Celebrities are like anyone else at the end of the day. And like anyone else, they’re prone to making mistakes. That said, there are blunders, and then there are crimes. The latter, naturally, can utterly derail a career (admittedly, as can a few financial blunders in a row), and it’s typically deserved.
But, if viewers like a performer enough, it’s best to never count them out. And sometimes the performer is fully exonerated. The following performers have either been accused and paid their dues, or accused without having paid their dues. Not exonerated, yet still the owners of a career that’s on an upward trajectory.
From those who have faced assault alligations to those who got caught shoplifting, these are eight famous performers who saw their A-list status taken away, and now they’re some of the few who have actually made strides in getting it back.
8 Mel Gibson
From the early ’80s to 2004, Mel Gibson was a steady A-lister in Hollywood, an impressive run if ever there was one. Not only did he lead the vast majority of his films up to that point, there were even some critically-acclaimed directorial projects peppered in. But, after his notorious DUI arrest, a messy divorce from a 26-year marriage, and an extremely tumultuous relationship with Oksana Grigorieva (and his agency dropping him the day after she accused Gibson of assaulting her), that A-list status went away.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
That said, Gibson was making his comeback essentially from the get-go. Edge of Darkness had a wide release in 2010, the following year’s indie film The Beaver is about reformation, and from there he was still getting lead roles in smaller films like Get the Gringo and supporting (AKA villainous) roles in Machete Kills, The Expendables 3, and Boss Level.
Not to mention, he had a three-episode arc on the John Wick spin-off The Continental. In other words, Gibson is doing about as well as he could be after such controversy (much credit must be given his acclaimed directorial work on 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge).
7 Casey Affleck
While he’s never been quite as big as his brother, Casey Affleck has had a (mostly) steady career since the mid-’90s. That even stayed the case after he was sued by a producer on I’m Still Here for sexual harassment in 2010 (as did the film’s cinematographer). But, once he started generating awards talk for 2016’s Manchester by the Sea, the topic was again brought to the public’s attention.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
Affleck never fell off the map entirely, but there was certainly less interest in him following the reintroduction of the accusations. A Ghost Story put him under a blanket the entire time, and his roles in 2018’s The Old Man & the Gun and 2020’s The World to Come were of a supporting nature.
That said, the films he’s been starring in, while no A-level in terms of public awareness, are far from the direct-to-video movies Nicolas Cage was putting out for a while. And, yet, his very small role in Oppenheimer still feels like a step-up, at least in terms of public exposure. After all, it’s one of 2023’s biggest films.
6 Winona Ryder
In the year 2000, Winona Ryder received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — and one year later, she was arrested for shoplifting. And, for the most part, that 2001 incident has pretty much inextricably linked itself to Ryder. For a time, that greatly damaged the A-lister’s career.
Starting with 1988’s Beetlejuice and ending with 1999’s Girl, Interrupted, Ryder was one of Hollywood’s go-tos. But after the arrest, roles started drying up, and not even the financial success of Mr. Deeds was enough to really boost her career back to where it was (the critical reviews didn’t help, some of which focused on her somewhat uncomfortable performance).
How’d She Make Her Comeback?
Ryder kept working throughout the aughts, with standout projects including Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly and a brief role in 2009’s Star Trek (not to mention Black Swan in 2010). But for the most part, the roles made available for her throughout the decade were of a lesser caliber, and her role was almost always diminished to a supporting capacity or a cameo.
Then in 2016 with Stranger Things, her star began to rise again. She had a lead role in Destination Wedding in 2018 alongside Keanu Reeves, had a major role in 2020’s The Plot Against America, and even had a bit part in Haunted Mansion. But, 2024’s going to be the big one for Ryder, who has both Beetlejuice 2 and the final season of Stranger Things hitting viewers’ screens.
5 Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke fell out of Hollywood’s good graces not in a single day, but over time. His rep for volatility (e.g. getting booked in 1994 for threatening some police officers) ended up ostracizing him from the industry. But talent rises to the top and (at least for two periods there) Rourke’s career did as well as could be expected.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
Rourke’s comeback was short-lived, but that isn’t necessarily his fault. Iron Man 2 may have been his biggest project to date, but his character was increasingly shortchanged as production wore on. Furthermore, while he does have a role in The Expendables, it’s bar none the least interesting of the group. Essentially, after The Wrestler, Hollywood was willing to give Rourke a second chance in the big leagues, but what followed Darren Aronofsky’s modern classic didn’t cut the mustard.
4 Wesley Snipes
After Wesley Snipes willfully failed to file federal income tax returns for 2008, things went downhill quickly for him. When all was said and done, the actor ended up spending over two years in prison before being released in 2013. Before that point (specifically, the early aughts), Snipes’ career was already falling, with blockbusters like Blade: Trinity tanking horribly and leaving the actor to pursue roles in direct-to-video action films like Unstoppable and 7 Seconds.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
Then, after being released from prison, Snipes made a decent comeback via The Expendables 3 in 2014 and Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq the following year. There have still been some direct-to-video features, but as of late, high-profile projects like Dolemite Is My Name (2019), the show What We Do in the Shadows, Coming 2 America (2021), and True Story (alongside Kevin Hart) are the name of his game. In other words, Snipes is back.
3 Louis C.K.
Louis C.K. had been doing stand-up for decades before he made it big with his brilliant award-winning FX series Louie, a project over which Louis had near total control. Prior to that series (which ran from 2009 to 2015), he had really only had a brief role in The Invention of Lying, but midway through Louie‘s run he scored a major role in the Woody Allen film Blue Jasmine, David O. Russell’s American Hustle, and a role in the underrated Trumbo.
Then Louis had Horace and Pete, and the lead vocal role in The Secret Life of Pets in 2016. But, in 2017, he admitted to sexual misconduct and, like everything else, his role in the Secret Life of Pets sequel was gone.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
Louis is back on the stand-up circuit, winning a Grammy in 2022 for his special “Sincerely Louis C.K.” And while it’s not quite like he never left, it’s basically like that. His fans seem to have forgiven him, but as of yet Hollywood has not (for instance, his directorial debut, I Love You, Daddy is still shelved, and his only recent film was the small flick Fourth of July in 2022). Will Louis have a new Netflix special coming out? Probably not, but never say never.
2 Kevin Spacey
For about two decades there, Kevin Spacey was one of the most beloved and well-respected actors in Hollywood. One couldn’t go to a Blockbuster Video without seeing one of his recent films on the new release wall. But, in 2017, that changed overnight.
However, since being acquitted of sexual assault charges in a 2023 London-based trial, things are looking up. At least, looking up compared to having his entire major role reshot with the late Christopher Plummer in a Ridley Scott movie.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
2017 itself was solid for Spacey, with both Baby Driver and his newest season of House of Cards doing quite well. But once the accusations hit, House of Cards went away, as did any and every studio project, not to mention smaller projects.
But now, smaller projects are back in play for Spacey, who starred The Man Who Drew God in 2022 (alongside Franco Nero and Faye Dunaway), had a vocal role in 2023’s Control, and will play the title character in the upcoming Peter Five Eight with co-star Rebecca De Mornay.
1 Johnny Depp
It didn’t take long for Johnny Depp to make a name for himself in Hollywood. With A Nightmare on Elm Street and especially 21 Jump Street, he quite swiftly became an A-lister. But, that was mostly in the ’90s, after he officially moved from film to television. The decade was occupied by Edward Scissorhands, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. An incredible track record for a single decade, but nothing compared to what Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl would do for him in 2003.
How’d He Make His Comeback?
Right around 2010, Depp’s star power took a hit via the financially successful but bashed Alice in Wonderland, not to mention the critical and commercial failure of The Tourist. 2013’s The Lone Ranger didn’t help things, nor did Transcendence in 2014. Then, once things between himself and Amber Heard came out in 2018, the actor found himself securing even fewer roles.
After losing the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Depp was in the direct-to-video bin for a few years with the likes of Waiting for the Barbarians and Minamata, but now he’s playing Louis XV in 2023’s Jeanne du Barry, which earned a standing ovation at Cannes, and the upcoming animated feature Johnny Puff: Secret Mission. In other words, Depp isn’t quite back up on the A-list yet, but the upward trajectory’s there.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
