10 Actors Who Had Incredible Career Revivals

Perhaps the most famous career revival of our time, Robert Downey Jr. managed to rescue himself from a disgraced public image to become the highest paid and most recognisable movie star in the world.

Downey Jr. had had success in the 80s and 90s as a young actor before being overwhelmed with legal problems, with a year in prison in 2000 and his firing from the TV show Ally McBeal for failed drug tests two years later. He narrowly avoided more jail time on several occasions and spent three years on probation starting in 2001. He spent the next few years achieving sobriety.

Downey Jr. returned to the scene in 2007 starring in the critically acclaimed Zodiac and earned an Academy Award nomination for his role in 2008’s Tropic Thunder.

And, of course, along came Tony Stark, too.

Since 2008, Downey Jr. has been the poster-boy for both one of the most successful movie franchise in history and for career turnarounds. He holds several records around the world as one of the most bankable international stars and has separate success in the Sherlock Holmes film series.