Wrestlers turned superheroes, superstars built from a rebellious youth,
and an Oscar-nominated performance after a decades-long hiatus. These
are the actors who got a second wind in the superhero genre.
Anna Paquin achieved a level of success most aspiring actors can only dream about,
and she did it her very first time on the job. Paquin's hard-to-follow screen debut
came in 1993's The Piano, written and directed by the acclaimed New Zealand
filmmaker Jane Campion. Campion casted a then nine-year-old Paquin as Flora McGrath,
the plucky daughter of Holly Hunter's mute protagonist, Ada.
Paquin's star-making performance was a frequently mentioned highlight when The Piano went on to
become one of the most celebrated films of the year. She took home the best supporting
actress Oscar, becoming the second youngest winner ever at 11, and Roger Ebert called
her performance "one of the most extraordinary examples of a child's acting in movie history."
The Canadian-born actor continued to land roles following her out-of-the-gate triumph, but most
were in a featured or supporting capacity, and none garnered quite so much attention
as The Piano. Then, in 2000, she reemerged just as the superhero genre was making a resurgence.
Paquin scored the lead role in 2000's X-Men as Rogue, opposite Hugh Jackman's Wolverine,
and the film was a well-received hit at the box office. While Jackman got the lion's share of
critics' and audiences' praise, a now young adult Paquin was a capable scene partner. She went on
to appear in three more X-Men films, then found a home on the steamy HBO vampire series True Blood.
Craig T. Nelson worked as both a comedian and dramatic actor before being cast in the title
role of the ABC sitcom Coach from 1989 to 1997. The comedy revolved around Nelson's Hayden Fox,
the head coach of the fictional Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles football team.
Coach often used real athletes as guest stars,
but it relied on its sports-centric premise to delve into the personal lives of its characters,
most notably the relationship between Fox, his daughter, and the other men on his staff. In 1992,
Nelson won the Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series. However,
when Coach wrapped, the actor struggled to find opportunities befitting his award-winning stature.
Besides Hayden Fox, Nelson is best known for voicing Bob Parr,
otherwise known as Mr. Incredible, in Pixar's 2004 hit about a family of superheroes trying
to live normal lives after the government attempts to regulate super powered individuals.
The Incredibles, which also co-starred Holly Hunter as Elastigirl, was a critical
and commercial success. Nelson's chemistry with Hunter is, well, incredible, and his affectation
as a bored-to-death suburban dad who secretly takes up the mantle of saving the day again
helped the film achieve the perfect balance of social satire and heartwarming family saga.
"Now our kids are in danger?"
"Baby, if you suspected danger, why'd you bring them?"
"I didn't bring them! They stowed away and I don't think you're striking the proper tone here."
Nelson's career surged and he followed up The Incredibles with 2005's The Family
Stone before returning to the role in 2018's Incredibles 2. In between,
he guest starred in series such as My Name is Earl, Monk, CSI: NY,
and Grace and Frankie, while starring in Parenthood and Young Sheldon.
The quintessential example of a down-and-out actor using a superhero movie to relaunch their
career is Robert Downey Jr.. He’s a man who will forever be synonymous with Tony Stark and Iron
Man. The son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., got his start in smaller parts in his father's films.
However, their fraught relationship would also contribute to Downey Jr.'s public
fall from grace. In his youth, Downey Jr. received rave reviews for performances in
movies like Less than Zero and Short Cuts, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for his
portrayal of the legendary silent film star in the 1992 biopic Chaplin. He was
considered one of the most promising talents of his generation before addiction got in the way.
After a years-long battle, Downey Jr. could finally declare that he was sober and got back
to acting. He had been working intermittently in films like Gothika and Good Night, and Good Luck,
but with 2008's Iron Man, he made good on his potential. Almost overnight, Downey Jr. turned
who many fans and critics considered to be a B-tier comic book character into an instant icon.
With his charismatic performance, he didn't just catapult himself back
into the celebrity stratosphere, he also jumpstarted what became the MCU,
perhaps the most ambitious cinematic endeavor of all time. With films like
Tropic Thunder and Doolittle, the beloved actor has hit and missed outside of the MCU,
but there's no denying that the actor and the superhero genre greatly benefitted each other.
Chris Evans actually appeared in a few superhero films fairly early
into his career, playing evil ex Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and
Johnny Storm in the much-maligned 2005 iteration of Fantastic Four.
"I think we have a serious problem."
However, after breaking onto the scene as Jake Wyler in 2001's Not Another Teen Movie,
Evans was often typecast as a slightly obnoxious alpha male,
which he'd later revisit as Ransom in 2019's Knives Out.
He's also in the ensemble of the 2007 dystopian sci-fi film Sunshine,
Danny Boyle's well-reviewed box office bomb. With this hodgepodge of early 2000s credits,
Evans was not exactly an A-lister hitting the turn of the decade. However,
that all changed when Marvel made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Evans' career received a huge shot in the arm thanks to his contract to appear in
multiple MCU projects as Steve Rogers, starting with 2011's Captain America:
The First Avenger. Over the next decade, the actor and his character became integral to
the mega-franchise. To balance out Tony Stark's snark, Evans imbued Steve Rogers
with a level of chivalry and sincerity that stood in contrast to some of his earlier work.
His eight-movie stint as Cap helped anchor the MCU through its first three phases,
and the goodwill he earned playing Marvel's most patriotic superhero afforded him the
chance to collaborate with some of the new century's most interesting filmmakers,
like Bong Joon-ho and Rian Johnson, whenever he had time to put down the shield.
Anthony Mackie is a Juilliard-trained actor with extensive experience on the stage and
the screen. He made a name for himself with significant roles in well-chosen films such
as 2002's 8 Mile, 2004's Brother to Brother, 2006's Half Nelson,
the Denzel Washington remake of The Manchurian Candidate and the sports drama We Are Marshall.
He appeared in two best picture winners — 2004's Million Dollar Baby and 2009's
The Hurt Locker. In the latter, Mackie and his co-star Jeremy Renner were commended
for their unflinching performances as Iraq War soldiers. While Renner's career took
off from there with roles in Mission: Impossible and the Bourne franchise,
Mackie appeared in supporting roles in modestly successful movies like Real Steel
and The Adjustment Bureau as well as bombs like What's Your Number? and Gangster Squad.
He didn't really take flight until he joined Renner in the MCU as the Falcon in 2014's
Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Mackie's involvement in that film, widely considered one
of the best Marvel movies, led to a working relationship that's still going strong.
Mackie's Falcon teamed up with Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes in the Disney+ series The Falcon
and the Winter Soldier and returns as the new Cap in the upcoming Captain America: New World
Order. Since strapping on his Falcon wings, Mackie has also starred in Detroit and The Hate U Give.
When the supernatural drama Lost took the world by storm in 2004, a few of its marquee
actors were already famous faces. Matthew Fox was familiar to audiences from Party of Five,
Harold Perrineau had a role in the Matrix, and Dominic Monaghan had just finished The Lord of
the Rings trilogy. Evangeline Lilly wasn't a complete nobody — she had some guest star
credits under her belt — but she became the breakout star of the series that dominated
water cooler conversations for years as Kate Austen, a capable survivalist with a shady past.
Though Lost waned in popularity and coherence by the time it concluded,
many expected Lilly's skills to translate easily to the big screen. Her first project off the
island was 2011's Real Steel. She followed that up with two appearances as Tauriel in
The Hobbit trilogy, but the relatively small role didn't catch on with Tolkien
fans as she and Peter Jackson may have hoped. After five years of a downward trajectory,
Lilly finally got a part that — at least in theory — would rival cool, tough Kate.
As Hope van Dyne in the Ant-Man franchise, Lilly could quip, flirt, and fight opposite
Paul Rudd's Scott Lang. The character may not have reached her full potential as of
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but the Canadian actor isn't done with the MCU yet.
Joaquin Phoenix never really went away — he's been one of the most
respected film actors in the business for most of his adult life. However,
after an almost unprecedented multiyear run of critically acclaimed and award-nominated
performances in films like Gladiator, Walk the Line, The Master, and Her, working with top-tier
directors such as Ridley Scott and Paul Thomas Anderson, he still had no Oscar to show for it.
In between prestige projects, Phoenix also starred in M. Night Shyamalan's
Signs and The Village. It seemed like he'd be able to maintain his
status as both an indie darling and a legitimate movie star going forward.
Then, the actor who made a career for himself playing oddball characters veered a little too
far afield for his own good. The years after his 2013 Academy Award nomination were less
than kind to Phoenix. He appeared in a number of smaller-budget auteur-driven films, most of
which received good reviews but none of which made much of an impact. His reputation and professional
momentum had also taken a hit during his bizarre involvement in and press tour for I'm Still Here.
However, with 2019's "Joker," Phoenix got the last laugh. The critically and
commercially successful film defied the Oscars' bias against comic book movies,
nabbing 11 nominations and two wins, including — at long last — best actor for Joaquin Phoenix.
"You wouldn't get it."
John Cena belongs to a class of entertainers who've transitioned from professional wrestler
to professional actor thanks in no small part to the superhero genre.
Dwayne Johnson might be the best-known example, but time might tell that Cena
might have had better instincts regarding the project he selected.
Like Johnson, Cena first tried his hand at acting in action-heavy films such as The
Marine and 12 Rounds. However, he never became a proper action hero as Johnson did in movies
like San Andreas and Skyscraper. Instead, he popped up in guest roles and cameos in
things like Parks and Recreation and Trainwreck, establishing himself as something of a comedian.
"John Cena you're my hero!" "Wait,
you're Andy." "I'm Andy!"
"From the information I got I just assumed you'd be like, 10 years-old."
Writer-director James Gunn noticed and did for Cena what he'd done for fellow
wrestler-turned-action star Dave Bautista in the Guardians of the Galaxy. He cast
him in The Suicide Squad as Peacemaker, then devoted a whole TV show to him. HBO
Max's Peacemaker — which is as gnarly, silly, and well-made as audiences expect
of James Gunn — delves into the complicated character's backstory. It's been a winner
with critics and audiences while allowing Cena to show off the full range of his abilities.
Ke Huy Quan was never a superstar, though he was a part of two iconic 1980s films. In
1984 he played the iconic Short Round opposite Harrison Ford in
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and followed that up shortly after as
Data in the Steven Spielberg-produced kids' adventure movie, The Goonies.
He continued to act for a while but in films and TV series that
didn't have the reach of his first two jobs, in part because opportunities for
Asian actors were limited — even for those who'd demonstrated their box office might.
"When you work with Stephen Spielburg, and Harrison Ford, and George Lucas,
you can't go anywhere but downhill from there."
Eventually, Quan enrolled in film school at the University of Southern California
and occasionally worked as a stunt coordinator and assistant director.
Then, the extremely lauded absurdist multiverse dramedy, Everything Everywhere All At Once,
presented Quan with a once-in-a-lifetime role that became his triumphant return.
He plays Waymond Wang, the meek soon-to-be ex-husband of main character Evelyn Wang. Quan
excels at playing that version of Waymond, but since this is a multiversal superhero story,
he gets to play a myriad of Waymonds — including the downright cool Alpha-Waymond.
Quan even delivers the emotional knockout line of the movie, "In another life,
I think I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you," and rightly took
home a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his performance. He's now one of the hottest
commodities in Hollywood and, and he's slated to appear in Season 2 of the Disney+ series Loki.