Hollywood loves a good comeback story, and there have been many in its long history: Marlon Brando in The Godfather, John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, and recently, Robert Downey, Jr in Iron Man. These comebacks occurred after long career slumps and revitalized these actors' careers for, at least, a while.
However, there are some actors whose careers begin to slump, so they work hard for that comeback role. Unfortunately, the comeback role doesn't always land with critics and audiences the way it should have, and a good follow-up role never comes. After experiencing a career resurgence with Pulp Fiction, John Travolta found himself in such a position and he s these other nine actors who made movies that should have been big comebacks, but for whatever reason, weren't.
Chris Tucker - Silver Linings Playbook
Chris Tucker had a huge hit with 1998's Rush Hour, alongside Jackie Chan. Yet Tucker would not do another movie until 2001's Rush Hour 2, where he commanded a whopping $20 million paycheck.
Tucker disappeared from movies until 2007's Rush Hour 3, considered a disappointment by audiences and critics. It would be another five years before he appeared in a ing role in Silver Linings Playbook. Audiences welcomed his performance but he has since only made one other movie, the Ang Lee flop, Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk.
Christopher Walken - Catch Me If You Can
After starting out in dramas like his Oscar-winning performance in The Deer Hunter, Christopher Walken followed up with kooky roles in The Dead Zone and Pulp Fiction. He's considered a quirky man, so he's often offered quirky roles.
However, Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can was one of his rare serious roles. He gives a touching performance that earned him a Best ing Actor nomination, but he lost to Chris Cooper. Unfortunately, similar roles haven't followed and Walken has mostly stayed in his kooky/quirky lane.
Edward Norton - Birdman
Everyone knows that been bigger for Edward Norton too. After seeing success in the mid-90s through to the early 2000s, Norton's career hit a slump, with his most high-profile role being Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, eventually being replaced by Mark Ruffalo.
For 2014's Birdman, The French Dispatch, a film highly anticipated by fans of the director, who frequently casts Norton, so perhaps its release will mean big things for the acclaimed actor.
John Travolta - Savages
Travolta has had many ups and downs in his career. The height of his career was in the late 70s, with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, before his career experienced a slump in the 1980s. His resurrection would come in the form of 1994's Pulp Fiction, and hits like Get Shorty and Face/Off followed. However, Travolta hit another slump in the 2000s after flops like Battlefield Earth.
In 2012, he co-starred in Oliver Stone's Die Hart.
Pam Grier - Jackie Brown
Pam Grier was once a 1970s blaxploitation queen, starring in Coffy and Foxy Brown, however, she was never able to achieve the same level of success as she found in these roles, starring in many movies as a drug addict or prostitute.
It wasn't until career reviver Bless This Mess.
Bruce Willis - Moonrise Kingdom
Bruce Willis has had a versatile career, starring in blockbusters like Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, more overlooked performances in 12 Monkeys and The Sixth Sense. However, in recent years, action movies have been his primary genre and many have been straight-to-DVD.
However, in 2012, he starred in critical darling Wes Anderson's McClane.
Sylvester Stallone - Creed
successes with Rocky and Rambo, his career took a turn with Judge Dredd and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, to name a few. In 1997, he gave what many consider an Oscar-worthy performance in Cop Land.
He then descended into the straight-to-DVD-world and movies like Creed. The film earned him a Best ing Actor nomination, but he lost. Besides Creed II, Stallone has yet to follow it up with another quality movie, but fans are remaining hopeful, as he has a few promising roles in the pipeline.
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Comic genius, Beverly Hills Cop, but after having early blockbuster success, his movies began to flop, most notably 2002's Pluto Nash which, at one time, was the biggest bomb in history.
Besides the Shrek movies, Murphy had little success in the 2000s until he took the role of Jimmy Early in the 2007 musical, Beverly Hills Cop 4 are next in line, actor, so audiences will have to see if this will finally be his comeback.
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke was once considered one of the best actors of the 80s after his performances in Barfly and Diner. His star dimmed in the 1990s and had all but burned out by the early 2000s. However, his career was on the rise again after Robert Rodriguez cast him in Sin City. Following this, he made his career-defining performance with 2008's The Wrestler, which even the trailers branded as the "resurrection of Mickey Rourke."
He received a Best Actor nomination in a tough year that saw him losing to Sean Penn for Milk. Despite the loss, many believed more brilliant performances would follow, however, his biggest follow-up to date has been Iron Man 2, which is largely considered Marvel's weakest movie. Rourke has many movies in pre and post-production, however, so fans will just have to wait and see what's next for the actor.
John Cusack - Love & Mercy
After starring in Being John Malkovich and High Fidelity, Cusack's career began to peter out with a mix of poorly received romantic comedies and action movies, before becoming trapped in the straight-to-DVD-world.
However, in 2014, Cusack starred in Utopia, written by Gone Girl author and screenwriter, Gillian Flynn.
