Mickey Rourke made a knockout comeback in 2008’s The Wrestler—but while his career stepped back into the ring, his health seemed to tap out. The once-smoldering Hollywood rebel, now 72, has weathered more than just career ups and downs. Over the years, Rourke’s battled a string of health issues, boxing injuries, and a series of plastic surgery misfires that left fans doing a double take.

His chiseled-on-screen look in The Wrestler wasn’t just training and talent—it came with a little pharmaceutical assist, too. Though he long denied juicing up with performance enhancers to land that ripped physique, Rourke eventually came clean. Admitting the truth years later, the Oscar-nominated actor confessed it took him half a decade to shed the bulk from those muscle-packing drugs.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler | Credits: Searchlight Pictures

And now? With a recent reality TV debut making headlines for all the wrong reasons,...