10 Great Movies That Saved an Actor’s Career (#1 Wasn’t Even Supposed To Happen)

It’s discouraging to face repeated failures, and actors are no exception. Putting your heart and soul into a role only to have the project flop or receive negative reviews can be incredibly disheartening. However, a bad review doesn’t always mean the actor was at fault. Sometimes, the script simply didn’t offer enough depth to create a compelling character. Regardless of the reason, many talented actors go through difficult periods and might lose faith in their future. But then, a single, perfect role comes along and completely changes everything. We’re focusing on those actors today – those whose careers turned around thanks to just one movie.

Films that narrowly missed inclusion were the 2018 revival of Halloween, which boosted Jamie Lee Curtis’ career, Hustlers, which proved Jennifer Lopez could deliver a truly strong performance (something she hadn’t been fully recognized for since Out of Sight), and Black Swan. While some might say Black Swan helped revive Winona Ryder’s career, Stranger Things was actually the project that brought her back into the spotlight.

10) Birdman

I remember after Jack Frost in ’98, Michael Keaton seemed to fade from the spotlight a bit. He did pop up in smaller films and White Noise, of course, but for a long time in the 2000s, he just wasn’t consistently headlining movies like he used to. It felt like a while before he really re-established himself as a reliable leading man.

His career began to turn around around 2010, with memorable supporting roles in films like Toy Story 3 and The Other Guys. However, he truly re-established himself as a leading actor with Birdman in 2014. He continued his success the following year with a significant part in Spotlight, then played Ray Kroc in The Founder (2016), and took on the role of Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).

9) The Lincoln Lawyer

Matthew McConaughey experienced a remarkable career comeback, so much so that it became known as the “McConaissance.” Generally considered to have lasted from the release of The Lincoln Lawyer in 2011 to the disappointing reception of The Sea of Trees in 2015, this period saw him star in a series of critically acclaimed films – a significant departure from the romantic comedies he’d previously been known for.

Matthew McConaughey had a remarkable run of films from 2011 to 2013, starting with The Lincoln Lawyer and including the excellent Bernie and Killer Joe. In 2012, he starred in Mud and Magic Mike, with The Paperboy being the only one that didn’t quite hit the mark. 2013 brought an unforgettable cameo in The Wolf of Wall Street and an Academy Award win for Dallas Buyers Club, finishing with a starring role in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Even after 2013’s successes, with films like The Sea of Trees being just as strong, he continued to deliver with Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and The Gentlemen. Let’s just say Gold, Serenity, and The Dark Tower didn’t live up to his previous work.

8) Everything Everywhere All at Once

Ke Huy Quan was a successful child actor, but he struggled to find acting work as an adult. For almost 20 years, he worked behind the scenes as a stunt choreographer, even contributing to the first X-Men movie.

I was so thrilled to see him back on screen with Finding ‘Ohana in 2021, but it was definitely Everything Everywhere All at Once the next year that felt like his real comeback. Since then, he’s been incredibly busy! He’s lent his voice to Kung Fu Panda 4 and Zootopia 2, taken on a dual role in The Electric State, starred in Love Hurts, even made a fun vocal appearance on The White Lotus. Plus, he’s had significant parts in the Disney+ series American Born Chinese and the second season of Loki – it’s amazing to see all he’s been up to!

7) Airplane!

I’ve been a fan of Leslie Nielsen for years, and it’s amazing to look back at his career! He was steadily working in films from the mid-1950s right up to Airplane! in 1980. He even starred in classics like Forbidden Planet and had parts in movies like Tammy and the Bachelor and The Poseidon Adventure, but honestly, before Airplane!, he wasn’t really seen as one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Leslie Nielsen began to redefine his comedic style with the movie Airplane!, which showcased his talent for delivering lines with a perfectly straight face. He revisited this type of silly humor in 1982 with Police Squad! But it wasn’t until The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! in 1988 that he truly became known as the king of spoof comedies. From 1988 until his death in 2010, he starred in 15 of these films.

Stream Airplane! on MGM+.

6) Deadpool

Ryan Reynolds has been steadily working in film and television since his breakout role in Van Wilder in 2002. Throughout the 2000s, he appeared in many supporting roles, with a few leading roles mixed in.

In the 2010s, he began taking on more leading roles, with a few supporting parts here and there. However, some of those leading roles didn’t do well, like the films Green Lantern, The Change-Up, and R.I.P.D. He found success with smaller, lower-budget films like The Voices and Mississippi Grind, but it was the huge hit Deadpool in 2016 that really cemented his status as a leading man. After that, films like The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Detective Pikachu, 6 Underground, Free Guy, and Spirited all proved popular with audiences, both in theaters and on streaming.

Stream Deadpool on Disney+.

5) John Wick

Keanu Reeves has been acting for four decades, and like most actors with such a long career, he’s experienced both successes and failures. For Reeves, his biggest hits often began with an action movie.

He started with dramas and comedies in the 1980s, then co-starred in Point Break during the 90s. The 1994 hit Speed truly established him as an action star, although some of his following films, like Johnny Mnemonic and Chain Reaction, weren’t as successful. His career got a boost again in 1999 with The Matrix, which kept him working on studio films for the next eight years. He faced a difficult period from 2009 to 2013, but John Wick revitalized his career and made him a major star once more. Since then, he’s appeared in popular films like Always Be My Maybe, Toy Story 4, and Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Stream John Wick on HBO Max.

4) The Whale

While The Whale might not be considered a cinematic masterpiece, it was a major turning point for Brendan Fraser’s career. He had success in comedies throughout the ’90s and even became known for action roles in The Mummy, but he largely continued to appear in lighthearted films like Bedazzled and Monkeybone.

Following his breakout role in Crash in 2004, Brendan Fraser landed some prominent parts, though many weren’t critically acclaimed, like Furry Vengeance. From 2010 to 2020, he primarily did voice work. However, 2021’s No Sudden Move offered him a more substantial role, and the following year, he gained significant Oscar attention with The Whale, for which he won Best Actor. Since then, he’s collaborated with Martin Scorsese, narrated a Disney documentary about sea lions, and starred in the moving comedy-drama Rental Family. He’s now set to return to action films with a fourth Mummy movie, marking a particularly successful period in his career.

Stream The Whale on HBO Max.

3) The Wrestler

Mickey Rourke is a remarkably talented and powerful actor, but his difficult behavior led to a long period where he wasn’t offered many roles in Hollywood, particularly during the 1990s and early 2000s. When he did land a leading part, it was often in films like Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.

He began gaining momentum with small parts in films like Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire, but many consider Sin City to be the start of his career resurgence. That comeback was solidified by his Oscar-winning performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. This 2008 film launched a three-year period of success before he faced career challenges again. During those three years, he starred in popular movies such as Iron Man 2, The Expendables, and Immortals.

2) Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. had a knack for making even weak films enjoyable in the 1980s. He followed that up with some critically acclaimed movies in the 90s, including Soapdish, Natural Born Killers, Bowfinger, and Chaplin. However, his personal struggles led to a period where he was largely avoided by Hollywood, until Mel Gibson and Shane Black each championed him, landing him roles in The Singing Detective and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, respectively.

Before his role as Iron Man, he enjoyed a successful period with films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Scanner Darkly, and Zodiac – some of his best work. However, Iron Man was the true turning point in his career. He quickly went from being considered a risk to one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. For the past 18 years, he’s consistently appeared in Marvel movies, occasionally mixing in films like Sherlock Holmes and The Judge.

Stream Iron Man on Disney+.

1) Pulp Fiction

While the cast of Pulp Fiction all seemed perfectly suited for their roles, John Travolta’s casting as Vincent Vega was surprisingly effective because it was such a departure from his usual persona, especially considering his fame from Saturday Night Fever. Interestingly, Quentin Tarantino initially envisioned Michael Madsen – who later played Vic Vega in Reservoir Dogs – as Vincent.

This project turned out to be exactly what John Travolta’s career needed. He’d had success in the 1970s with films like Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease, and the early 80s were strong with Urban Cowboy and Blow Out. However, Staying Alive, despite doing well at the box office, significantly damaged his reputation. By the late 80s and early 90s, he was mostly known for the poorly received Look Who’s Talking movies. Without Pulp Fiction, he likely wouldn’t have regained his status as a reliable leading man throughout the rest of the 90s, a run that was unfortunately interrupted again in 2000 with Battlefield Earth.

Stream Pulp Fiction on Disney+.

What’s your top pick from this list of movies that turn careers around? Let us know if we left out any of your favorites! Share your thoughts in the comments below and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum.

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2026-02-19 02:13