9 Celebrities Who Failed at Retiring

We don’t fault celebrities for wanting to quit their jobs—if you had enough money to buy an island and charter a yacht to get there, wouldn’t you retire too?

But faux farewell tours and hoax retirement headlines have become a right of passage in Hollywood. Stars make a show of giving up the spotlight, just to return to the stage or screen years (or days) later. TBH, the whole thing comes off as gimmicky: You have to see Daniel Craig in his FINAL James Bond film! Or, pay $1000 to watch Barbra Streisand sing for the LAST TIME EVER!

Dear Hollywood: if all you need is to take some time off...call it that. But if you say you’re going to disappear forever, follow through. (Unless you’re Adele. Adele, if you’re reading this, you aren’t allowed to leave us.)

Here are nine celebs who said they were goners ... and then came back. In most cases, we’re glad they did.

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Photography by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

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Un-Retired Celebs

Daniel Craig

When asked if he’d consider returning to James Bond after 2015’s Spectre, Craig told The Guardian, “I’d rather slash my wrists.” After that comment, the world assumed the actor had ended his term in the superspy role for good – and we all started speculating who the next Bond would be. But… SURPRISE! It’s recently been announced that Craig is signed on for another film with the franchise. Daniel Craig’s 007-era will die another day.