20 Actors Who Just Had Awesome Comebacks
3. Julian McMahon
Julian McMahon came to prominence in the early 2000s through his noteworthy performances in hit TV shows Charmed and Nip/Tuck, as well as portraying Doctor Doom in Fox's two live-action Fantastic Four movies.
In the years following the end of his run as Doom and the Nip/Tuck series finale, McMahon's screen profile dimmed considerably, until he recently won the lead villain role in his most high-profile film in almost 15 years - the kaleidoscopic Nicolas Cage thriller The Surfer.
McMahon played Scally, a vicious surf guru with a vocal disdain for non-locals, with the actor giving an intense, charismatic performance that confirmed he hadn't lost a step in the two decades since his career heyday.
It was a welcome reminder of McMahon's acting presence, and may well have opened more Hollywood doors for the actor, if not for the extremely tragic news that McMahon passed away from cancer back in July, just two months after The Surfer was released.
As a final acting role, though, it's an arguable career-best and unarguable illustration of McMahon's underrated versatility.