14 Actors Who Took a Prolonged Hiatus — For Better or Worse
Just think of the military propaganda we could have had if Josh Hartnett hadn’t abandoned the moviegoing public after 9/11.
Eddie Murphy
The Razzies apparently scared off one of the greatest comedic actors of all time when they named him the Worst Actor of the Decade in 2010, because he worked very sporadically for the next nine years. Since 2019, he’s leaned on sequels and reboots — Coming 2 America, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Shrek 5 — but has also challenged himself with some fresh and/or weird films.
Gloria Stuart
Everyone’s favorite spunky old lady from Titanic started out decades earlier, with peers like Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis, but quit the biz right before World War II. Her last film before Titanic was 1946’s She Wrote the Book, 51 years earlier.
Meg Ryan
After staking her claim as queen of the romcom, she took some time off to be a human from 2015 to 2022: “I took a giant break because I felt like there’s just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop.” In 2023, she came roaring back as director/co-writer/star of her own romcom, What Happens Later.
Josh Hartnett
He solidified himself as military propagandists’ go-to heartthrob with Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor in 2001, but he took a big step back after that: “There was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up. And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.” He even turned down the role of Superman, twice, before making a triumphant return to relevancy in Oppenheimer and The Bear.
Tyler James Williams
Williams played a young Chris Rock on Everybody Hates Chris, and he’s found success as an adult star on Abbott Elementary, but he cultivated a strategic dry spell in between: “I realized at 17 that I didn’t like the road I was on. So I decided to stop and pivot. I got with a really good acting coach, and I turned down every single thing I was offered.”
Joe Pesci
The quintessential wise guy has had a couple of prolonged hiatuses in his storied career, including an attempted pivot to music. Lethal Weapon 4 came out in 1998, as did his big band jazz album Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You. He wouldn’t star in a major commercial success again until 2019’s The Irishman.
Pamela Anderson
Aside from appearances in a small slasher and a French action comedy, Pamela wasn’t working in film from 2017 to 2024. 2017 was a reboot of Baywatch, which didn’t go over well, but 2024’s The Last Showgirl got her her first Golden Globes nod.
Macaulay Culkin
Young Macaulay Culkin is as responsible as anyone for the modern Christmas-industrial complex. He quit the biz after 1994’s Richie Rich, breaking no-contact with the industry for the 2003 film Party Monster and a cameo on Will & Grace.
Cameron Diaz
She starred in three movies in 2014, another two in 2015 and then decided to take a well-deserved decade off. Just kidding, she married Good Charlotte’s guitarist and had two kids. In 2025, she’s finally back in action in Netflix’s Back in Action.
Matthew McConaughey
He took two years off starting in 2009, although to hear him tell it, he handed in his wisened stoner badge for good: “I think I’m going to teach high school classes. I think I’m going to study to be a conductor. I think I’m going to go be a wildlife guide. Hollywood’s like, ‘Well, fuck you, dude. You should have stayed in your lane.’” By 2013, he’d win an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.
Renée Zellweger
She went absolutely ham in 2009, putting out four movies, but besides one in 2010, she was MIA for the next seven years. She nabbed a Best Supporting Actress win in 2003, and many thought she’d lost the juice. She proved them wrong with a 2020 Best Actress win as Judy Garland in Judy.
Tami Stronach
Playing the Childlike Empress in The NeverEnding Story was a harrowing experience, given adult nerds’ penchant for being absolute creeps to child stars. She found success in other creative avenues, getting a brief record deal in Germany and spending 10 years studying dance in New York City. Forty years after The Neverending Story, she gave acting another try with Man and Witch.
Tom Neyman
He’s not a household name, but he’s a cult hero (or more specifically, villain). He played a polygamous pagan cult leader in the campy 1966 film Manos: The Hand of Fate, which caught a second wind as a fan favorite episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Neyman’s daughter raised money for a tongue-in-cheek sequel in 2018 called Manos Returns, bookending Neyman’s mostly vacant 52-year career.
Ke Huy Quan
He landed his first-ever role in Indiana Jones by accident — he went to an audition with his brother, and someone in charge liked the cut of his jib. He got a few more parts in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but gave up on the dream for 19 years: “I spent a long time lying to myself that acting isn’t fun anymore.” He won an Oscar for his second film back, 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once.
