10 Actors Who Took YEARS To Reprise Famous Roles
4. Paul Reuben Pee-wee Herman
Years to Reprise Role: 28
Pee-wee Herman was a character created by Paul Reuben that he performed as part of a stage show which parodied children's shows from the 50s. Pee-wee's Big Adventure was released in 1985, and helped propel the character to wide-spread popularity. A TV-show and sequel followed. After an arrest in 1991 Paul Reuben mostly stopped promoting the character, focusing on other acting work.
In 2016 Netflix brought Pee-wee Herman back to life with Paul Reuben back as the title character, and with a script he co-wrote. Pee-wee's Big Holiday came out 28 years after the second film's 1988 release. The movie has mostly moderate reviews. Only Netflix knows how many times it was viewed, so it's hard to know if that was the characters final send off, or if we might see the Pee-wee Herman again.