4 Over-60 Actors Who Had Comebacks (and 1 That Fizzled)

This story first appeared in the April 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

FOUR OVER-60 COMEBACKS

Kevin Costner, 60

About 15 years after his red-hot career cooled with Waterworld (1995) and The Postman (1997), the A&E miniseries Hatfields & McCoys reintroduced audiences to Costner. Since then, he’s landed franchise pics Man of Steel and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and the sports drama McFarland, USA has exceeded expectations.

Harrison Ford, 72

Ford made it to 60 before his career showed signs of wear and tear in 2002’s ;K-19: The Widowmaker. After his 2008 return to Indiana Jones was mostly panned, the original Han Solo now is back in the limelight thanks to December’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He also has signed up for a Blade Runner redux.

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Michael Keaton, 63

Keaton recently ended self-imposed exile with Need for Speed and RoboCop, but nobody will remember those flops after Oscar best picture winner Birdman. He already has leveraged the buzz for meaty roles including Ray Kroc in The Founder, about the rise of McDonald’s, and Legendary’s big-budget Kong: Skull Island.

Liam Neeson, 62

Taken (2009) transformed the Irish actor into Hollywood’s most in-demand older action star. But both Neeson and his fans might be getting weary of the routine. March’s Run All Night is a disappointment, while Taken 3 did less than the sequel ($292 million). Neeson even has declared he’ll retire from the action scene in two years.

THE ONE THAT FIZZLED

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 67

He’s back — but audiences don’t seem to care. Schwarzenegger was confident he would make a seamless return to acting after exiting as California governor in 2011, but he’s fired blanks. (His split from wife Maria Shriver after he fathered an illegitimate son with their nanny likely didn’t help.) The Last Stand opened in 2013 to dismal numbers, followed by bombs Escape Plan and Sabotage. He did appear in two outings of The Expendables, but in small roles. He’ll try again with Maggie, an action-thriller co-starring Abigail Breslin that opens May 8. His best chance of a revival, though, is Terminator: Genisys, which hopes to relaunch the franchise July 1. In another blast from his past, he’s intent on remaking The Legend of Conan.

Read more from The Hollywood Reporter’s New A-List issue.