20 Actors Who Just Had Awesome Comebacks
2. Pamela Anderson
At the peak of her fame, Baywatch star Pamela Anderson was lauded less for her acting ability than her sex appeal, and performances in a slew of dud projects - most of all Barb Wire - didn't exactly suggest she had the potential for a wider film career.
By the 2010s Anderson was pretty much boxed out of theatrically released films, then, edging into increasingly low-rent projects and even reality TV.
Though she re-entered the spotlight with the 2022 biographical drama series Pam & Tommy, she had no involvement with and thoroughly objected to its production.
Yet Anderson was at least able to take control of the narrative and stage one hell of a comeback for herself.
It all began when she played Roxie Hart in a 2022 Broadway production of Chicago, which was well-received by critics, before making an illustrious cinema return last year with Gia Coppola's drama The Last Showgirl.
This was a note-perfect vehicle for Anderson, fully accentuated by her own experiences as a middle-aged woman in the entertainment industry, leading to a most unexpected of things - Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards.
It didn't stop there, either - Anderson followed it up with a riotously funny performance alongside Liam Neeson in the recent reboot of The Naked Gun, a pairing that turned out to be far more perfect than anyone could've ever predicted.
This doesn't appear to be a flash-in-the-pan career revival either, as Anderson is already lined up to star in films directed by acclaimed filmmakers such as Sally Potter, Kornél Mundruczó, and even Michael Cera.