Top 15 Actors Who Returned To A Role Years Later

1. Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine 7 years after leaving it

We start with the news: Ryan Reynolds announced the presence of Wolverine, interpreted by Hugh Jackman, in the film Deadpool 3 which should see the light of day in 2024. Which means that Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds’ bff, will once again play his favorite role 7 years after his last performance as the mutant with big claws (if we forget the little post-credits appearance in Deadpool 2 in 2018). This is the kind of news that gives great pleasure, but you will see, there is even more.

2. Carrie Fisher reprized the role of Leia Organa 32 years later

In 1983, the first Star Wars trilogy ended with theEpisode VI: Return of the Jedi, in which Carrie Fisher played Princess Leia Organa. Then we found her in 2015 in the skin of Leia Organa, who has since become general. The role, she even kept it after her death in 2016 thanks to special effects that maintained the illusion. In any case, no other actress could have succeeded her: it had to be Carrie, and no one else.

3. Mark Hamill also reprized his role as Luke Skywalker 32 years later

Impossible to talk about Leia Organa without talking about brother Luke Skywalker. Since these are the same Star Wars films, the dates are the same: Mark Hamill took over in 2015 the role he left behind in 1983. But for the record, know that he had interpreted Luke in 2003 in an episode of Griffins. So does it count or not since it’s a cartoon?

4. Jamie Lee Curtis has taken over the role of Laurie Strode several times after long breaks

Laurie Strode is the badass heroine of Halloween, the saga of horror films whose 7th and (normally) last opus will be released in 2022. Jamie Lee Curtis has always interpreted it, but not on a very regular basis: after the first two films (1978 and 1981) we will have to wait 17 years to see the third (1998). In the process, there was a fourth (2002) then a 16-year break before the fifth (2018), sixth (2021), and seventh (2022). In total, the saga will have spanned 44 years, which is simply enormous. And if you’re a fan of the girl like us, we’ve listed the many reasons to worship Jamie Lee Curtis.

5. Keanu Reeves reprized the role of Neo in The Matrix 18 years after the last

The trilogy Matrix it’s a good movie in 1999, and two average movies in 2003. Then Lana Wachowski broke down and released a rotten fourth movie in 2021, still with Keanu Reeves in the lead role. At least the actor was still good, maybe that’s what saves the movie.

6. Carrie-Anne Moss reprized her role as Trinity in The Matrix 18 years later.

Obviously, if we took over Keanu to play Neo, we also had to take over Carrie-Anne to play Trinity.

7. Al Pacino took over the role of Michael Corleone 16 years after The Godfather 2

Vito Corleone’s son, Michael, is in all three Francis Ford Coppola films. But if the first two opuses are linked (1972 and 1974), it will have been necessary to wait 16 years before seeing Al Pacino again in The Godfather III. Obviously, if like me you were born after 1990, you didn’t have to wait.

8. Michael Douglas played Gordon Gekko twice 23 years apart

In 1988, Douglas won an Oscar for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Wall Streetthen he resumed his cult role as financier in Wall Street: Money never sleeps in 2010, still directed by Oliver Stone. You don’t change a winning team.

9. Ewan McGregor reprized his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi 17 years later

Come on, a bit of Star Wars, it’s been a long time. Ewan McGregor played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel between 1999 and 2005 (since it was impossible for Alec Guinness to rejuvenate or even resurrect), then he reprized his role in 2022 for the needs of the Disney series Obi-Wan Kenobi. The most finicky among you will also be able to point out to me that he lent his voice to the jedi in L’Ascension de Skywalker in 2019, but we’re more about a small cameo than a real role, so we’re not going to count it here.

10. Harrison Ford reprized the role of Rick Deckard 35 years after Blade Runner

I could still talk to you about Star Wars, since Harrison Ford followed the same path as Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in reprising his role as Han Solo, but let’s change the saga a bit. In addition, with Blade Runner, the gap is even crazier since Harrison played Rick Deckard in 1982 in Blade Runnerthen in 2017, i.e. 35 years later, in Blade Runner 2049.

By the way, we can also mention his role as Indiana Jones, which he interpreted in 1981, 1984, 1989, 2008 and which he resumes for a new film in 2023. The guy is still there.

11. Sam Neill reprized his role as Alan Grant 21 years after Jurassic Park 3

Present in the first opus of Jurassic Park in 1993, Sam Neill gave the cover in 2001 for Jurassic Park 3 reprising the role of paleontologist Alan Grant. It could have stopped there, but who showed up again in Jurassic World: The World After in 2022? Alan Grant, still in the guise of Sam Neill.

12. Same for Laura Dern with the role of Ellie Sattler

Dr. Ellen Sattler, Paleobotanist, played by Laura Dern, is also the one who convinces Alan Grant to go on an adventure 21 years after Jurassic Park 3. What a woman.

13. Bill Murray reprized his role as Dr. Peter Venkman 32 years after Ghostbusters 2

We thought we would no longer see Bill Murray as a ghost hunter after the second film released in 1989, but that was without counting on Ghostbusters: The Legacy (2021) which made the actor put on the jumpsuit again. And according to Bill, it was super tiring carrying the machines on your back. Ah, old age is not good.

14. Linda Hamilton reprized the role of Sarah Connor 5 times between 1984 and 2019

Between each date, quite a bit of time passes: 1984, 1991, 1996, 2009 (just for the voice) and 2019. Can’t wait for a Terminator in 2029 to see if she’ll be there again, and if she’ll always be also badass.

15. Arnold Schwarzenegger played Terminator 6 times with several big breaks

Same topo for Schwarzy, except that he also played in Terminator Genisys in 2015, which narrows the gaps a little. Still, the guy’s longevity is impressive.