Entertainment

Rourke was one of the biggest actors of the 1980s but also one of the hardest to work with. Loathed by Hollywood, in the 1990s he sought a long held ambition to become a professional boxer. And he did, scoring an impressive victory record but the blows to the head disfigured his iconic good looks.

Failed reconstructive surgery and the heartthrob’s acting career had lost its pulse. He’d burned too many bridges but a minor comeback in ‘Sin City’ in 2005 brought him back into public consciousness.

More so than that was Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Wrestler’ in which he played a fighter hoping for one last chance. It was stirringly close to his real life and it tugged at Hollywood’s heart strings. Rourke was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, losing out to his friend Sean Penn, but it was just the boost he needed.