Top 10 Performances So Good They Revived Actors Careers

Even today, actors don’t often have time to luxuriate in their successes or wallow in their failures. But, back in the ‘30s, compensation wasn't nearly as astronomical and actors who had too many box office bombs in a row lived in fear of getting the chop. That was the reality facing the great Katharine Hepburn. In 1938, Hepburn was one of several actors dubbed “box office poison.” With some help from the uber rich Howard Hughes, Hepburn was able to secure film rights to the Broadway play “The Philadelphia Story.” She sold the rights to MGM on the condition that she reprise her stage role as the wisecracking heiress, Tracy Lord. Her witty and winning performance in the movie won over fans, silenced critics, and catapulted her into her second decade of stardom.

After years away from show business, this boxer-turned-actor won praise for 2005’s “Sin City.” However, it was his Academy Award-nominated performance in Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 sports drama, “The Wrestler” that showed all of Hollywood Mickey Rourke was a bonafide legend. Known for his gritty and realistic acting style, Rourke’s empathetic performances seemed to echo very real battles in his personal life. Audiences couldn’t help but see the actor in the story of a wrestler who would destroy himself to recapture his glory days. His was a true Hollywood story and a testament to perseverance in an industry that doesn’t always reward it.

After memorable roles in “The Goonies” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” Vietnamese-American actor Ke Huy Quan seemingly disappeared from the screen. A lack of acting opportunities led him to pursue roles behind the camera. Nearly two decades after his last screen performance, Quan took the role of Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” The 2022 Best Picture winner had the actor portraying the same character in different timelines, no small feat for even the most prolific working actor. Quan won an Oscar for his comeback performance, and you can tell all of Hollywood was rooting for him.

They may have been rivals, but Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were having the same problem in the early ‘60s. Facing advanced age in an industry that valued youth above all, the pair combined their talents for the horrific “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” Playing two sisters and former Hollywood actresses holed up in a house as madness and infirmity takes over, it was a major departure for the former screen goddesses. Their roles won them critical acclaim, legions of young fans, and a whole new start in horror movies. Although it didn’t do too much to quell the animosity between them, it’s arguably the one film of theirs that lingers most in the cultural memory.

Yet another comeback role where an actor seems to be playing out some variation of their own life story for the audience. This time, it’s Michael Keaton, who was famous for his leading role in the Tim Burton “Batman” films. In the years preceding “Birdman,” Keaton was never able to achieve the critical or box office successes he had after his outings as the Caped Crusader. Starring in this ambitious 2014 Best Picture winner, “Birdman,” Keaton plays a washed-up actor preparing for his return to the stage while being haunted by his most famous role. This endeavor has led to an amazing second act career with lauded appearances in “Spotlight,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and Hulu’s “Dopesick.”

He’s been a meme, he’s been a sci-fi hero, and he’s even been in more than his fair share of period pieces. But, in the late 2000s, Keanu Reeves’ career had stalled. A series of off-the-wall passion projects and underperforming movies had diminished his box office potential. When John Wick came along, the story about a retired hitman reviving his career showed an older, wiser, more experienced Reeves. The artfully crafted action set pieces allowed the veteran actor to do what he does best, and audiences ate it up. It was a box office hit that spawned several sequels and relaunched his career.

An actor’s stock can drop for any number of reasons. Bad box office, changing trends, unlucky publicity… But some performers’ personal troubles can also sink their careers. Robert Downey Jr.’s substance use disorder made national headlines and certainly did a number on his reputation. Luckily, director Jon Favreau saw RDJ’s raw talent for what it was. He was decisively cast as the leading Iron Man, and this first installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is what reintroduced him to the world as a major star. As the smug and hysterically funny billionaire-turned-superhero, Downey Jr. found an entirely new life in Hollywood.

Charming, handsome, and charismatic, Brendan Fraser had everything it took to be a movie star in the ‘90s. But, come the new millennium, his career slowed, and he was off many people’s radar for the next decade and a half. Several incidents, including a divorce, several surgeries, and an alleged sexual assault by Hollywood Foreign Press president Philip Berk, led to Fraser taking a break from his career. However, once rumors swirled that his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” was award-worthy, everyone smelled a triumphant return. The role was a far cry from his others as an action hero, but it resonated with audiences and fellow artists for its raw honesty. His performance won him his first Oscar.

Once the essence of 1970s coolness, “Saturday Night Fever” star John Travolta’s success didn’t carry into the 1980s. His biggest hits were the “Look Who’s Talking” movies and even those got worse as they went along. When Quentin Tarantino cast him in “Pulp Fiction,” Travolta’s career was on life support. As the hilarious but bumbling hitman Vincent Vega, the actor got to stretch his muscles and even dust off the old dance moves. The role ended up being just the shot of adrenaline he needed. His second Academy Award nomination and a jackpot of big budget offers followed.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013)
McConaughey Would Win an Oscar for His Role as an AIDS Patient

Jennifer Lopez, “Hustlers” (2019)
The Actress & Singer Won Her Best Reviews in Years with This Crime Comedy

Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
Primarily Known for His Goofy TV Persona, Pratt Proved His Viability as a Movie Star

Drew Barrymore, “Scream” (1996)
After Years of B Movies, She Delivered a 10-Minute Tour de Force in the Opening Scene

One of Hollywood’s most successful method actors, Marlon Brando was said to have revolutionized acting in America. By the 1970s, he was disillusioned with the business and widely considered to be all washed up. Writer-director Francis Ford Coppola actually had to pull a few fast ones on Paramount for them to even consider Brando for what would become his most iconic role. As the wise and soft-spoken mafia don, Brando crafted one of film’s all-time great characters. His mannerisms and dialogue are imitated by movie lovers the world over. Without this part, his career might have been one that burned out too soon and never recovered.