The trailer forIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyhas fans of the franchise excited, and for good reason, asIndiana Joneslovers will have a return to the movies and will get to see Harrison Ford reprise his iconic role. It’s always exciting when an actor returns to one of their most well-known roles, even if their last appearance was many years prior. Harrison Ford is no stranger to this, as he has also returned toStar Warsas Han Solo 32 years after the original trilogy, as well as appearing in theBlade Runnersequel 35 years after his first go at it.
There are a lot of actors in Hollywood who are willing to return to the roles that really put them on the map or that stick in people’s minds when they think of that actor. It’s nice to see performers that don’treject those roots, as some (albeit understandably) might want to distance themselves from their past work, especially if it’s the only thing people ever recognize them for. Here are 5 other actors that returned to their iconic roles at least a decade later.
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Kurt Russell - Snake Plissken
Kurt Russell’s performance as Snake Plissken in the 1981 movieEscape From New Yorkwas instantly iconic, and he was almost given his own franchise. This never really panned out, but audiences were still treated to Plissken’s return inEscape From L.A.in 1996, 15 years after Russell’s original appearance. Snake Plissken was kind of the blueprint for thecool action heroesthat came later in the ’80s and ’90s, but the market was too oversaturated by the timeEscape From L.A.came out for Russell to get much more time with the character.
Jamie Lee Curtis - Laurie Strode
As the Scream Queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis has been back many times as Laurie Strode, and the gaps in between her appearances span decades each time. AfterHalloween II,Halloween: H20was the next time Laurie Strode was in the franchise, 17 years later (and 20 years after the originalHalloween). Then Curtis took a break from the franchise again before appearing in theDavid Gordon GreenHalloweentrilogy, with the first movie coming out in 2018, 16 years after her last appearance in the franchise inHalloween: Resurrection. It’s safe to say that Curtis’s turn as Laurie Strode is one of the most iconic in film history, and she seemingly has no qualms about sticking with the character.
Leonard Nimoy - Spock
Nimoy portrayed what is possibly one of the most iconic characters in pop culture with his performance as Spock inStar Trek, and he didn’t just do it once. He had a cameo appearance inStar Trek(2009), where he played Spock Prime, 18 years after his last appearance as the character. It was a huge get to have him back for that film, and it made a lot of sense. Why not bring back one of the most famous characters of all time if you have the chance, and if the original actor is totally willing to return?
Sylvester Stallone - Rocky and Rambo
Stallone gets a special shoutout for returning to an iconic character decades after his last appearance not once, but twice. He waited 16 years betweenRocky VandRocky Balboato makea return to the widely-beloved character, but his return to Rambo was after an even longer gap. There were 20 years between his appearance as John Rambo inRambo IIIandRambo(2008), and then another 11 betweenRambo(2008) andRambo: Last Blood. Stallone really figured out which characters people wanted to see more from, and picked the right time to make those comebacks.
Ellen Degeneres and Albert Brooks - Dory and Marlin
In a bit of a deviation from the previous entries, this one includes 2 actors and centers on vocal performances rather than live-action ones. Degeneres and Brooks lent their voices to Dory and Marlin respectivelyinFinding Nemo, with their performances being some of the most memorable in Disney/Pixar history. They returned to their roles 13 years later inFinding Dory, and it really felt like no time had passed at all. It was exciting for a lot of fans to get to see the characters they loved as children get revisited now that those same audience members were adults, or nearing adulthood at the very least.
