2025 is shaping to be a year with several top actors making a stunning return to the big screen. Whether due to personal breaks, career shifts, or industry challenges, these actors stepped away briefly from major roles for a while. Several of these stars were part of Hollywood’s bankable actors at the peak of their careers.
Also, although they dominated the acting categories at the Oscars several years ago, they’ve notably not received Oscar nominations in recent years. With shifting trends, new storytelling styles, and a growing appreciation for legacy stars, 2025 provides the perfect opportunity for their resurgence. Here are top actors making a major comeback, in a leading role, in 2025.
Cameron Diaz & Jamie Foxx — Back in Action
Release Date: January 17, 2025
Cameron Diaz rose to fame in the 1990s and early 2000s as one of Hollywood’s most popular and highest-paid actresses. However, after starring in Annie (2014), she took a decade-long hiatus from acting, citing a desire to focus on her personal life, well-being, and new ventures outside Hollywood. Diaz made a comeback to acting in 2025 in Seth Gordon’s action comedy Back in Action.
Interestingly, Diaz’s comeback was largely influenced by her longtime friend and co-star Jamie Foxx, who coincidentally co-starred with her in her last movie Annie. Even for Jamie Foxx, 2025 is a comeback year, as the actor’s last major role was in 2023. Foxx had portrayed Willie E. Gary in the legal drama The Burial, alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Jurnee Smollett. Also, Foxx was hospitalized in April 2023 from an unspecified medical emergency. His return to the big screen comes as a great relief to family, friends, and movie audiences.
Robert De Niro — Alto Knights
Release Date: March 21, 2025
With a career spanning six decades, Robert De Niro is one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors. He gained recognition for roles in Mean Streets (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), and Casino (1995). Over the years, he became a frequent collaborator of director Martin Scorsese. In the 2000s, De Niro expanded into comedic roles with hits like Meet the Parents (2000) and has continued in the genre ever since.
Robert De Niro’s last major film was Scorsese’s 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon, coupled with the comedies About My Father and Ezra. With no project in 2024, De Niro returns in 2025 with two major projects in film and television. He leads an ensemble cast as George Mullen in the Netflix political thriller miniseries Zero Day. On the big screen, De Niro plays dual roles in Barry Levinson’s biographical crime drama The Alto Knights. Back in his earlier element, Robert De Niro portrays 1950s mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello.
Margot Robbie — A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Release Date: May 9, 2025
Australian actress and producer Margot Robbie remains one of Hollywood’s most recognized and successful actresses. Although her career began in Australia, her transition to Hollywood has seen her star in several independent and blockbuster movies. While The Wolf of Wall Street launched her Hollywood career, her performances in Suicide Squad (2016), I, Tonya (2017), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), solidified her status as a top actress.
Following the extensive promotion and success of the 2023 Barbie, Margot Robbie decided to take a hiatus from acting. Also, Robbie and her husband Tom Ackerley welcomed their first child in 2024, which contributed to her decision to step back temporarily. Margot Robbie is set to make her return with the upcoming romantic fantasy film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025). Cast as Sarah, Robbie co-stars alongside Colin Farrell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lily Rabe, and Jodie Turner-Smith.
Brad Pitt — F1
Release Date: June 27, 2025
Brad Pitt has starred in fewer major roles in the past decades. Although he co-starred alongside George Clooney in the 2024 action comedy, the film had a one-week limited theatrical release with lukewarm reviews. As such, Pitt’s last major movie was in 2022, where he led the ensemble cast of Babylon as Jack Conrad. As such, his return to the big screen in 2025 is a major comeback for the actor. In Joseph Kosinski’s sports action drama F1, Pitt leads the cast as Formula One driver Sonny Hayes. The movie is one of 2025’s most anticipated films.
Leonardo DiCaprio — The Battle Of Baktan Cross (One Battle After Another)
Release Date: August 8, 2025
Audiences last watched Leonardo DiCaprio portray Ernest Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon in 2023. While it may seem like only two years ago, DiCaprio is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars who had a busy career from the 1990s to the 2010s. With only two films to his credit in the 2020s, his return to the big screen is also a major comeback. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a Paul Thomas Anderson film which had the filming titled The Battle of Baktan Cross. While the name hasn’t been confirmed, it has been listed as One Battle After Another on several major websites. The movie also stars Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and Teyana Taylor.
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