Favourite Hollywood comebacks

It’s often been said that fame’s a fickle mistress but nowhere is she more prone to kick you when you’re down than in Hollywood. For all aspiring talent, this movie Mecca is the stuff of dreams promising fame, riches and a hoard of snapping paparazzi though it can be painfully short-lived. A few flops and you’re yesterday’s news, reduced to TV infomercials or opening car dealerships. Ouch! And though the rise to the top can be fast and furious, the fall from grace is even swifter just ask Mickey Rourke.

The career path of this New Yorker is a rollercoaster of twists and turns, scaling big highs only to plummet to desperate lows. It began with a few impressive roles in sultry noir thriller Body Heat and guys comedy Diner though it was the likes of crime drama The Pope of Greenwich Village and steamy romp 9 ½ Weeks that established him as box office. He was the toast of Tinseltown, embodying a rough masculinity that both men and women responded to, but it wasn’t to last long. He chose poor films (Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, anyone?) and rejected successful ones (The Untouchables, Beverly Hills Cop), his out-of-control ego enraged film directors and studio chiefs and the public turned on him after some controversial comments in support of the IRA. It was the end of life on the A-list.

Rourke returned to his pre-acting job of boxing and slugged it out in the ring during the early 90s. There were some small screen outings yet nothing noteworthy and after many boxing injuries he turned to plastic surgery in a bid to turn back the years. The new millennium proved kinder and gradually Rourke was making a low-scale comeback. He was gruff anti-hero Marv in Sin City and bounty hunter Ed in Domino; however the best was to come with acclaimed drama The Wrestler. Playing a past-his-prime pro-wrestler isn’t too much of a departure from _Rourke_’s own battered history and subsequently his Randy “The Ram” Robinson has dazzled critics, winning numerous awards including a Golden Globe.

Now Rourke is back with newfound critical clout and prestige. And this is no flash in the pan as he is lined up to star alongside Jason Statham in 13 and take on Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. But is his career turnaround the most dramatic Hollywood has known? We take a look through the vaults to see which other stars have been down and out only to come back bigger and better.