Let’s talk about some returning actors and their stories of success, of course. Everyone has ups and downs in their lives. For instance, Michael Keaton, Jean Dujardin and Mel Gibson, stars of Birdman, The Artist and Brave Heart, have lost much of their popularity over the past years. Some others pursued roles in celebrity (reality) shows or TV series. And yet, Michael Keaton recently revived in the Spotlight movie which is an Oscar-favorite. Take a look at the top 9 returning actors in 2015.
1. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in Star Wars.
It’s always interesting to watch actors reprising their roles after many years and this is exactly what we will be witnessing this December in the new Star Wars movie. After their popular roles in the Star Wars trilogy, Mark Hamill pursued a very successful voice acting career, Carrie Fisher became a script doctor and Harrison Ford continued acting in both action packed movies and more serious ones. Fans are all waiting to watch them reprise their roles in the beloved franchise.
2. Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell in True Detective.
Colin Farrell was supposed to have an amazing comeback this year, just as Matthew McConaughey had in 2014. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as planned as he was outshined in both True Detective and The Lobster. His best recent performance remains the one in the In Bruges movie. In spite of this, 2016 looks promising for Farrell as he will be part of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie.
3. Vincent D’Onofrio
Vincent D’Onofrio in Jurassic World.
Vincent D’Onofrio used to be known only from his roles in Men in Black and Full Metal Jacket. The actor was brought again to our attention this year through two movies. The role he played in Jurassic World was as appreciated as the movie itself. However, it was his performance as Wilson Fisk that raised his popularity again in the new Daredevil series.
4. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp in Black Mass.
Johnny Depp is one of the most prolific actors of our time. His popularity rose in the 1990s and reached its peak in 2005, when he played the famous pirate Jack Sparrow, whom we all know and love. However, since then he has turned into something call “box-office poison”, as his newest movies did not record a high level of viewers. This year this title might change with the Black Mass movie, where Depp threw his most recent and interesting performance as Whitey Bulger. However, his popularity is sure to rise again with the sequels for Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland coming out next year.
5. Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce in Game of Thrones.
Jonathan Pryce hasn’t had a truly prominent role until 2015. The year started with the BBC drama Wolf Hall, where he had a supporting role and continued with highly praised Game of Thrones series. Pryce does a wonderful job with one of the most ambiguous characters in the story, as it is almost impossible to find out his true motives. However, that could be said of the most characters in the series. He will reprise his role as the High Sparrow in 2016.
6. Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds in The Voices.
The actor will make his comeback in Deadpool (an anti-hero with accelerated healing powers who hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life after an experiment), but in 2015 he already proved what he can do with being a nice guy. Mississippi Grind, Woman in Gold and The Voices have the prints of a remarkable performance, which surpass Green Lantern, R.I.P.D. and Safe House of the last years.
7. Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller in American Sniper.
Well, Sienna was pretty busy with mid-films. Originally in Black Mass which would have given her a very welcome comeback, her part was unfortunately cut. Although she has a great standing (A-list), she’s not really prominent in her roles. The 2015 output includes five important movies with the most probably best personal performance in Mississippi Grind. In 2016 she’ll push the brakes a little bit, but we’ll still meet her in Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise, that after several film festivals promises to be amazing.
8. Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels in The Martian.
When needed, TV was there to save actors, when the movies became either super-budgeted or small. One of the best example is Jeff Daniels. After the Dumb & Dumber comedy of the nineties he lost sparkle, but luckily there came The Newsroom drama and his remarkable comeback. This appears to lead him to Apple CEO John Sculley in Steve Jobs, but also to NASA head Teddy Sanders in The Martian (both with sharp dialogue, emotional levels and strong positions). Catchy roles. We are waiting to see him next year in Divergent.
9. Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell in The Hateful Eight.
His movies Escape from New York, The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China should be enough to be always remembered but it’s still time for new big hits! So, Kurt Russell comes with The Hateful Eight in which he plays a moustached hunter of a criminal. This movie reunites him with Quentin Tarantino, which can be a good passport for the Oscar. Not to forget that this year he also starred in Furious 7.
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