It only takes one! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most memorable scenes that single handedly revived an actor’s waning career.
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00:00Can you get something for me?
00:02I got cash.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:06and today we're counting down our picks
00:08for the most memorable scenes that single-handedly
00:10revived an actor's waning career.
00:20Number 10, Drew Barrymore.
00:22The opening phone call, Scream.
00:24You never told me your name.
00:26Why do you want to know my name?
00:28You don't know who I'm looking at.
00:30Believe it or not, Drew Barrymore was considered
00:32to have lost her touch by 1996.
00:34She was all grown up, her rebellious nature
00:36was getting her in trouble, and her movies,
00:38well, they were no E.T.
00:40Let's just say that. But her life and career
00:42did a complete 180 in just 10 minutes
00:44thanks to the iconic opening scene of Scream.
00:46We're out in the middle of nowhere.
00:48What do you want?
00:50To see what your insides look like.
00:54Barrymore wowed viewers with her acting chops,
00:56and her terrified performance helped
00:58place the sequence among the pantheon
01:00of all-time horror greats.
01:02Barrymore's career blossomed almost immediately,
01:04landing starring roles in popular rom-coms
01:06and kicking butt in Charlie's Angels.
01:08The star was reborn,
01:10ironic considering what happens to her in the movie.
01:16And that's kicking your ass.
01:20Number 9, Robert Pattinson.
01:22I'm better than you. Good time.
01:24You were incredible, do you understand?
01:26Good. I'm serious, you could have done that
01:28without you standing next to me being strong.
01:30Try as he might to break the stigma,
01:32Robert Pattinson was still synonymous
01:34with Twilight's Edward Cullen.
01:36Luckily, Pattinson got the break he was looking for
01:38in 2017, starring as Connie Nikes
01:40in Good Time.
01:42He is excellent throughout the entire film,
01:44but the better-than-you speech is what really solidified
01:46Pattinson's performance.
01:48It's like you're incapable of taking care of themselves.
01:50You're either leeching off mommy, or leeching off welfare,
01:52or living off the government in jail.
01:54That's you!
01:56Many critics took note of his performance
01:58and deemed it a career best,
02:00and he used the movie as a launch pad back into the spotlight.
02:02Number 8, Neil Patrick Harris.
02:04High hitchhiker.
02:06Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.
02:08Excuse me, are you Neil Patrick Harris?
02:10Yep.
02:12Harris was a child star in the early 90s,
02:14playing the titular doctor in Doogie Howser, M.D.
02:16Okay, we're getting some circulation.
02:18Is he still breathing?
02:20Good. Now go get me something I can use for a leg brace.
02:22And while he later found work on Broadway,
02:24he was no longer the household name
02:26he once was. Fast forward to 2004,
02:28when Harris climbed into Harold's car
02:30and displayed his comedy chops
02:32while peering high as a kite.
02:34The Doogie line always works on strippers.
02:36Lap dance.
02:38This scene shifted the public's
02:40perception of Harris, changing him
02:42from a former child star to a future comedian.
02:44Indeed, he would star
02:46in How I Met Your Mother the very next year.
02:48Ted, I'm gonna
02:50teach you how to live.
02:52Barney, we met at the urinal.
02:54Number 7. Ryan Reynolds.
02:56Maximum effort. Deadpool.
02:58It seemed like Ryan Reynolds could not
03:00catch a break. While he was obviously
03:02successful before Deadpool, his career
03:04never really shifted into high gear.
03:06Oh!
03:08Oh, hello. I know, right?
03:10He also faced a number
03:12of significant flops throughout the 2010s,
03:14including RIPD and the
03:16infamous Green Lantern.
03:18Well, that's good advice. Thanks, gorgeous.
03:20Just when things were looking dour,
03:22he turned to the camera as Deadpool,
03:24introducing himself in a hilarious fashion
03:26and finally shifted into that
03:28elusive high gear.
03:30You may be wondering why the red suit.
03:32Well, that's so bad guys can't see me bleed.
03:34This guy's got the right idea.
03:36He wore the brown pants.
03:38The bridge sequence was a brilliant introduction to a brilliant character,
03:40and fans knew immediately
03:42that Reynolds was a pitch-perfect casting choice.
03:44He was suddenly a worldwide box office
03:46bonanza, and eventually,
03:48a shining beacon in the fading MCU.
03:50Oh!
03:52I'm touching myself tonight.
03:54Number 6.
03:56Keanu Reeves. The bus jump.
03:58Speed. What do you think?
04:02You're the expert. I just work here.
04:04The Bill and Ted actor transitioned
04:06into a bona fide action star in
04:081994, and just in time, too,
04:10because his career was on shaky ground.
04:12Reeves tried doing some serious work
04:14in the early 90s, starring in Bram Stoker's
04:16Dracula and Much Ado About Nothing.
04:18And while both movies were praised,
04:20Reeves' performances were
04:22not, resulting in a razzy
04:24nom for worst supporting actor.
04:26I am not of many words,
04:28but I thank you.
04:30But the famous bus jump in Speed
04:32showed that Reeves had a talent,
04:34and that was playing strong, level-headed
04:36and daring action heroes.
04:38He takes complete command of the deadly
04:40situation, and we buy every second
04:42of it. And with that, Reeves was
04:44a bona fide action man, a role he
04:46would later explore to greater depths in The Matrix.
04:48You move like they do.
04:50I've never seen anyone move that
04:52fast.
04:54I wasn't fast enough.
04:56Number 5. Matthew McConaughey.
04:58HIV AIDS diagnosis.
05:00Dallas Buyers Club.
05:02What, hook me up to a little morphine drip?
05:04Let me fade on out?
05:06Nah, sorry lady, but I've heard it out
05:08in Bhutan. The McConaussance
05:10officially began with Dallas Buyers Club,
05:12and is still going strong to this day.
05:14Prior to 2013, Matthew McConaughey
05:16was mostly known as a leading man in
05:18romantic comedies. We're sure the paychecks
05:20were nice, but many people, including
05:22McConaughey himself, knew that he had
05:24a lot more to give. Look at the handsome
05:26man sitting across the table
05:28from you, paying for your
05:30dinner.
05:32Huh? Well, he let
05:34that talent shine in 2013,
05:36playing AIDS activist Ron Woodruff.
05:38In one devastating sequence,
05:40Ron learns that he has the syndrome,
05:42and McConaughey unleashes his acting prowess.
05:44Dirty day.
05:48I'm sorry.
05:50The scene, and the role at large, won him
05:52wide acclaim, not to mention the Oscar
05:54for Best Actor. Number 4.
05:56John Travolta. Dancing at
05:58Jack Rabbit's Slims. Pulp Fiction.
06:00Oh! Final! Ready?
06:02The Batman! Of all the incredible
06:04things that John Travolta has done throughout the decades,
06:06he's best known for dancing.
06:08He made his career on the disco floor in
06:10Saturday Night Fever, and he brought it back
06:12on the Jack Rabbit Slims floor in Pulp Fiction.
06:14When Vince twist, I wanted him
06:16to be kinda rich.
06:22The 80s were a rough time for Travolta,
06:24but that rocky decade was wiped away
06:26in one quick minute, thanks to some groovy
06:28moves, and one wickedly cool sense
06:30of style. Travolta's dance was one of
06:32the instantly iconic scenes that audiences
06:34knew would be remembered forever.
06:44Number 3. Marlon Brando.
06:46The Don. The Godfather.
06:48This performer has one of those
06:50careers that every budding actor dreams of.
06:52In a filmography full of classics,
06:54The Godfather undoubtedly stands
06:56out as one of Brando's best.
06:59And what scene is
07:01more iconic than that opening
07:03meeting with Vito granting wishes
07:05on the day of his daughter's wedding?
07:07It's a staple of pop culture, and has remained
07:09as such since 1972. And yes,
07:11it single-handedly revived
07:13Brando's career.
07:19He had been struggling for over a decade,
07:21with his last Oscar nom and box office
07:23hit coming in 1958.
07:25Paramount executives didn't even want Brando
07:27in the movie, owing to his long string of bombs.
07:29But Coppola insisted, and
07:31well, we know who history
07:33has vindicated.
07:40Number 2. Robert Downey Jr.
07:42I am Iron Man.
07:48With those four words,
07:50Robert Downey Jr. managed to both save
07:52his career, and launch the biggest
07:54movie event of our time. You certainly couldn't
07:56have predicted that in 2000, when he was
07:58facing nearly five years in prison for drug-related
08:00offenses. Downey's personal issues
08:02are Hollywood legend at this point,
08:04and his career was truly in the pits.
08:06Luckily, he eventually sought help,
08:08got sober, and made a miraculous
08:10comeback that culminated in Iron Man.
08:16Yeah, I can fly.
08:18He was wonderful throughout the movie,
08:20but he really made an impression with that
08:22mesmerizing ending. The words speak
08:24for his character, as well as himself.
08:26He is Iron Man, and there will never
08:28be another.
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08:50Number one,
08:52Brendan Fraser,
08:54I Need to Know, The Whale.
09:04Brendan Fraser, Oscar winner.
09:06It has a nice ring to it, and it's one of those
09:08beautiful stories that might make a good movie
09:10one day. Despite dominating the 90s
09:12and early 2000s, Fraser left
09:14the spotlight for years.
09:20This career slump
09:22is largely attributed to his depression,
09:24as Fraser suffered a number of personal
09:26setbacks. But he came back in full force
09:28with The Whale, with his I Need to Know
09:30speech proving particularly famous.
09:32It was widely shared on social media,
09:34and led to the actor's first Academy Award.
09:44Welcome back, Brendan. We missed you.
09:46Can you think of any other examples?
09:48Let us know in the comments below.
09:56Did you enjoy this video?
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