2025 may very well go down as the Year of the Un-Retired Actors. Not only did two prominent actors make their returns after many years away — Cameron Diaz in Back in Action and Daniel Day-Lewis in son Ronan’s upcoming film Anemone, but Rick Moranis will also return in Spaceballs 2, his first live-action role in nearly 30 years.
This year also brought the loss of Gene Hackman, a beloved actor who retired in 2004 and many hoped would grace the silver screen one last time. Unfortunately, that never happened, with Hackman pᴀssing away at 95 in February, alongside his 63-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa, leaving a legacy of remarkable work behind him.
While Diaz, Day-Lewis and Moranis all finally returned to their chosen profession, there are still many other thespians who have bowed out over the years for various reasons, who could all very well capitalize on this “trend” of sorts and follow in their footsteps by returning to the silver screen.
Karyn Parsons
Parsons sH๏τ to fame as Hilary Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and she seamlessly moved to the big screen as well in 1995’s Major Payne, alongside Damon Wayans. She landed roles in Mixing Nia and The Ladies Man before starring in the short-lived TV series The Job, which lasted just one season.
After The Job, she married filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell and stepped away from acting, raising their two children and starting her own company called Sweet Blackberry. She also wrote three children’s books, and made a brief return to acting with the 2020 film Sweet Thing, but now it seems her husband has coaxed her out of retirement once again.
Parsons’ official website reveals that she’s starring in a film called The Projectionist alongside Vondie Curtis-Hall, David Proval, Kasi Lemmons, Kevin Corrigan, Lana Rockwell, Karyn Parsons, Michael Buscemi and Steven Randazzo, debuting in 2026. It remains to be seen if that will spark more acting work from Parsons.
Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates’ ʙικιɴι-drop fantasy make-out scene with Judge Reinhold in the 1982 classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High remains one of the most iconic scenes of 1980s cinema. She was one of the biggest stars of the 80s with roles in Private School, Gremlins and Bright Lights, Big City, but she largely stepped away from showbiz after she married Kevin Kline in 1989.
She did star alongside her husband in 1994’s Princess Caraboo, and un-retired briefly in 2001 for The Anniversary Party, but she hasn’t been on the big screen since. Both of her children — filmmaker/actor Owen Kline and singer Greta Kline — have followed in their parents’ footsteps, though it remains to be seen if Phoebe will ever return to acting.
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes was one of the brightest young child stars that Hollywood had seen in ages, a true versatile performer who could do it all, in quite the hilarious fashion if needed. Bynes seemed destined for stardom after transitioning seamlessly from Nickelodeon shows like All That and The Amanda Show, to WB’s What I Like About You and films like Big Fat Liar and What A Girl Wants.
She had more hits with She’s The Man and Hairspray, but she announced a hiatus from acting after her 2010 film Easy A, which she has sadly still not returned from. A string of legal issues starting ith a DUI in 2012 led her to being placed into a convservatorship, which she was in until 2022.
She expressed her desire to start acting again in 2018, though she has yet to land a new role.
Angus T. Jones
With just a handful of film and TV roles to his credit, Angus T. Jones quickly sH๏τ to fame when he was cast as Jake Harper, the son of Jon Cryer’s Alan Harper on CBS’ Two and a Half Men. The sitcom was one of the biggest shows on television, but Jones made headlines after criticizing the show.
He ultimately walked back his controversial comments where he called the show “filth,” but he didn’t appear in the final two seasons, except for a cameo in the series finale. Jones attended the University of Colorado after the show, but he said in 2016 he was open to returning to acting.
He only appeared in an episode of Horace and Pete, and he played himself in an episode of Bookie.
David Caruso
It’s been 13 years since David Caruso has been a fixture of the small screen with his role as Horatio “H” Caine on CBS’ CSI: Miami. The show was canceled in 2012 after a 10-year, 232-episode run, with Caruso stepping away from the biz with no fanfare following a diverse career spanning the big and small screen.
He has turned to the art world since leaving the show, making a rare public appearance back in May, spotted near his gallery in Westlake Village, California. He also owns a clothing store dubbed Steam on Sunset in South Miami, though the 69-year-old seems to have fully left public life completely.
Leelee Sobieski
Leelee Sobieski was an actress who flowed easily from big budget blockbusters like Deep Impact to low-budget indies like Merchant-Ivory’s A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries — both in the same year. She also earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for portraying Joan of Arc in a 1999 miniseries and was in Stanley Kubrick’s final film, 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut.
She worked regularly into the 21st Century with films like Joy Ride, The Wicker Man, 88 Minutes, Public Enemies and Branded, before retiring from acting in 2012 to raise her kids with husband Adam Kimmel. Like Caruso, she has transitioned to the art world as well by painting, sculpting and even working with virtual reality platforms.
Evangeline Lilly
It’s not often that the star of a huge TV series and a pivotal part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) just retires, though that’s essentially what Evangeline Lilly did in June 2024, stating she was “stepping away” from acting to focus on her family. The 46-year-old did leave the door open for a return, though.
“I might return to Hollywood one day, but for now this is where I belong,” Lilly said in her statement, referring to her husband Thomas Kail and their two children. She hasn’t appeared on the big or small screen since 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and she currently has no other projects in the works.
Eva Mendes
While she’s occasionally lent her voice to the hit kids TV series Bluey, Eva Mendes hasn’t been seen on the big screen in 11 years, since her husband Ryan Gosling’s 2014 directorial debut, Lost River. Since then, she’s been keeping busy raising daughters Esmerelda and Amada, though Vin Diesel hinted a few years ago she could return to Fast & Furious.
Still, nothing has been announced about that or any other future film or TV project, with the actress revealing in 2022 she got tired of, “fighting for the good roles.” She admitted that it was, “exciting” that there were better roles for Latin women, though she said she was, “keeping it in the home with my kids.”
Jack Nicholson
The iconic Jack Nicholson — three-time Oscar winner and considered by some as the greatest actor of all time — hasn’t appeared in a film since 2010’s How Do You Know. He brushed off speculation that he was “retired” from acting in a 2013 Vanity Fair piece, where he said he wasn’t retired, but still he didn’t, “want to be out there anymore.”
Regardless, he hasn’t appeared in a film since, though he’s made a few memorable appearances at the Oscars and Saturday Night Live‘s 40th and 50th anniversary specials. Now 88 years of age, it seems less and less likely that the beloved actor could be coaxed back onto a set.
