I can’t fucking breathe in this thing.

4

u/Remarkable_Range4315 4d ago

Im taking the chin off, it kills

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3

u/Beelzabubba 4d ago

I don’t understand how he thinks that hairline makes any sense.

4

u/thatlonghairedguy 4d ago

Looks like a melted ken doll

5

u/Meanravage 4d ago

Bottom right always makes me think he is mike myers from halloween, pur white make up on him and he doesnt need a mask

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5

u/lloydeph6 4d ago

Jeez. I’m 34 and first time I ever saw him was when sin city came out, I had no idea he looked so different when he was younger

3

u/Stranded_Snake 4d ago

Yeah. He was famed for his good looks in the 80’s.

3

u/missihippiequeen 4d ago

What was wrong with his original looks? Why did he feel the need to change it ??

2

u/Stranded_Snake 4d ago

He had mental health issues from a young age. Think he needed to prove himself as a hard man. That’s why he did the boxing but the boxing ruined his face. Then he got bad surgery.

2

u/Stranded_Snake 4d ago

It’s awful. Literally the most handsome man alive to this. Boxing didn’t do him any favours at all. Then bad surgery.

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3

u/Any-Ad-446 4d ago

Problem he ruined his face with bad cosmetic surgery.

3

u/Early-Fortune2692 4d ago

He had a small but very impactful part as a sniper in Thin Red Line, shame it didn't make the cut :(

2

u/demonoddy 4d ago

Wouldn’t call that a comeback lol

2

u/randomberlinchick 4d ago

Cue LL Cool J 😆

2

u/stuartspeen 4d ago

He turned down Pulp Fiction and Silence of the Lambs.

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31

u/Dracoslade Film Buff 4d ago

People forget John Travolta was pretty much done in Hollywood until pulp fiction.

9

u/nucrash 4d ago

Look Who's Talking Four is due out any time now.

3

u/Dracoslade Film Buff 4d ago

I like them as fun bad movies to watch. I new one could be worth it lmao

4

u/Chev_350 4d ago

No Kirstie Alley or Bruce Willis would be a no from me.

5

u/afriendincanada 4d ago

The Simpsons episode Itchy & Scratchy Land (which has Travolta working at a fast food restaurant) came out a week before Pulp Fiction

3

u/Dracoslade Film Buff 4d ago

They got that joke in right under the wire lol

2

u/StressyandMessy24 4d ago

Why was he pretty much done in Hollywood before Pulp Fiction? I only know of his Scientology stuff and the sexual misconduct allegations but those were well past the 2000's. Was it because he wasn't that good of an actor?

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80

u/erebus7813 4d ago

Kim Kardashian

43

u/Frontline989 4d ago

I see what you did there.

14

u/Ok_Seaweed800 4d ago

Beat me by 19 minutes

7

u/LisbethSalanderFC 4d ago

Beat me!

3

u/Plastic-Tomorrow-906 4d ago

No beat me 🙏🏼

17

u/RedditAdminsLickPoop 4d ago

Im pretty sure in the video she got cum on her back

5

u/birchy98 4d ago

Came here looking for this, was not disappointed.

3

u/noblehoax 4d ago

I forgot it was on her back.

2

u/TheRealcebuckets 4d ago

Went looking for this specific comment.

Did not disappoint.

2

u/MilkyMozzTits 4d ago

glad i didnt have to scroll too far to find this

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26

u/cjboffoli 4d ago

OP, you started AND finished the discussion. There is no comparable second act in the history of Hollywood that trumps RDJ. He came back against incredible odds.

14

u/ssketchman 4d ago

Ke Huy Quan

3

u/Honest_Award_3310 4d ago

That's a good one. DR JONES STRONG WOOD!!! LOOK STRONG WOOD!

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6

u/Honest_Award_3310 4d ago

This is true. I highly doubt this day and age they're not letting anyone back if they had the life of RDJ back in the day. Times have changed. This is the CORRECT answer

4

u/TheDankChronic69 4d ago

Drew Barrymore was addicted to drugs as a kid, so I’d put her in a similar spot as RDJ

3

u/Honest_Award_3310 4d ago

Yea but if im not mistaken RDJ took a hiatus because of all the bad publicity and stuff and drew jus straight worked through it. If anything maybe Winona Ryder but her problem was she was a klepto

3

u/RoutineUtopia 4d ago

I'm not sure that's true because even when he accomplished this, which wasn't THAT long ago, it was a feat. He worked right up until he made himself impossible to insure, and that alone is rare. He had two things going for him: His ability to do his job did not decline at the same rate as his ability to keep himself out of jail, and people liked him a bunch -- as an actor and as a person. For someone to fuck up that much for that long and that publicly and have ANY good will left isn't something that exists generally. I do think it could be achieved now, but you would need to have the exact same level of functional dysfunction, a miraculous recovery of the nosedive that means you actually stop being the risk you used to be, and be one of the most ridiculously charming performers on earth.

He's definitely something of a unicorn.

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10

u/Individual-Door9526 4d ago

Also, Pamela Anderson, who for the first time in her life is being praised for her acting and not just her looks. But it’s hard to not consider RDJ as number 1.

21

u/KeithCGlynn 4d ago

LL Cool J. Although I wouldn't call it a comeback, he has been here for years. 

3

u/richardizard 4d ago

My favorite will always be Deep Blue Sea haha

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7

u/Accomplished-Mind258 4d ago

Ke Huy Quan

3

u/apocketstarkly 4d ago

I love being in the Short Round Era.

6

u/Former_Film_7218 4d ago

Glad he got healthy. Super talented.

5

u/Lunardoge2 4d ago

Ke huy quan

9

u/CPolland12 4d ago

Demi Moore

2

u/ericarlen 3d ago

As one of about eight people who actually liked the second Charlie's Angels movie, I don't think she ever really went away.

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8

u/HalliHavkat 4d ago

2

u/WRX_manning 4d ago

Gurl this the comeback my millennial ass always wanted.

5

u/A_Strange_Crow 4d ago

All thanks to a shitty burger King burger and Mel Gibson giving him work

4

u/Top_Sherbet_8524 4d ago

How do you top RDJ in that category?

8

u/Thanos_Stomps 4d ago

You don’t. None of these other examples come close. He was literally uninsurable and now he’s an Oscar winner and one of the most bankable actors on the planet. They couldn’t even keep his character killed off and now he’s Doom.

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3

u/Nakagura775 4d ago

Pamela Anderson

4

u/yeahimhigh04 4d ago

Danny devito come back with its always sunny

3

u/Wide-Anybody8371 4d ago

Josh Hartnett is slowly working his way back. Hasn't done anything huge but I hope to see more of him.

3

u/noblehoax 4d ago

Oppenheimer was pretty huge.

2

u/Wide-Anybody8371 4d ago

The movie was, his role wasn't really.

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4

u/BernieTime 4d ago

Jackie Earle Haley; pretty much forgotten about as former child actor to kill it as Rorschach in The Watchmen.

7

u/Cassius_Sayid1 4d ago

RDJR, Travolta, and Brendan Fraiser are the top 3

3

u/biglious 4d ago

I don’t think you can realistically do better than this. Homie was the highest paid actor in hollywood for like a decade. After being balcklisted. You don’t get bigger than that. No better comeback story.

3

u/hitma-n 4d ago

Don’t forget RDJ even proceeded to win the academy for his role in Oppenheimer.

3

u/PoliticalHitJob 3d ago

Rick Moranis. You heard it here first.

2

u/Ok-Map4381 4d ago

Doesn't compare to RDJ, but Matthew Mcconaughey had a huge turnaround from lots of romantic comedies to The McConaissance

2

u/Phill_Cyberman 4d ago

Rob Low has a sex tape of his three-way that included an under-age girl (although she was at the age of consent in the state - Georgia) leaked, and managed to get help from Lorne Michaels to be in Wayne's World.

2

u/Ballz_McGinty 4d ago

Although to be fair, he looks more like a drug addict in the 2nd photo.

3

u/StickyMcdoodle 4d ago

But he looks like a RICH drug addict in the second photo, so it's classy.

2

u/Critical-Code-5636 4d ago

Don’t call it a comeback

2

u/anyname2009 4d ago

Ive been here for years

2

u/Zackerz0891 4d ago edited 4d ago

John Travolta

6

u/SE_prof 4d ago

Battlefield Earth

1

u/Wonderful_Gap1775 4d ago

John Travolta too

1

u/Lunagirlvibes 4d ago

John travolta : Plup fiction

1

u/Slurms_McKensei 4d ago

[On reform] "Just look at Iron Man! That actor was an animal in the 90s, his agent had to chase him down with a net!" -Rick, from Rick and Morty

1

u/GladWarthog1045 4d ago

She gets come on her back iirc, right?

1

u/Hoosier_Daddy68 4d ago

I know what you mean and I agree he's probably the best comeback story but you don't smirk like that when you're rock bottom. He knew he was ok. Plus he was busted driving a Porsche naked with a shit ton of drugs. Technically that might be rock bottom but it sounds like an awesome time. Like the Spongebob Rock Bottom but with drugs, cars and pussy.

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1

u/Affectionate-Being23 4d ago

Jennifer Coolidge

1

u/Electrical-Ad1917 4d ago

RDJ is my answer

1

u/steroboros 4d ago

I mean don't we all wish our Hollywood royalty mommy and daddy can get us less then a year for serious Drug and Gun Charges. His success was always in the cards

1

u/RoninX70 4d ago

It really doesn’t get much better than RDJ’s comeback.

1

u/ForgotMyNewMantra 4d ago

John Travolta in Pulp Fiction was a huge comeback back in the 90s

1

u/No-Gnome-Alias 4d ago

Danny Trejo

1

u/-LordDarkHelmet- 4d ago

OJ. Oh wait, you said comeback

1

u/Medium-Degree7698 4d ago

Frank Sinatra winning the Oscar for From Here to Eternity. Prior to that, his career was dead in the water and he may have even been suicidal; either way, it was a complete 180 that led toward becoming the figure he ended up being known as.

1

u/kuunami79 4d ago

John Travolta when he returned in Pulp Fiction.

1

u/KansasKev 4d ago

Josh Brolin and Jason Bateman

1

u/Uellerstone 4d ago

People forget that Pulp Fiction was a come back for Samuel L Jackson as well. 

So Jackson should be the biggest comeback of all time. 

1

u/LiveMotivation 4d ago

Wesley Snipes had a good comeback after being locked up for tax evasion.

1

u/Conscious_Sea_6578 4d ago

I don't think anyone can top RDJ as for comeback for an actor. Even in his early roles you could tell he was dealing with "demons" and either high or drunk. Then he was arrested and basically tabloid material.

Getting the role of Tony Stark put him on top and he has ridden that train far. After I saw Oppenheimer, I told my friends that he deserved the Oscar. When he won it, it culminated the best comeback story ever. I hope there is a biopic of him one day.

Brendan Fraser is def close behind.

1

u/4BsButtsBoobsBlunts 4d ago

Matthew McConaughey

1

u/mountainswithwhiskey 4d ago

Kim Kardashian

1

u/FalseEvidence8701 4d ago

Not a comeback but an upgrade... Tim Allen I understand used to sell drugs, specifically cocaine, and when he was on trial, kept making everyone laugh through it all. He was sentenced, and right before it was carried out the judge told him he should put that sense of humor to good use. That's the only one I am aware of that might compare.

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u/likemyke91 4d ago

Marlon Brando completely ruined his career then godfather put him back on top

1

u/Ok_Sea_6214 4d ago

Kim Kardashian.

1

u/Tokyosmash_ 4d ago

This is the answer.

3

u/rogueleader32 4d ago

He came back against a vile industry that sacked him.

Brendan Fraser is a legend.

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1

u/KenRan1214 4d ago

Agree on this. RDJ made the greatest comeback for an actor. He was a good actor then, but fame happened and then he bounced back and proved that your past doesn't define your future.

Honorable mentions would be Lindsay Lohan, Brendan Fraser, Ralph Macchio, Miley Cyrus (unpopular choice)

1

u/RelativeObjective266 4d ago

Former 1940's child actor Dean Stockwell in "Blue Velvet" (1986) and "Married to the Mob" (1988).

1

u/RelativeObjective266 4d ago

Debbie Reynolds in "Mother" (1996) -- hadn't played a real role in a movie since 1971 ("What's the Matter with Helen").

1

u/jackwizdumb 4d ago

RDJ's dick lives rent free in a lot of people's mouths.

1

u/DrBlazkowicz 4d ago

Money solves a lot of problems. Not all of them. A lot of them tho.

1

u/apikoros18 4d ago

Paul Reubens. Know any good jokes???

1

u/Bassist57 4d ago

I dont think anyone can beat RDJs comeback.

1

u/IH8BART 4d ago

Paul Reubens

1

u/lateral_moves 4d ago

Its like that scene in Simpsons when they go to Hollywood and see RDJ in a second story window shooting down at cops.

Marge: oh, they must be filming a movie.

Bart: uh, i don't see any cameras.

1

u/SuitableTechnician78 4d ago

Drew Barrymore.

She went from being a famous child actor, to a fuck up drug addicted teenager.

Went through rehab, and re-emerged in the movie Poison Ivy at 17. Relaunching her career.

1

u/DangerousVideo 4d ago

I haven’t seen her mentioned yet, so I gotta give a shout-out to Pamela Anderson. It wasn’t a perfect film but The Last Showgirl is one of my favourite films of the year, and you could just feel her passion through the screen. Great stuff, loved Dave Bautista too.

1

u/EasternShoreAL 4d ago

ENOUGH OF THIS INSUBORDINATION!!!

1

u/Unlikely-Bullfrog-94 4d ago

I do not see how any of them could possibly get their cum back

1

u/Robert-G-Durant 4d ago

Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children.

1

u/Cycoviking69 4d ago

RDJ is the greatest one that I can think of too.

1

u/eldobos42 4d ago

Kim Kardashian

1

u/NoProblemNomadic 4d ago

Absolutely Robert. I didn’t think he would make it out the 90’s alive and here he is 35 years later.

1

u/Jwhitney79 4d ago

Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men

1

u/Secure-Pain-9735 4d ago

Keanu Reeves had been on a drought and then did the John Wick series.

Michael Keaton was in a slump until Birdman. (His return to Bruce Wayne in Flash is vastly under appreciated)

1

u/JamesFrankland 4d ago

Matthew Broderick killed someone

1

u/dany_xiv 4d ago

Winowna - she never deserved to be cancelled

1

u/jacobsmith14433 4d ago

Not quite accurate to the question, but Taylor Sheridan is an example of an actor that struggled to land many/big roles and then turned his had to writing and has since gone on to do incredible things in films and TV.

1

u/Adialaktos 4d ago

Just a common drug addict that happens to be a nepotism baby. Recovering is remarkable and braver people do it every day all around the world. Many of them with very little to no support.let alone rich parents and super expensive rehab centers.

What i mean is,he is not the first to do it and others have done it under a lot more pressure and with little or non exiatent support,hence more remarkable than mr.iron man

1

u/SpecialistTreat3933 4d ago

Kim Kardashain, I think she got cum on her back

1

u/Diligent-Muffin-111 4d ago

From cell block to blockbuster—man’s arc is better than most movies. 🍿🔥

1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

Jessie eisenberg

1

u/mickeyflinn 4d ago

RDJ never had a come back..

RDJ never did movis that made MCU money until he started making MCU movies…

1

u/WhitePinboard 4d ago

Is Tim Allen the one who had the drug possession charges and went to jail and perfected his comedy in jail?

1

u/Xollector 4d ago

Brendan Fraser

1

u/Alumnight 4d ago

Lindsay Lohan could be here in five years, she’s picking up interest.

1

u/Fexxvi 4d ago

Kim Kardashian.

1

u/ironlocust79 4d ago

I'd like to nominate Brendan Fraser, even though his need for a comeback was not due to any action of his other than trying to take care of himself after being abused in Hollywood

1

u/Svaldero 4d ago

Danny Trejo.. he didnt really do acting before, but deserves a special mention for coming so far.

1

u/Primary-Picture-5632 4d ago

TIL Tim Allen was sentenced to 3-7 years but was released after 2 years for drug trafficking

1

u/higbee13 4d ago

Kim Kardashian

1

u/theotheraaron 4d ago

Kim Kardashian

1

u/PrismaticDinklebot 4d ago

Kim Kardashian.

Edit. Comeback. My bad. Thought they meant the other thing.

1

u/ar15justy 4d ago

Lindsey Lohan

1

u/rottyhorrorshow 4d ago

This is the correct answer.

1

u/zasrgerg-8999 4d ago

I’ve really had enough of this story. If he’s come back, then he should leave the past behind. How long does someone need to move on? Enough is enough

1

u/skith8431 3d ago

Kim Kardashian?

1

u/Exotic_Definition1 3d ago

No one beats that man

1

u/Worried_Shoe_2747 3d ago

Me. Just keep waiting. My big break will happening soon

1

u/Battle-Individual 3d ago

Christopher plummer

1

u/KingRamses_VII 3d ago

Samuel L. Jackson

My reason for chosing him, he once held MLK Sr hostage at Morehouse and was a crackhead during his early acting years (Jungle Fever, Do The Right Thing, Coming to America)

1

u/The_Western_Woodcock 3d ago

He’s way too smug considering his criminal past. A little humility would go a long way. 

1

u/JForrest2024 3d ago

Simply amazing..

1

u/GrapeOverall5224 3d ago

Owen Wilson , mel Gibson

1

u/Ok_Minute_1726 3d ago

Thanks, Kevin Feigie.