9 Celebrities Who Came Back to Our Screens Once More After a Long Break

Some retirements are permanent. Some are just a hiatus. After all, celebrities are also humans, just like every one of us. They may go through difficult times and challenges, get bored, or simply want to escape from all the fame brings. The good news is that, when they decide to come back, they are warmly welcomed by the audience.

We at Bright Side have found some famous people that nailed their mission of coming back to the big scene and keep bringing joy to many fans around the globe.

1. Winona Ryder

We remember Ryder for such wonderful movies as Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and Dracula. But some unfortunate events lead to the actress missing from the screen for almost a decade. There were many troubles she came through during this time, which she’s of course not eager to revisit.

Anyhow, everything started to change in 2010 when she appeared in Black Swan playing an aging ballerina fighting to stay relevant, and then in 2016 when she joined the great team of Stranger Things. “A lot of actors have ups and downs,” says the actress. “But I learned, and I appreciated the time away.”

2. Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr.’s career started in 1970. And already in 1992 he won an Oscar for portraying Charlie Chaplin on screen. After that, something changed and the actor was arrested multiple times, was in and out of rehab, and even spent some time in prison.

Thankfully, he realized he couldn’t continue living like that and reached out for help. Eventually, his career went up, and now we can enjoy many great movies with him in leading roles, like the well-known Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man. And there are no signs he’s going to slow down.

3. Matthew McConaughey

McConaughey had all the chances to play in romantic comedies all his career. But he decided to break the circle and start anew, seeking dramatic work in completely different movies. So he took some time off and make the most significant shift in his choice of roles.

This time is best known as the “McConaissance” between 2011 and 2014. And all of a sudden he became “a new good idea for some good directors,” won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, starred in The Wolf of Wall Street, and many other great movies.

4. Stanley Kubrick

Sometimes it takes great directors many years to present us with a new, impressive picture. Anyway, after some time it all proves to be well worth waiting, no matter how controversial the reception was at the moment. This is exactly what happened to Stanley Kubrick.

After The Shining, in 1980 he came with his triumphant return only in 1987 with Full Metal Jacket. Another movie took him 12 years to release. This time it was Eyes Wide Shut, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

5. Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle started performing when he was only 14. He has been making people laugh for already more than 30 years. But there was a period when he left Chappelle’s Show in 2005 and even left the country, flying to South Africa to escape.

He kept working but stayed really low, so not many people knew or heard anything about him for a very long time. Chi-Raq was his first movie role in almost 10 years. Then he hosted Saturday Night Live as well as some special releases on Netflix. And of course, starring with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born.

6. Joaquin Phoenix

At first, Joaquin Phoenix established himself as a child actor, but pretty soon felt that he wasn’t getting any appealing offers and decided to leave acting and leave the country for some time. Luckily, his brother River Phoenix encouraged him to start acting again. But he still didn’t return to it for a long time due to River’s death and his family retreating to Costa Rica to escape the media.

Phoenix went back to acting only in 1995. He played in the black comedy To Die For, which became a financial and critical success after its premiere at Cannes Film Festival. Then there was Gladiator and of course Joker. The actor is undoubtedly among the few actors who became even bigger than they were before they retired.

7. Kesha

After five long years of becoming a face of the #MeToo movement and having a legal battle with her producer, Kesha finally released her new album in 2017 followed by the Rainbow Tour and one more album in 2020.

“I’ve taken ownership of myself,” said the singer. “I’m taking control of my life and my name and the music it’s attached to.” And we are happy that despite all the troubles she’s touring, performing, and making music once again.

8. Jay-Z

The famous rapper retired multiple times. His most known retirement came in 2004 right after The Black Album. He was just 33 then. But he returned a few years later with a new album, saying, “It was the worst retirement, maybe, in history.”

9. Cameron Diaz

Diaz is now 49. And the last time we saw the actress on screen was in 2014 when she starred in Annie. After that, Diaz took a long retirement, eventually returning in 2022 for the Netflix action-comedy Back in Action.

The new movie reunites Diaz and Foxx, who worked together in Annie and much earlier in 1999 in Any Given Sunday. And that’s really great! On her Instagram Story, she shared a video originally posted by Foxx and added: “Jamie Foxx, only you could get me back in action!”

What other retired celebrities would you like to see coming back to our screens? What other popular figures have you missed the most?