32 Actors Who Shockingly Disappeared from Hollywood!

Everyone, including actors, can benefit from taking a break occasionally. Even some of the most accomplished stars in Hollywood have taken extended breaks from the spotlight, like these famous individuals.

Joe Pesci

As a devoted cinephile, I found myself eagerly awaiting new performances from the legendary Joe Pesci for eight long years following his role in “Lethal Weapon 4”. Finally, in 2006, he made a cameo appearance in “The Good Shepherd”, which was a delight to see. However, it wasn’t until 2010 when he graced the silver screen once more as a leading man in “Love Ranch”. In 2015, I heard his familiar voice in “A Warrior’s Tale”. Then, in 2019, my excitement reached new heights as he garnered his third Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Russell Buffalino in “The Irishman”. Four more years passed before he emerged from retirement to star in the Pete Davidson-led TV show on Peacock called “Bupkis”, and a boxing movie titled “Day of the Fight”.

Ke Huy Quan

Following his successful acting roles in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies”, Ke Huy Quan took a break from acting, working instead as a stunt coordinator on films such as “X-Men” and “The One” between 1996’s “Red Pirate” and 2002’s “Second Time Around”. He was absent from the screen for approximately two decades before appearing in “Finding Ohana”, but his stunning comeback occurred the following year with his award-winning performance in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Meg Ryan

After her role in “Serious Moonlight” in 2009, Meg Ryan made appearances in several episodes of “Web Therapy” from 2011 to 2013. In 2015, she stepped back into cinema as both the star and director of the film “Ithaca”. The same year also saw her act in a TV movie titled “Fan Girl”. Eight years later, in 2023, she penned, directed, and acted in a romantic comedy called “What Happens Later”.

Eddie Murphy

In 2010, Eddie Murphy, who had been nominated for an Oscar and was once a star on Saturday Night Live, won the Razzie for “Worst Actor of the Decade.” Following this, he chose to take a year-long vacation that eventually stretched into a six-year break, as shared in an interview with People. He then returned from retirement to play the main character in a 2016 drama called Mr. Church, and later earned a nomination for a Golden Globe by portraying Rudy Ray Moore in the 2019 film Dolemite Is My Name.

Joaquin Phoenix

Eventually, it was revealed that Joaquin Phoenix’s statement about retiring from acting to pursue a rap career, as seen in Casey Affleck’s 2010 mockumentary, “I’m Still Here“, was a hoax. Despite this, he did take a break from the limelight after the 2009 release of “Two Lovers“. He re-entered the acting scene in 2012 with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master“, and later won an Oscar for his role in “Joker” in 2019.

Rick Moranis

In 1997, following his third portrayal of Wayne Szalinski in “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves”, the late Rick Moranis chose to take a break from acting to devote time to his children. This renowned Canadian comedian would later return to work, but only for voice acting roles like those in the “Brother Bear” films and an appearance on “The Goldbergs” as the voice of his “Spaceballs” character, Dark Helmet.

Marlon Brando

Legendary two-time Academy Award winner Marlon Brando, known for his role in “The Godfather,” initially declared his retirement from acting following the release of “The Formula” in 1980. However, he came out of retirement nine years later to star in “A Dry White Season.” After this, he gave noteworthy performances in films such as “The Freshman” and “Don Juan DeMarco,” which were both released in 1990.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s final significant acting job before becoming governor of California was portraying the title character in 2003’s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.” During his political career, he made brief appearances (without credit) in films such as “The Rundown,” “Around the World in 80 Days,” “The Kid & I,” and “The Expendables.” However, it was with “The Expendables 2” that Arnold officially resumed his acting career as part of the cast.

Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling, a popular actor known for his successful career, has occasionally stepped away from work, starting with a break between the release of “Lars and the Real Girl” in 2007 and “Blue Valentine” in 2010. After being nominated for an Oscar, this Canadian heartthrob took another break following his role in “First Man” in 2018. He then returned to acting for Netflix’s “The Gray Man,” which was released in 2022.

Cameron Diaz

After Cameron Diaz appeared in the 2014 remake of Annie alongside Jamie Foxx, there was a break of approximately 11 years in her acting career. During this period, she devoted herself to family life and entrepreneurial ventures. In 2025, she returned to acting with the Netflix spy comedy film Back in Action, where she reunited with Jamie Foxx, who played her husband and partner in espionage.

Leonardo DiCaprio

After winning the Academy Award for his role in The Revenant (2015), Leonardo DiCaprio decided to take some time off from acting and dedicate himself to environmental activism. However, he returned to the industry in 2019 with a critically acclaimed performance that earned him an Oscar nomination, portraying a character who is concerned about approaching retirement in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Brendan Fraser

For five years between 2014 and 2019, we didn’t notice Brendan Fraser in any movies, with appearances in “The Nut Job” (2014) and “The Poison Rose” (2019) being the exceptions. The actor attributed this gap to his allegations against Philip Berk, who was the President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the time, claiming that Berk had assaulted him in 2003. Despite doing some TV work during this period, it was unusual not to see such a high-profile actor absent from the big screen for so long, making his return and Oscar win for “The Whale” (2022) a particularly satisfying moment.

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes, who had taken a break from acting to focus on family life, appeared in “Lost River” (2014), her last significant film role before this hiatus. This movie was penned and helmed by her long-term partner, Ryan Gosling. Interestingly, Mendes reprised her acting career in 2021, providing her voice for an episode of “Bluey,” a show that she and her kids enjoy, as she shared with People magazine.

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin, once a renowned child actor, has grown into an adult performer. There was a substantial period during his teenage years when he seemed to disappear from the limelight. After portraying the title character in the 1994 film “Richie Rich,” which garnered him a Razzie Award, he took a hiatus. He reemerged nine years later with a more mature role in the film “Party Monster“.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis, renowned for taking breaks of several years between acting roles, declared his retirement after appearing in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film “Phantom Thread” in 2017. However, news broke in 2024 that he would come out of retirement to star in his son Ronan Day Lewis’ directorial debut, titled “Anemone”.

Sean Connery

It appeared that Sir Sean Connery, following the disappointing reception of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003, which he himself criticized, might have decided to stop acting. However, the renowned Scottish actor who played James Bond momentarily emerged from his retirement in 2012 to lend his voice to the character Sir Billi (known as Guardian of the Highlands in the US) before his passing in 2020.

Renée Zellweger

Following her role in “My Own Love Song” in 2010, Renée Zellweger took a break from Hollywood to dedicate herself to charitable work. She later reappeared on screen to portray one of her memorable characters in the 2016 film, “Bridget Jones’s Baby.” This was followed by her winning a second Academy Award for her role as Judy Garland in the 2019 biopic, “Judy.

Martin Lawrence

Following his third stint wearing drag for “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son” in 2011, Martin Lawrence chose to prioritize his family and get back into stand-up comedy, culminating in a 2016 comedy special titled “Doin’ Time”. The comedian would step away from acting before coming out of retirement for “The Beach Bum” in 2019 and then rejoining the “Bad Boys” series the following year.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda, who won Academy Awards for “Coming Home” and “Klute”, temporarily stepped away from acting following her role in the 1990 film “Stanley & Iris”. Fifteen years later, she reentered the acting world to share the screen with Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy “Monster-in-Law”.

Matthew McConaughey

For a period, Matthew McConaughey’s career was marked by mediocre comedies. However, after the release of “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” in 2009, he decided to step away from film. He made his comeback to the silver screen in 2011, kick-starting what became known as the McConaissance with more serious roles in films such as “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Mud,” and his Academy Award-winning performance in “Dallas Buyers Club.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Gellar spent a stretch of 13 years away from the big screen, if we exclude her work on the Peruvian 2012 animated film “The Illusionauts” in English dub. She didn’t take on any roles for the small screen between 2016 (when she appeared in an un-aired pilot for a “Cruel Intentions” sequel series and guest-starred on “Those Who Can’t”) and 2019, when she made a brief appearance as herself on “The Big Bang Theory”.

Tobey Maguire

In the year 2014, Tobey Maguire took on the role of Bobby Fischer in the movie “Pawn Sacrifice”, and also starred as well as produced a miniseries titled “The Spoils of Babylon”. Subsequently, he didn’t appear in another live-action production until 2021 when he reprised his character of Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. However, before that, he provided voiceover for the movie “The Boss Baby” in 2017.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence spent a very active ten years, starring in the Hunger Games films and winning an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, before choosing to take some time off following her exit from the X-Men movie series with Dark Phoenix in 2019. However, she returned to acting only two years later, appearing in Adam McKay’s award-nominated comedy Don’t Look Up, which was released in 2021.

Dave Chappelle

In 2005, I was riding high on the success of my sketch comedy series, “Chappelle’s Show,” on Comedy Central. Yet, feeling the strain of creative disagreements and pressures, I made a decision to step away from the show and even leave the country for a while. For nearly a decade, you might have spotted me sporadically performing at comedy clubs. Then, in 2015, I found myself back on screen in Spike Lee’s satirical film, “Chi-Raq.” The next year, I had the privilege of hosting “Saturday Night Live,” and in 2017, I released a series of highly praised Netflix stand-up specials.

Winona Ryder

In the aftermath of negative publicity stemming from her shoplifting incident, Winona Ryder temporarily stepped away from acting. Post her performance in the movie “S1m0ne” in 2002, she narrated the 2003 documentary “The Day My God Died,” and made a small, unrecognized appearance in the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things.” She then returned to acting in 2006 with “The Darwin Awards” and “A Scanner Darkly.” However, her significant return to the limelight happened a decade later when she starred in Netflix’s popular series “Stranger Things.

Tom Holland

Actor Tom Holland, who plays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared that he would be taking a brief hiatus from acting after wrapping up his intense role in “The Crowded Room,” set to release in 2023. The subsequent year saw him being chosen for the part in director Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey.

Rachel McAdams

As a passionate cinephile, I’ve always admired Rachel McAdams for her thoughtful approach to her craft. For one, she took a short sabbatical from 2005 to 2007, during the peak of her A-list stardom, choosing not to star in any movie between “The Family Stone” and “Married Life.” Similarly, she disappeared from the big screen for two years following her role in “Game Night,” until the Netflix comedy “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” came along. It’s fascinating to see an artist prioritize their career in such a deliberate manner.

Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Cates was a highly recognized actress during the 80’s, best known for her roles in movies such as the iconic horror-comedy “Gremlins” and the beloved high school film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” However, her fame didn’t carry over into the ’90s, as she retired from acting after playing the lead in “Princess Caraboo” (1994). She made a comeback only once more, appearing in “The Anniversary Party” (2001).

Gaby Hoffmann

Gaby Hoffmann gained recognition at a tender age, appearing in timeless films such as “Uncle Buck”, “Field of Dreams”, “Now and Then”, and “Sleepless in Seattle”. Later in her life, she took a break from acting between the years 2001 (in “Perfume”) and 2007 (in “Severed Ways”). However, she later returned to the spotlight with notable performances that earned Emmy nominations on shows like “Girls” and “Transparent”.

Jim Carrey

As the electrically charged Dr. Robotnik in 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog,” I found myself stepping back into the limelight. Ever since then, my on-screen appearances have been a series of returns to this iconic role for sequels based on the video game. Maybe these performances could be seen as the curtain call I hinted at in 2022, marking my retirement from acting.

Emma Watson

Acting as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films catapulted Emma Watson into global stardom. Nevertheless, following her role in Little Women (2019) as Meg March, she chose to take a break from acting for a while.

Chuck Norris

Following my role in the direct-to-DVD action flick titled “The Cutter” and a TV special revival of “Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire” in 2005, I, Chuck Norris, took a brief hiatus from acting. However, I made my grand return to the silver screen in 2012 with an appearance in the action-packed sequel “The Expendables 2.”

2025-04-17 23:41