10 Incredible Against-All-Odds Hollywood Comebacks

8. Al Pacino

Al Pacino was never 'meant' to be a movie star. The producers of The Godfather didn't want him to play Michael Corleone but, thanks to the persistence of Francis Ford Coppola, he stayed and the film made him a household name. A string of critical and commercial successes followed. The Downfall: The 1980s. After an incredible 1970s which saw Pacino become one of the most famous and, crucially, most respected actors of the day, things began to wane for him. The controversial Cruising, in which Pacino plays a detective who has to go undercover in New York's gay underground S&M scene (the film was protested by members of New York's gay community), was a misstep. So too was Author! Author!, a family comedy/drama where Pacino was totally miscast. The film bombed. Scarface has since become an iconic film, but, at the time, it was attacked by critics too (although it did make money). The same cannot be said for the truly disastrous war film Revolution, however. Revolution cost around $28m to make and grossed a truly pitiful $358,000 at the box-office. Worse still, the film was destroyed by the critics and Pacino's performance was singled out for ridicule. It was a crushing disappointment to Pacino, who took a four year hiatus from acting in films and returned to the stage. What Brought Him Back: Pacino's next film role was the lead in the steamy thriller Sea Of Love, where played a detective hunting a serial killer who finds their victims using the singles column in a newspaper. His performance was praised and the film made $110m at the box-offce. Did It Last?: It certainly did. Pacino starred in a string of hits, culminating with his Best Actor Oscar win for Scent Of A Woman.