When Charlize was a 15-year-old farm girl, she watched her mother kill her abusive dad in self-defense.

You dont understandplease, she unsuccessfully begged the teller.

So she freakeda screaming, flailing temper tantrum in front of the lunchtime crowd.

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It was her biggest and most rapt audience to date.

Silver Lining:Little did she know, it was also her first successful audition.

If youre interested, Ill represent you, he told her.

Charlize Theron Frowns, Tight Head Shot Night,

A few months of acting classes later, she landed her first screen role.

Ok, it was inChildren of the Corn III, but still.

Paparazzi photos from the time show the face of a broken man.

Liam Neeson in Knit Hat, Night of Wife’s Death, Famous People Who Hit Bottom - and Turned it Around

Silver Lining:Her death was never real [to me].

It still kind of isn’t," Neeson told60 Minutesearlier this year.

But he survivedand thrivedby throwing his full energies into his career and raising his two young sons.

Michael C. Hall holds Golden Globe Award, Arm Out to Audience, Famous People Who Hit Bottom - and Turned it Around

Now Neeson is at the peak of his bankability.

Im 61 years of age, man, he says.

Michael C. Hall