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Favorite Actor Comeback Story...

5,454 Views | 64 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by double aught
Rudyjax
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4:12p, 11/10/21
AG
The Brendan Fraser thread had me thinking, what's a good comeback story in Hollywood?

I have 2.

Jackie Earl Haley
He was a child actor, was in the Bad News Bears movies, in a film with Cruise and Shelly Long called Losin' It, and in the great movie Breaking Away. He even reprised his role in the TV show. Then nothing. It's hard wen you're 5' nothing and ugly. He moved to SA, had a production company, was in a band.
He got a break in 2008, and a role in a Sean Penn Film All the King's men, then got nominated for an Oscar for Little Chidren. Has worked nonstop since and still lives in SA.

William Zabka...
Dude was in Karate Kid, Just of of the Guys, Back to School and European Vacation. Got type casted as a bully and just never got roles.

Directed a short film and was nominated for an Oscar.

The makers of Hot Tube Time Machine were fans of the Karate Kid, and asked him to play a role. He turned down Better off Dead to take Just one of the Guys, and regretted it.

Then he was cast as himself in HIMYM as the true Karate Kid.

The makers of HTTM asked him if he wanted to do Cobra Kai. He got Macchio, and he's doing well and has been recognized for how good of an actor he is.


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hunter2012
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4:17p, 11/10/21
AG
RDJ, is the first one to come to mind, he looks terrible in Less than Zero, then spends the next 2 decades between oblivion and prison before becoming Ironman and launched to the A-list.
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superunknown
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4:21p, 11/10/21
AG
Kim Kardashian
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schmendeler
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In reply to hunter2012 • 4:21p, 11/10/21
AG
If you haven't already, check out "A Scanner Darkly" and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang".
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Duncan Idaho
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4:22p, 11/10/21
John Travolta has to be on here. Granted he has since faded again.
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schmendeler
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In reply to superunknown • 4:22p, 11/10/21
AG
superunknown said:
Kim Kardashian


Comeback, not c*m on her back.
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Rudyjax
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In reply to superunknown • 4:57p, 11/10/21
AG
superunknown said:
Kim Kardashian
OK Andy.
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Bruce Almighty
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4:57p, 11/10/21
AG
RDJ has gotta be #1. Jason Bateman went from child actor to falling off the face of the earth for almost 20 years to becoming pretty damn big again.
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Duncan Idaho
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In reply to Bruce Almighty • 5:03p, 11/10/21
It was a bold strategy
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Lathspell
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5:51p, 11/10/21
AG
RDJ, for me.

Actually, I view his comeback as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It was that movie that got him the role of Tony Stark.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of my favorite movies no one seems to know about. Absolutely love that movie.
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YouBet
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In reply to hunter2012 • 6:26p, 11/10/21
AG
hunter2012 said:
RDJ, is the first one to come to mind, he looks terrible in Less than Zero, then spends the next 2 decades between oblivion and prison before becoming Ironman and launched to the A-list.
His role in Less Than Zero is about as ironic as you can get considering where his career went. Also, one of the more depressing and harder to read books I've ever picked up. You will hate humanity while reading that book.
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Btron
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6:32p, 11/10/21
AG
Neil Patrick Harris?
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6:42p, 11/10/21
Jason Ag
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6:49p, 11/10/21
AG
I'm sure there were lots that fought. Jimmy Stuart comes to mind. Won an Academy award in 1940, joined the Air Corps and attained the rank of colonel. First movie after the war was It's a Wonderful Life.
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Sooper Jeenyus
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In reply to Rudyjax • 7:13p, 11/10/21
AG
Kevin the 3-legged dog said:
William Zabka...
Dude was in Karate Kid, Just of of the Guys, Summer School, and European Vacation. Got type casted as a bully and just never got roles.

Directed a short film and was nominated for an Oscar.

The makers of Hot Tube Time Machine were fans of the Karate Kid, and asked him to play a role. He turned down Better off Dead to take Just one of the Guys, and regretted it.

Then he was cast as himself in HIMYM as the true Karate Kid.

The makers of HTTM asked him if he wanted to do Cobra Kai. He got Macchio, and he's doing well and has been recognized for how good of an actor he is.
I don't recall him in Summer School. Which role?
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TCTTS
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7:14p, 11/10/21
AG
It's RDJ for me.

October 2005 was a huge month for him. He went from movie purgatory / Ally McBeal appearances to not only starring in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (one of my absolute favorites as well), but having a supporting role in the critically acclaimed, George Clooney-directed Good Night, and Good Luck just two weeks before. It was that one-two punch that sent him on his way, and then, just six months later (March 2006), he had a great supporting role in Zodiac, another one of my all-time favorites, that solidified his comeback. A year later (May 2008) Iron Man hit and the rest is history.

I don't think any other comeback comes even close to that kind of run, in less than three years, from indie/drama darling to blockbuster superstar, after crashing and burning a decade+ prior.
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Rudyjax
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In reply to Sooper Jeenyus • 7:23p, 11/10/21
AG
Sooper Jeenyus said:
Kevin the 3-legged dog said:
William Zabka...
Dude was in Karate Kid, Just of of the Guys, Summer School, and European Vacation. Got type casted as a bully and just never got roles.

Directed a short film and was nominated for an Oscar.

The makers of Hot Tube Time Machine were fans of the Karate Kid, and asked him to play a role. He turned down Better off Dead to take Just one of the Guys, and regretted it.

Then he was cast as himself in HIMYM as the true Karate Kid.

The makers of HTTM asked him if he wanted to do Cobra Kai. He got Macchio, and he's doing well and has been recognized for how good of an actor he is.
I don't recall him in Summer School. Which role?


Damn it. Back to School. Sorry.
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MookieBlaylock
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7:54p, 11/10/21
AG
Burt Reynolds had a great comeback

Ran into Jackie Earl at an Indian restraunt before his comeback when he first moves to SA not sure how i recognized him.
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Bruce Almighty
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7:57p, 11/10/21
AG
Marlon Brando may have had the biggest roller coaster ride of any actor on this thread. Went from possibly the greatest actor of the 50s to obscurity in the 60s to possibly the greatest (or at least top 3) actor of the 70s.
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Rudyjax
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In reply to MookieBlaylock • 8:13p, 11/10/21
AG
MookieBlaylock said:
Burt Reynolds had a great comeback

Ran into Jackie Earl at an Indian restraunt before his comeback when he first moves to SA not sure how i recognized him.


Isn't he friends with your brother?
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gggmann
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8:20p, 11/10/21
AG
Jackie Earl Haley was the name that came to mind for me. I remember Bad News Bears and its sequels, Damnation Alley, and Breaking Away. Then I don't remember anything until Little Children. After that he's been in a lot of Films and TV: Watchmen, Shutter Island, Nightmare on Elm Street, Human Target, Robocop, Preacher, a couple of episodes of Narcos: Mexico.

Some others that came to mind: Mickey Rourke, Jason Bateman, and Winona Ryder
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JCRiley09
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9:09p, 11/10/21
AG
Matthew McConaughey

Completely lost to romantic comedy abyss. Now everything he touches is gold. Lincoln Lawyer, Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective, Mud, etc etc etc

I know he's a sip, but he completely turned around his career.
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Potcake
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9:32p, 11/10/21
AG
nm
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mazag08
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9:53p, 11/10/21
AG
Pretty sure Robert Downey Jr wins this one going away.
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The Porkchop Express
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10:07p, 11/10/21
AG
Bateman is probably my favorite. Loved him as a kid on Silver Spoons, phenomenal on AD, phenomenal on Ozark. It might seem overdramatic, but my discovery of a few podcasts, particularly his Smartless with Arnett and Hayes, really kept me positive during the early days of the pandemic.

Feel like Michael Keaton should be in there too. I'm not sure if he stopped purposely acting or whatever, but he's been nails since his return. A great villain in Spiderman, and soon to be Mr. Wayne again.

And while he was never gone for a certain cult of us, seeing Mark Hamill return to the spotlight for the SW sequels and his Mando cameo is some pretty special stuff.
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10:13p, 11/10/21
Duncan Idaho
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In reply to [removed post] • 10:48p, 11/10/21
C@LAg said:
travolta had his as well.

Big
then the fade
then BIG again
then another fade

This is the worst take on this thread.
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Philo B 93
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11:01p, 11/10/21
Tom Cruise had that off week where he jumped up and down on Oprah's couch and told people not to take antidepressants. He talked about his cult religion, raved about how in love he was with his 3rd wife and had a terrible divorce from her a kid or two later.

Then he made a huge comeback.
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In reply to Duncan Idaho • 11:06p, 11/10/21
Duncan Idaho
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In reply to [removed post] • 8:32a, 11/11/21
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3247776/replies/60710371

The fact that what is clearly the worst poster on all of TA agrees with you, says your take on Travolta is a bad one.
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GTdad
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In reply to Duncan Idaho • 9:00a, 11/11/21
Duncan Idaho said:
John Travolta has to be on here. Granted he has since faded again.
Tarantino is a great hand at pulling faded actors out of obscurity.
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Rudyjax
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In reply to GTdad • 9:05a, 11/11/21
AG
GTdad said:
Duncan Idaho said:
John Travolta has to be on here. Granted he has since faded again.
Tarantino is a great hand at pulling faded actors out of obscurity.
And then hand them back to obscurity.

But in reality, Travolta wasn't doing much for a couple of years. There wasn't that big of a gap between Look Who's talking and Pulp Fiction.

1994Pulp Fiction
Vincent Vega
1993Look Who's Talking Now
James Ubriacco
1992Boris and Natasha (TV Movie)
John Travolta
1991Shout
Jack Cabe
1991Eyes of an Angel
Bobby
1990Look Who's Talking Too
James
1990Chains of Gold
Scott Barnes
1989 Look Who's Talking
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Zombie Jon Snow
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9:08a, 11/11/21
AG
Somebody mentioned Michael Keaton above but he was huge:

Night Shift, Mr Mom, Beetlejuice, Gung Ho, Batman, etc.

Just about killed his entire career with Multiplicity and Jack Frost but also had minor roles in Jackie Brown and Out of Sight in between there.

Then nothing but small TV guest spots for years and some cartoon voice stuff (Cars, Toy Story, Minions).

Then lands the role of a lifetime really in Birdman - his only AA nomination and he should have won although Eddie Redmayne was certainly great in The Theory of Everything.

And since then he has been gold - he should be nominated for an Emmy this year for Dopesick (Hulu) he was amazing. Plays a doc pedaling Oxy Contin and gets hooked on it himself in the docudrama story about the opioid crisis and one pharma company in particular (Purdue).

Was great in Spotlight, The Founder, American Assassin, Spider Man, etc.
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The Porkchop Express
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9:12a, 11/11/21
AG
Also got to shout out Henry Winkler for Barry.
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Zombie Jon Snow
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9:18a, 11/11/21
AG
What about Ben Affleck.

Argo brought him back from the dead after Gigli and Daredevil. Although The Town was right before that as well but nowhere near as big.

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