Some actors leave a role behind after one movie or a few seasons. Others keep coming back for decades. From action heroes who returned to their franchises after 30 years to TV stars who practically grew old alongside their characters, these 25 actors spent an incredible chunk of their careers playing the same person.
Sylvester Stallone — Rocky Balboa
Stallone first played the underdog boxer in 1976’s Rocky and was still playing him 42 years later in Creed II. Few actors have gotten to visibly grow old alongside a character quite like this.
Harrison Ford — Indiana Jones
Ford first put on the fedora for Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. He returned for four sequels, finally saying goodbye to Indy in 2023 at age 80.
Mark Hamill — Luke Skywalker
Hamill became Luke Skywalker in 1977’s Star Wars and returned to the role decades later for the sequel trilogy. His final live action film appearance as Luke came more than 40 years after his first.
Jamie Lee Curtis — Laurie Strode
Curtis was just 19 when she filmed Halloween, beginning one of horror’s most enduring final girl stories. She returned to battle Michael Myers several times, most recently in 2022’s Halloween Ends.
Arnold Schwarzenegger — The Terminator
Schwarzenegger first uttered “I’ll be back” in 1984 and really meant it. He returned to the Terminator franchise repeatedly over the next 35 years.
Tom Cruise — Pete “Maverick” Mitchell
Cruise first played hotshot pilot Maverick in Top Gun in 1986. Thirty six years later, he climbed back into the cockpit for Top Gun: Maverick.
Eddie Murphy — Axel Foley
Murphy was only 23 when Beverly Hills Cop made Axel Foley one of the defining characters of his career. In 2024, he returned for Axel F, exactly 40 years after the original.
Michael Keaton — Batman
Keaton first became Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 and returned for Batman Returns three years later. Then, after more than three decades away, he put the Batsuit back on for The Flash.
Keanu Reeves — Neo
Reeves entered the Matrix as Neo in 1999 and completed the original trilogy in 2003. Eighteen years later, he returned to the role for The Matrix Resurrections.
Patrick Stewart — Jean Luc Picard
Stewart began commanding the Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. He was still playing Picard 36 years later when Star Trek: Picard concluded in 2023.
Kelsey Grammer — Frasier Crane
Grammer debuted as Frasier on Cheers in 1984 before getting his own hugely successful spin off. Nearly 40 years later, he returned as the psychiatrist once again for the Frasier revival.
Mariska Hargitay — Olivia Benson
Hargitay has been playing Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU since its 1999 premiere. More than 25 years and hundreds of episodes later, she is still going.
Ice T — Fin Tutuola
Ice T joined Law & Order: SVU as Fin Tutuola in 2000. What began as a supporting role turned into one of the longest acting runs in American television.
Sam Waterston — Jack McCoy
Waterston joined Law & Order as Jack McCoy in 1994 and became one of the franchise’s most recognizable faces. He finally said goodbye to the role in 2024, 30 years after his debut.
Ellen Pompeo — Meredith Grey
Pompeo first walked into Seattle Grace as Meredith Grey in 2005. Two decades later, she continues to return to Grey’s Anatomy even after stepping back as a full time cast member.
Peter Falk — Columbo
Falk first played the deceptively disorganized detective in 1968. His final Columbo adventure aired in 2003, giving him a remarkable 35 year association with the character.
James Arness — Matt Dillon
Arness began playing Marshal Matt Dillon when Gunsmoke premiered in 1955. He returned for several TV movies after the series ended, with his final appearance coming in 1994.
William Roache — Ken Barlow
Roache appeared as Ken Barlow in the very first episode of Coronation Street in 1960. More than six decades later, he remains synonymous with the character.
Susan Lucci — Erica Kane
Lucci ruled daytime television as Erica Kane on All My Children from 1970 until 2011. That’s 41 years of marriages, feuds, scandals and soap opera chaos as the same character.
Deidre Hall — Marlena Evans
Hall joined Days of Our Lives as Dr. Marlena Evans in 1976. Across departures and returns, she has remained one of the soap’s defining stars for decades.
Anthony Hopkins — Hannibal Lecter
Hopkins made Hannibal Lecter unforgettable in 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. He returned to the terrifying character in Hannibal and Red Dragon more than a decade later.
Bruce Campbell — Ash Williams
Campbell first picked up the chainsaw as Ash Williams in 1981’s The Evil Dead. He has kept returning to the character across movies, television and later franchise appearances for decades.
Sigourney Weaver — Ellen Ripley
Weaver first faced the Xenomorph as Ellen Ripley in 1979’s Alien. She returned for three sequels, with Alien Resurrection arriving 18 years after audiences first met Ripley.
Linda Hamilton — Sarah Connor
Hamilton debuted as Sarah Connor in The Terminator in 1984 and transformed the character into an action icon in Terminator 2. She made a major return in 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, 35 years after her debut.
William Shatner — James T. Kirk
Shatner became Captain Kirk when Star Trek premiered in 1966. He continued playing the legendary captain across the original series and numerous films, ending his run in 1994’s Star Trek Generations.
