The most amazing celebrity comeback of 2008 was without question, Mickey Rourke. You may be saying to yourself, what about Britney Spears? Britney Spears was on a downhill slide for approximately three years and with the mere loss of twenty pounds and a loser husband, she is back on top again. She was forgiven easily because of her youth and charm, welcomed back as the golden child of pop with barely a protest.

Here Mickey accepts Spirit Award for best Male Lead...

In the case of Mickey Rourke, he completely self destructed in his twenties. He had been in Hollywood a relatively short amount of time and had hits under his belt such as Diner, Angel Heart, and 91/2 Weeks. We were entranced by this incredibly sexy, cocky New Yorker. His sex appeal and charisma on screen was becoming legendary. Then everything changed and his life took a dramatic downhill turn.

He was offered multiple career making roles that he repeatedly turned down such as Elliot Ness in the Untouchables, Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop, and many others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rourke). He suddenly decided he must leave acting and return to his first love, boxing. He left a promising career and disappeared into the mass of common civilization, not to be heard of again for a very long time. Ten years later if you mentioned his name to anyone under the age of 21, they would say "Mickey who?" He had vanished.

Mickey did come back and accept minor roles in a few films that barely made a blip on the celebrity radar. When we saw him again several years later, most of us did not realize who we were seeing. This was not Mickey Rourke, even upon close scrutiny only the barest resemblance existed. A distant cousin, perhaps? When we were forced to accept that this was indeed him, rumors flew about what had happened. Was this the damage of a second rate boxing career? Or could it be the attempts of an aging actor to hold on to his youth? http://ifitandhealthy.com/mickey-rourke-plastic-surgery/

Whatever the true story may be, Mickey Rourke is not apologizing for it or explaining it. In 2008 he released his latest movie and we waited to see what his attempts at reentering the Hollywood scene would bring us this time. 'The Wrestler' does not posture or beg for acceptance from the glittering throng of beautiful people. Mickey Rourke had obviously given up his attempts to wiggle his way back in and instead took a role that didn't pretend to conform to the commercial desires of the masses. It is a gritty, dirty, heartbreakingly honest portrayal of one of us. A man, not a celebrity or a golden god of Hollywood, just a man trying to do the only thing he knows how to do. It's hard to say where Mickey Rourke's life ends and the story of The Wrestler begins.

He is more honest and exposed in this movie than at any other time in his career and maybe his life. With that, Mickey Rourke has won us over. He didn't lose weight and smile pretty for the camera while he apologized for the decisions he made. We would not have accepted that if he did. Instead, he gave us the truth of his life in the only way he knew how. It is not a pretty picture and neither is he any longer. What he has become transcends the superficial and brings the focus back on what it should be on, his sheer, unquestionable talent.

Mickey Rourke has clawed his way back to the top on guts and talent alone. He deserves every word of our praise, every ounce of our admiration, and every award made for his profession. He is without a doubt the top celebrity comeback of 2008 and of our generation as well.

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This post is guest-blogged by Marsha Sigman...Marsha is a full-time entrepreneur who just loves to write. Read more here!