U.S. actor Robert Downey Jr. attends a photocall for the film "Sherlock Holmes" in central London Oct. 1, 2008. Downey found irony in his supporting-actor nomination for "Tropic Thunder," in which he's cast as an obsessed actor who undergoes a medical procedure to darken his skin to play a black soldier.
"The funny thing is, I was playing an Oscar-crazed weirdo whose every motivation was somehow geared toward accolades," Downey said.
Downey is back on top in Hollywood after years of substance-abuse problems. Another Hollywood reclamation project, Mickey Rourke, has a best-actor nomination for "The Wrestler," playing a former ring star with a fresh shot at glory.
The story mirrors the real life of Rourke, who squandered his early promise with bad behavior off-screen.
Actor Mickey Rourke, star of the film "The Wrestler", poses at the film's Los Angeles premiere in Beverly Hills, California Dec. 16, 2008. "I was out of work for about 14 years," Rourke said, adding that his biggest surprise this awards season was "the fact that so many years went by and I got a second chance."
Penelope Cruz — earning her second Oscar nomination, this one for supporting actress as a volatile artist in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" — said winning would be great, but she simply wants to cherish the whole Oscar ride.
