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Oscar-Worthy Comebacks

Some celebs are best after years of fermenting

By Ambreen Ali,  Newser User

Posted Dec 30, 2008 9:00 PM CST
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(Newser) – Some stars combust and others fizzle, but a few are reborn. Metromix honors the second wave:

  • The Wrestler was made for Mickey Rourke, the "one-time '80s sex symbol" turned professional boxer.
  • Drug habits wrote off Robert Downey Jr. until the Iron Man returned with back-to-back hits.
  • Dennis Hopper suffered Downey's blues for 15 years before re-emerging as pure evil in Blue Velvet.

  • Muscle man Jean-Claude Van Damme is surprisingly heartfelt in French film JCVD, about an action star's fall from fame.
  • Sly Stallone reinvented himself as a fat cop in Cop Land after Cliffhanger was anything but.
  • The urban cowgirl is back in Rachel Getting Married after a disappearance so long that a documentary was named Searching for Debra Winger.
Click below to see more comebacks.

Robert Downey Jr., second from left, stayed off the drugs long enough to score big at the box office in hits like Tropic Thunder.
Robert Downey Jr., second from left, stayed off the drugs long enough to score big at the box office in hits like "Tropic Thunder."   (AP Photo)
The director of The Wrestler wouldn't do the film without Mickey Rourke.
The director of "The Wrestler" wouldn't do the film without Mickey Rourke.   (AP Photo)
Dennis Hopper disappeared for 15 years before returning in Blue Velvet and Hoosiers.
Dennis Hopper disappeared for 15 years before returning in "Blue Velvet" and "Hoosiers."   (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Robert Downey Jr., once considered too risky for film insurance, was a hit in Iron Man.
Robert Downey Jr., once considered too risky for film insurance, was a hit in "Iron Man."   (AP Photo)
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Rourke eyes an Oscar
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Downey Jr. kept Hollywood afloat
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Comebacks in year's best films
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California • Hollywood • film • celebrity • acting • Oscars

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