Wasn't he in a bad car accident that messed up his face?

Pertinent to nothing. . .my kid was conceived during a home viewing of 9-1/2 weeks. . .

I'm glad to hear it during was a home viewing, danf.

In the early 90s he quit acting to return to his earlier professional boxing career. It messed up his face and he had to have surgery.

You know, he did act in between those films. ;-) e.g. Sin City.

So, actors whose careers were re-routed mid-stream due to life-altering automobile accidents:

Micky Rourke
Montgomery Clift
Mark Hamill
Gary Busey

Others?

Oh, my bad, I just remembered his face had gotten messed up and he wasn't just having plastic surgery all willy-nilly!

Bud Cort

Good question, Atom Eyes. A lot of celebrities have been in car accidents, but their careers have not taken a turn for the better or worse (Lindsay, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen) afterward. (yet.) Was Drew Barrymore ever in a car accident?

Well, her childhood was a train wreck, but I guess that's not the same thing.

FYI, if anyone reads this, "The Wrestler" was partially filmed in one of my supermarket chains' stores - the store in Jersey City, New Jersey. Mr. Roarke actually served real customers at the deli counter (real people were still shopping during filming; he got confused between them and movie extras). No one was told about a certain scene in the film...SPOILER possibility! when he ran screaming out of the store after cutting his hand, he upset quite a few locals.