15 Actors Whose Dying Careers Were Revived By One Role
![15 Actors Whose Dying Careers Were Revived By One Role](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/8/5/811285_320x180.jpg)
It's not an exaggeration to say that a job can greatly affect an actor's career for good or ill. Celebrities, despite their achievements, rarely get to relax since fame can be so fickle. A single blunder can pave the way for a rival performer to replace them. The celebrities in question are today's greatest actors in Hollywood. Their career was on the decline until a chance presented itself. They have always been on the edge of leaving Hollywood whenever a hit part brought them back.
In Hollywood, not every performer becomes famous immediately. Some of the most difficult conflicts were with their professional paths, which can include some butal ups and downs.
As any aspiring actor will tell you, building a great career in Hollywood may be one of the world's most difficult life goals. These actors managed to pull it off twice. Consider the following 15 performers whose reputations were salvaged by a single role:
![ROBERT BE DOWNEY JR. KISS KISS BANG BANG CRACKED.COM In 2005, Robert Downey Jr. was in dire need of another chance. Years of drug abuse, and a stint in prison gave him a toxic reputation in Hollywood, but Marvel saw his performance in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as their ideal template for Tony Stark.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/0/811300.jpg)
Source: Decider
![NEIL PATRICK HARRIS HAROLD&KUMAR CRACKED.COM Doogie Howser had wrapped a decade earlier, but everyone still called him Doogie. NPH's coke-snorting, stripper-hungry version of himself in Harold & Kumar erased his child-star image, and landed him How I Met Your Mother.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/9/811299.jpg)
Source: Vanityfair
![JOSH BROLIN NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN CRACKED.COM Goonies never say die! The 20 years between The Goonies and Best Picture-winning No Country For Old Men brought small, forgettable roles, but Brolin's performance in No Country revived his career and lead him to much bigger roles like Thanos in the MCU.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/4/811294.jpg)
Source: Esquire
![DREW BE BARRYMORE SCREAM CRACKED.COM The beloved child-star in E.T. and Firestarter was in and out of rehab in her teens. After landing smaller roles in the 90s, that one-scene cameo in Scream really kicked things into gear, and lead to Never Been Kissed and Charlie's Angels.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/8/7/811287.jpg)
Source: Indiewire
![SEAN BE CONNERY THE UNTOUCHABLES CRACKED COM By the 80s, Connery's career had completely fallen off the rails. Не couldn't leave the shadow of James Bond in the '70s, but his role of Jim Malone in The Untouchables won him an Oscar in 1988, and lead to hits like The Hunt for Red October.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/1/811301.jpg)
Source: Ranker
![MICKEY BE ROURKE SIN CITY GRACKED COM After critically acclaimed 80's films, Rourke focused on a fairly successful boxing career. Не returned for bit roles in the mid 90s, but 2005's Sin City gave his career a massive jolt, landing him The Wrestler - a role that won him a Golden Globe.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/5/811295.jpg)
Source: Esquire
![РАМ GRIER BE JACKIE BROWN CRACKED.COM 70s blaxploitation films like Coffy and Foxy Brown made her cinema's first female action star. In the 90s, career peaks were a Snoop Dogg video and an episode of The Fresh Prince until Tarantino gave her the title role in the now-classic Jackie Brown.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/8/811298.jpg)
Source: Screenrant
![MICHAEL KEATON BIRDMAN CRACKED.COM 80s and 90s kids agreed on Beetlejuice, Batman, and everything Michael Keaton until we got (literally) too much of him in 1996's Multiplicity. It's all bit parts until 2014's Birdman got him an Oscar nom and, just like the plot of Birdman, sparked a serious comeback. Oh I get it now!](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/7/811297.jpg)
![KURT RUSSELL B DEATH PROOF CRACKED.COM Kurt Russell had 80s cult hits like Escape From New York but his star power cooled by the mid 90s. After Tarantino cast him in 2007s Death Proof, he got back to blockbusters like the Fast & Furious series and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/6/811296.jpg)
Source: Screenrant
![INGRID BE BERGMAN ANASTASIA CRACKED.COM Ingrid Bergman was one of the most popular actresses in the world after 1942s Casablanca. A series of personal and professional setbacks had basically driven her to exile until her Oscar-winning performance in 1956's Anastasia resurrected her career.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/8/8/811288.jpg)
Source: Nextprojection
![JOHN TRAVOLTA BE PULP FICTION CRACKED.COM After 70s hits like Saturday Night Fever and Grease, John Travolta had multiple flops in the 80s that saw his career dwindling. The role of Vincent Vega in Tarantino's 1994 phenomenon Pulp Fiction catapulted him back on the A-list, and lead to a string of hits.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/2/811292.jpg)
Source: Looper
![DIANE LANE A WALK ON THE MOON CRACKED.COM 80s successes in Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish and The Outsiders lead to a brief retirement after multiple flops. 1999s A Walk On The Moon garnered serious attention and lead to The Perfect Storm and an Oscar nomination in the steamy thriller Unfaithful.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/1/811291.jpg)
Source: Indiewire
![DAVID CARRADINE KILL BILL CRACKED.COM Tarantino saves another one! In the 70s, Carradine was famous for his iconic role as Caine in Kung Fu, but the 80s and 90s brought dozens of straight-to-video movies. Martial arts fans worldwide saw his legacy reach new heights as Bill in Kill Bill.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/8/9/811289.jpg)
Source: Screenrant
![JASON BATEMAN BE ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT CRACKED.COM Bateman was a child-star in Little House on the Prairie and Silver Spoons, but Hollywood got the best of his teens and 20s. After he sobered up, he landed Arrested Development, calling it the pivotal turning point in his professional life.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/3/811293.jpg)
Source: Nickiswift
![BRENDAN BE FRASER NO SUDDEN MOVE CRACKED.COM Fingers crossed! It's been a long time since The Mummy, and it might be too early to tell, but 2021's No Sudden Move landed Fraser on Martin Scorcese's radar for 2022s Killers of the Flower Moon with De Niro and DiCaprio. Only time will tell.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/0/811290.jpg)
Source: GQ.com