15+ Actors Who Reprised Their Famous Roles Years Later

Many actors love returning to successful roles even many years later. And the viewers are usually supportive because they want to know what has happened to the characters in all that time. Here are some actors and actresses who played the same character after a long break.

Harrison Ford — Indiana Jones

The last time the actor played the famous archaeologist was in 2008, but Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be released in 2023. The fans are worried it will be the last Indiana Jones film with Ford in it, but the actor just says, “No, I’m just telling a story. You’ll see, you’ll see. I hope you like it.”

Channing Tatum — Magic Mike

The last film about the dancers was released in 2015, and the third installment, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, is planned to come out in 2023. Tatum explained why playing Mike wasn’t easy this time: the preparation for the role is incredibly hard. He said, “It’s hard to look like that. Even if you do work out, to be that kind of in shape is not natural. That’s not even healthy.”

Tom Cruise — Ethan Hunt

The 6th part about Ethan Hunt was released in 2018, and his story will continue in 2023 in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part One. Tom Cruise promised he would do dangerous stunts we’ve never seen before. To prepare for them, he had to jump with a parachute over 500 times and jump on a motorbike over 13,000 times.

Hayden Panettiere — Kirby Reed

Kirby Reed, played by Hayden Panettiere, first appeared in the 2011 Scream 4. And in 2023, Scream VI with the same actress is going to be in the theaters. Her triumphant return is making fans build theories about the possible twists of the story. For example, some people believe that in the new film, Kirby will be under the mask of Ghostface.

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher — Jackie Burkhart and Michael Kelso

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher were on That ’70s Show until 2006. In 2023, the premiere of That ’90s Show happened, and several actors returned to their roles in cameos, including Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, who are married in real life. In the sequel, they are married too, and Kunis thinks it’s strange because her character is supposed to be in a relationship with a different character.

Cobie Smulders — Robin Sherbatsky

Cobie Smulders played Robin Sherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother, which was on air until 2014. The actress reprised her role in a cameo in How I Met Your Father. Smulders’ appearance was top-secret, and her scenes weren’t even in the script. Hilary Duff, who worked on the same set with Smulders, said, “She was great. She made me very comfortable.”

Neil Patrick Harris — Barney Stinson

Later in How I Met Your Father, another character from the original show returned. Barney Stinson appeared for a short episode at the end of the second season premiere. The creators promised his role is not yet over, “More is coming. By the time his appearance on our show is over, people will feel really satisfied by what they’ve seen.”

Crystal Reed — Allison Argent

Crystal Reed, who left Teen Wolf in 2014, reunited with her character in 2023 in the movie sequel. Even though the actress was happy to get back together with her colleagues, it was a difficult experience because her character had changed a lot since her last appearance on the show. Reed said, “Physically, it was really hard for me. I tried my best, but it was really hard for me to kind of maintain my health during that shoot.”

David Tennant — Doctor

David Tennant, who played in Doctor Who until 2010, returned in 2022 to play the 14th Doctor. So, he is the first actor to portray 2 incarnations. According to Tennant, he was “worried it would be difficult to get in the groove again, but it has been straightforward.”

Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell — Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus

After the 2006 film, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell reprised their roles in 2022 in the series The Santa Clauses. Mitchell was happy to play the character again and said, “I loved coming back to Mrs. Claus when she’s more settled into her role. I think she and her book and cocoa are right where she’s been for the last 16 years!” But the sequel was full of adventures. For example, in one of the episodes, Mitchell had to fight giant nutcrackers.

Kate Walsh — Addison Montgomery

Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh, first appeared in the season one finale of Grey’s Anatomy and then in the spin-off series Private Practice. Kate played Addison again in 2021 in the 18th season of Grey’s Anatomy. The fans’ reaction made Walsh happy, “I was very satisfied and delighted by it. And, honestly, that’s always been [the thought]: you do this for the fans.”

Sigourney Weaver — Dana Barrett

Sigourney Weaver played Dana Barrett in the 1989 film Ghostbusters II. She reprised her role in the 2021 Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Her appearance was short (she was in the mid-credits scene) but very important. Thanks to this scene, it seems that after the second film, Barrett and Peter Venkman got back together again.

Judy Dench — Queen Victoria

Judy Dench first played Queen Victoria in the 1997 film Mrs. Brown, and this role earned her a Golden Globe Award. Dench returned to the role of the Queen in 2017 in Victoria & Abdul. The actress doesn’t often play the same characters, but this time, she had a good reason, “I didn’t expect to come back to visit her again, but there was a whole bit of her life that I didn’t know about, and it was such a fascinating story.”

Patrick Dempsey — Robert Philip

Patrick Dempsey played Robert Philip in the 2007 film Enchanted, and like several other members of the cast, reprised this role in 2022 in Disenchanted. The actor was satisfied with the project, “Learning the lyrics and the dance was an extraordinary experience and something I’d never done before. It’s an extraordinary feeling you get when you sing. It was nice to be in the fairytale world for a while.”

Natalie Portman — Jane Foster

After the 2013 Thor: The Dark World, Natalie Portman took a break and didn’t return to her role in the next part of the franchise. But in 2022, she appeared in Thor: Love and Thunder. Portman says her kids were happy, “It was very lucky to get to have this role at a time when that was really impressive for them.”

What character from movies or series would you like to see back on screen?