Everyone loves a story of successful redemption and one with those who manage to turn their life and career around after a series of horrible setbacks. It's pretty much the same in Hollywood, especially knowing its fast-paced nature where things could turn upside down fast in a heartbeat. It's a ruthless and merciless industry where an actor could easily be the most wanted star in the world one day and fall into obscurity the next day.
We've heard all those stories: Robert Downey Jr. faced a series of problems with the law for substance abuse before leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Nicolas Cage almost never turned down any movie offer to stop himself from going bankrupt, Aaron Paul's questionable acting career outside Breaking Bad, Jason Bateman's victorious comeback, and more. To sum things up, here's how these actors made their comeback after flops - whether it's in their careers or personal lives.
8 Robert Downey Jr.
Before he was the beloved Iron Man with a marvelous acting career, Robert Downey Jr. was a villain of his own story. Back in the late 1990s, the renowned actor faced a string of bad decisions regarding his substance abuse. He faced spent six months behind bars in the Los Angeles County jail, was arrested again, and went to rehab. After five years of ups and downs, Downey returned to the big screen with Gothika thanks to his close friend Mel Gibson. The film itself amassed over $141 million at the box office and a fresh start to his career.
7 Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage has an outlandish spending habit. He's known as the celebrity man behind some of the most bizarre purchases: a "stolen" Mongolian dinosaur skull, a haunted house, a collection of crazily expensive cars, and more. Those bad financial decisions led him to blow over $100 million of his fortune and almost announced bankruptcy back in the 2010s. He's known to have accepted almost every role he was offered, including those films that tanked miserably critically and commercially, until he solidified his cult following in Pig (2021) and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).
6 Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson has been constantly hailed as one of the world's most handsomely-paid actors, and rightfully so. He rose to fame thanks to his portrayal of Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga film series, which garnered over $3.3 billion at the box office. However, at one point in his career, he seemed to struggle to escape that Twilight shadow, almost like his co-star Taylor Lautner.
He later elevated his career to a new height, returned to the mainstream under Christopher Nolan's Tenet in 2020, and became the face of Batman in Matt Reeves' The Batman in 2022. The latter amassed over $770 million and became the fourth highest-grossing film of the year so far.
5 Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is a veteran actress who rose to fame back in the 1990s thanks to her roles in the likes of The Age of Innocence, Little Women, Girl, Interrupted, and more. However, her career tanked in the early 2000s following constant scrutiny from tabloids over her personal matters including her 2001 arrest for shoplifting.
She took a few years of hiatus and managed to revive her career. Now, the veteran amassed Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her role in Stranger Things, which released its fourth season in 2022.
4 Aaron Paul
Aaron Paul is a treasured actor, especially for fans of the Breaking Bad series. His portrayal of Jesse Pinkman, an innocent man who's caught up in the toxic world full of greed and power, has made the actor a lovable man.
However, his career in film features tanked: his first venture into movie post-Breaking Bad, Need for Speed, was a critical failure in 2014. However, he made his redemption in 2016 with Central Intelligence, which he co-starred Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Kevin Hart.
3 Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman rose to fame in the 1980s thanks to The Hogan Family, but after that, he bounced from one bad TV series to another. It wasn't until 2003 when he landed the role of Michael Bluth in Fox's Arrested Development that he finally got the flowers that he deserved.
Now, the controversial actor found another success following the recent season of Netflix's crime drama Ozark.
2 Natasha Lyonne
Back in the day, Natasha Lyonne was another case of a teen idol gone wrong. The actress, who rose to fame thanks to American Pie and The Slums of Beverly Hills, dealt with a stint of legal problems and drug abuse in the 2000s.
It did get worse when she was evicted by her landlord for her problematic behavior and hospitalized for a heart infection and heroin addiction. Her chance of redemption came in 2013, when she portrayed Nicky Nichols, one of the inmates that shares the same personal problems with her in real life, in Orange Is the New Black.
1 Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone has always been a member of Hollywood royalty, and he's another case of an actor who gets better with age. He rose to fame as boxer Rocky Balboa in the titular series and up until the early 1980s, he hadn't scored any other big box office hit unless it's a Rocky sequel. He reprised his role once more in its 2015 sequel, Creed, and brought his first Golden Globe Award.
