Sometimes, it’s not all that fun or easy to stay an A-list actor. In fact, many decided it wasn’t for them and left acting aside forever. And who could blame them?
However, for some actors, taking a break from their famed profession was temporary. Here are 11 celebs who walked away from their careers only to make massive returns to the screen:
1.
Cameron Diaz has returned for her first movie in over a decade. After years of tearing up the screen, Cameron starred in three films in 2014: The Other Woman, Sex Tape, and Annie. She then stepped back to focus on her personal life, including marrying Good Charlotte singer Benji Madden in 2015 and becoming a mom to two children.
2.
Pamela Anderson is having a career renaissance thanks to her new film The Last Showgirl. But this almost didn’t happen. Her work with Playboy and a starring role on Baywatch in the ’90s made her a household name, but Pamela’s personal life became endless tabloid fodder for years. She moved from France to her native Canada in 2020, before a run in Chicago on Broadway in 2022, and now The Last Showgirl, offered the opportunity to reintroduce herself. Pamela scored her first Golden Globes nomination for the film.
4.
While Josh Hartnett has never stopped acting, he notably pared down his work on blockbusters like the ones he made in the early 2000s: Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. The Guardian reports he even turned down the role of Superman two times. He’s recently experienced a renaissance with roles in the films Oppenheimer and Trap and an appearance in The Bear.
5.
Comedy legend Eddie Murphy paused making movies shortly after he received the Razzie for Worst Actor of the Decade in 2010. In 2019, he made a big comeback with a dramatic starring role in the Rudy Ray Moore biopic Dolemite Is My Name. The movie garnered him Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations.
6.
Renée Zellweger walked away from Hollywood after a string of less-than-favorable movies. Already an Oscar winner, she returned in 2016 with the film The Whole Truth and a third Bridget Jones movie. She went on to win a second Oscar a few years later for her role as Judy Garland in a 2019 biopic.
7.
Matthew McConaughey took an acting break after making his name as a rom-com leading man in movies like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Fool’s Gold. He took a two-year hiatus after Ghosts of Girlfriends Past came out in 2009, returning for more serious roles in the early 2010s like The Lincoln Lawyer, Bernie, and Magic Mike.
8.
Ke Huy Quan made it big as an ’80s child actor in the films Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. While in his 20s and struggling to land acting gigs, he decided to step behind the camera to find work. It turned into a nearly two-decade break. He returned to the screen in 2021 with the film Finding ‘Ohana. The following year, he starred in Everything Everywhere All at Once and won an Oscar for his role.
9.
Meg Ryan, who’d made her name in classic rom-coms like When Harry Mert Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, stepped away from Hollywood in 2015. She didn’t return for a major project until 2023, when she directed, co-wrote, and starred in the rom-com What Happens Later.
10.
While Gwyneth Paltrow has kept herself busy with her Goop empire and other projects, she hasn’t appeared in a substantial acting role since The Politician in 2020. Well, she’s coming back. The Oscar winner is starring alongside Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming A24 film Marty Supreme.
11.
Finally, Rachel McAdams was riding a major career wave in the 2000s with films like Mean Girls, The Notebook, and The Family Stone. Amid her success, she moved back to Canada and took a two-year break from acting, turning down roles in films like The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale, and Iron Man. Her career never suffered because Rachel went on to receive an Oscar nomination for the 2015 film Spotlight.
Which of these actors are you so glad made a return, and are there other notable examples we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments below!
