From time to time, major Hollywood stars surprise fans by walking away from the limelight. And while some stay out forever, others opt to make a return a couple of years later. Among the returnees, some get to pick up where they left off while others struggle to rediscover their previous form.
According to People, one star who has recently decided to return is Cameron Diaz. Fans are hoping things will turn out well for her after she recently announced that she is filming a new movie with Jamie Foxx. It’s unclear when the movie will be released but by the time it does, she might possibly join a number of stars who took a leave of absence for a while (since her last starring role came way back in 2014).
Joe Pesci – 12 Years (1998 – 2010)
Pesci closed the '90s with the Lethal Weapon franchise. However, after the fourth sequel to one of the greatest buddy cop movies was critically panned, it looked like he decided to take a break for a while. The actor would only return over a decade later in Love Ranch.
Pesci’s descent began as he took on more comedic roles in the ‘90s as opposed to gritty ones like that of the gangster Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas. Luckily, in Martin Scorsese’s recent gangster movie, The Irishman, fans got to see the Joe Pesci they loved best. However, it’s unlikely that there will be many more performances from him going forward since even getting him to collaborate with Scorsese and DeNiro again was not easy. According to the New York Times, the two had to beg him to join.
Eddie Murphy – 6 Years (2010 – 2016)
Murphy felt it was time to call it quits when he won a Razzie award for Worst Actor of the Decade in 2010 (via People). He would take a shot at redemption years later in Mr. Church.
Murphy’s decision to return is undoubtedly the best one he ever made since the comeback kick-started a great run of form that saw the actor win an Emmy and be in the running for an Oscar (thanks to his performance in Dolemite is My Name). The renewed public interest in the actor has also seen the revival of some of his ‘80s hits, Coming To America and Beverly Hills Cop, making them two of the sequels with the longest gap from the original.
Macaulay Culkin – 9 Years (1994 – 2003)
In the early ‘90s, Culkin was one of the world’s biggest stars, thanks to Home Alone and its sequel. But after receiving a Razzie for Worst Actor for his performance in Richie Rich, he chose to take a step back. He would return years later, as an adult.
Being lambasted shortly after receiving all the praises was presumably a challenging experience for a child actor, hence his departure from Hollywood is understandable. Sadly, Culkin cannot be counted among the child actors who became successful as adults just yet since there haven't been many projects that truly show what he is capable of.
Renée Zellweger – 6 Years (2010 – 2016)
Zellweger opted out shortly after starring in the road movie, My Own Love Song, but returned with a bang 6 years later. Among her latest projects is the thriller What/If, which has been highly praised for its twists. However, one of her more outstanding roles had to be Judy, she recently won a "Best Actress" Oscar for her performance as the eponymous actor.
While fans did miss her acting, they were also extremely proud of the things she achieved during her hiatus too, where she engaged in several humanitarian projects, such as raising awareness of breast cancer (via Variety).
Arnold Schwarzenegger – 9 Year (2003 – 2012)
The poor reception of Terminator 3 made Schwarzenegger take a break. Luckily, he made a strong return in Expendables 2 as part of an ensemble cast that consisted of most of the greatest action stars of all time.
Schwarzenegger’s hiatus was a good thing as it enabled him to achieve even greater success, going on to become the Governor of California. To date, no one else can boast of being a Mr. Universe winner, a Golden Globe winner, and a governor. His second stint in Hollywood hasn’t been bad either.
Sean Connery – 9 Years (2003 – 2012)
After playing Alan Quatermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Connery returned to voice Sir Billi in Guardians of the Highlands. After that, he decided to retire for good.
For someone who was quoted as saying “retirement is so much fun,” it isn’t surprising that he shunned Hollywood completely during his sunset years. And the retirement was well-deserved since he had been an actor for 60 years by the time he took his final role.
Eva Mendes – 7 Years (2014 – 2021)
Mendes quietly took a break from acting after appearing in the fantasy thriller, Lost River. She then made a quiet return in 2011, courtesy of the animated series, Bluey.
Mendes’ time away from Hollywood didn’t necessarily mean time away from the limelight. Thanks to her relationship with Ryan Gosling, the actor has still been sought after by tabloids for gossip. She has done well as an entrepreneur too, but fans will be keener to see her take on more roles in the future.
Martin Lawrence – 8 Years (2011 – 2019)
After ruling the ‘90s and 2000s, Lawrence decided to focus on family life, only to return for the stoner comedy, The Beach Bum. But his next project after that, Bad Boys For Life, properly brought him back to A-list status.
Though the Will Smith controversy has put the future of the Bad Boys franchise in doubt, Lawrence won’t frown about that so much as he has other roles lined up. At the moment, the comedian is filming the thriller, Mindcage, set to be released in 2023.
Chuck Norris – 7 Years (2005 – 2012)
Like Schwarzenegger, it took the idea of a reunion with fellow action stars in The Expendables 2 to convince him to return. Since then, he has decided to continue enjoying his retirement, only making an exception for an episode of Hawaii Five-O in 2020.
For many action stars, the failure to land a major role means loss of fame but thanks to the funny Chuck Norris memes on the internet, the veteran action star remains popular without starring in anything. Even better is that most of his movies have a high re-watch value too.