Mickey Rourke spent nine years in therapy before his analyst ruled he was no longer "crazy".
The actor initially resisted seeking psychiatric help, but, once in the doctor's chair, he was forced to confront the childhood traumas that had blighted his character.
And The Wrestler star is now crediting his therapist with helping him make a successful career comeback, following a string of well-documented run-ins with the law, and a failed foray into professional boxing.
He says, "I'm still kind of embarrassed to say it, but I had to go and see a therapist for many years and work really hard to find out what made me short circuit.
"There were just too many things in me that were broken that I didn't know how to fix, so I love my therapist because he took 13 years to sit there with me.
"I was very ashamed of seeing a therapist because I thought only crazy people went, and then, after about nine years, I asked him, 'Well, was I really crazy?' And he nodded and said, 'You were, but not any more'."