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Revision as of 02:14, 3 February 2008

Mickey Rourke
Born	Philip Andre Rourke Jr.
Years active	1979 - present
Spouse(s)	Debra Feuer (1981-1989) Carré Otis (1992-1998)
Awards	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor (film) 2005 Sin City

Mickey Rourke (born September 16, 1952 in Schenectady, New York) is an American actor who has primarily appeared in drama, action, and thriller films. Trained as a boxer in his early years, Rourke had a short stint as a pro fighter in the 1990s. Although his acting career has been uneven, he has carved out a niche over the last decades in gritty, marginalized anti-hero roles.

Biography

Early life

Rourke was born as Philip Andre Rourke, Jr., in Schenectady, New York, the son of Ann and Philip Andre Rourke, Sr.

His family moved to Florida, where he attended Miami Beach Senior High School. Rourke played second-string first baseman on the school's baseball team under coach Skip Bertman. His acting career during his high school days is something of a mystery. There are some reports that Rourke took drama classes with the legendary "Teacher To The Stars", Jay W. Jensen, even appearing in at least one stage-play. However, the "P. Rourke" listed in that play's credits could have been his sister, Patricia Rourke, who also attended Miami Beach Senior High School.

Rourke's teenage years were more aimed toward sports than acting. Raised in the tough inner city, Rourke took up self-defense training at the Boys Club of Miami. It was there he learned boxing skills and decided on an amateur career. At the age of 12, Rourke won his first boxing match as a 118 pound bantamweight. Some of his early matches were fought as Andre Rourke.

He continued his boxing training at the famed 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach, Florida; joining the Police Athletic League boxing program. In 1969, Rourke, now weighing 140lbs., sparred with former World Welterweight Champion Luis Rodriguez. Rodriguez was the number one rated middleweight boxer in the world, and was training for his match with world champion Nino Benvenuti. Rourke claims to have received a concussion in this sparring match.

In 1971, at the Florida Golden Gloves, he received another concussion in a boxing match. After being told by doctors to take a year off and rest, Rourke temporarily retired from the ring. From 1968 to 1972, he compiled an amateur record of 20-6, with 17 knockouts. He was disqualified 4 times, and lost 2 decisions. At one point, he reportedly scored 12 consecutive first-round knockouts.

Early acting roles

Rourke's film debut was a small role in Steven Spielberg's film 1941. Though it was not his first role, his portrayal of an arsonist in Body Heat garnered significant attention despite his modest time onscreen. During the early 1980s, Rourke starred in the cult classic Diner, which also starred Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg, Tim Daly and Kevin Bacon. The film was directed by Barry Levinson who is well known for his direction on the movie Rain Man. Most of the principal actors continued on to become well-known stars. Soon after, Rourke starred in Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up to The Outsiders in the coming-of-age tale, Rumble Fish. Playing the enigmatic older brother of Matt Dillon's character, he was praised as a standout in a film that also featured such talents as Dennis Hopper, Vincent Spano, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn, Larry Fishburne and Tom Waits.

Rourke's performance in the film The Pope of Greenwich Village alongside Daryl Hannah and Eric Roberts caught the attention of critics. While the film was a box office flop during its initial release, it has become somewhat of a minor cult hit. Actor Johnny Depp calls it "perfect cinema" and HBO's Entourage has praised it. Rourke has said the film is his favorite movie, and both Hannah and Roberts have cited it as a highlight of their careers.

In the mid-1980s, Rourke earned himself additional leading roles. His role alongside Kim Basinger in the controversial, sexually-themed box-office hit 9½ Weeks helped him gain "sex symbol" status. He received critical praise for his work in Barfly as the alcoholic writer Henry Chinaski, and in the Oliver Stone-penned Year of the Dragon. Critics generally consider his finest performance to be in the 1987 movie Angel Heart. This film by Alan Parker was seen as controversial due to a sex scene involving Cosby Show cast member Lisa Bonet. Although some of Rourke's work was viewed as controversial in the US, he was well-received by French audiences who loved the "rumpled, slightly dirty, sordid...rebel persona" that he projected in Year of the Dragon, 9 1/2 Weeks, Angel Heart, and Desperate Hours.

In the late 1980s, Rourke performed with musician David Bowie on the Never Let Me Down album. Around this same time, he also wrote his first screenplay, Homeboy, a boxing tale in which he starred. In 1991 Rourke starred in the action film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man as Harley Davidson, a biker whose best friend, Marlboro, is played by Miami Vice star Don Johnson. Even though it was a box office bomb, it later achieved some level of popularity. Rourke's acting career eventually became overshadowed by his personal life and seemingly eccentric career decisions. Directors such as Alan Parker found it difficult to work with Rourke. Parker stated that "working with Mickey is a nightmare. He is very dangerous on the set because you never know what he is going to do" . He is alleged to have turned down a number of high-profile acting roles. While Rourke turned down major film roles, he did perform in "soft-core" adult-themed films such as Wild Orchid, which may have had an impact on his reputation as an actor.

From actor to boxer

In 1991, Rourke decided that he "…had to go back to boxing," because he felt that he "…was self-destructing… had no respect for myself being an actor." When Rourke became a professional boxer, he won all of his fights against minor opponents (and had one fight come to a draw). However, he never achieved national prominence, and he received a number of injuries, including a broken nose, toe, ribs, a split tongue, and a compressed cheekbone. His trainer during his boxing career was Hells Angels member Chuck Zito.

Boxing promoters have claimed that Rourke was too old to do well against top-level fighters. Indeed, Rourke himself admits that entering the ring was a sort of personal test: "…just wanted to give it a shot, test myself that way physically, while I still had time (interview in The Gate with Christopher Heard). In 1995, Rourke retired from boxing and returned to acting.

1990s: return to acting

In the early 1990s, Quentin Tarantino offered Rourke the part of Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction. Rourke declined, and the role eventually was offered to Matt Dillon and Sylvester Stallone, before Bruce Willis invested in the film and was given the part. After his retirement from boxing, Rourke did accept brief roles in several 1990s films, including John Grisham's The Rainmaker, Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory and Sylvester Stallone's remake of Get Carter.

While Rourke was also selected for a significant role in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line, Rourke's part ended up on the editing room floor. Rourke also played a small part in the film Thursday, in which he plays a crooked cop. One of his most interesting film roles was in 1997's Double Team, which co-starred martial arts actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was Rourke's first over-top action film role, in which he played the lead villain.

2000s

In 2000, Rourke took the role of The Cook in Jonas Åkerlund's Spun, teaming up with Eric Roberts. In 2001, he appeared as the villain in Enrique Iglesias's music video for Hero which also featured Jennifer Love Hewitt. His first collaborations with directors Robert Rodriguez and Tony Scott in Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire, were for smaller roles. Nonetheless, these directors subsequently decided to cast Rourke in lead roles in their next films.

In 2005, Rourke made his comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role (Marv) in Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's Sin City. Rourke received awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the IFTA and the Online Film Critics Society, as well as "Man of the Year" from Total Film magazine that year. Rourke followed Sin City with a supporting role in Tony Scott's Domino alongside Keira Knightley, in which he played a bounty hunter.

Rourke played the role of The Blackbird in an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Killshot, the role of "Darrius Sayle" in an adaptation of the Alex Rider novel Stormbreaker. He will also appear alongside Ray Liotta in John McNaughton's The Night Job, as well as reprising the role of "Marv" in the Dame to Kill For segment of Sin City 2.

In addition, in 2003, Rourke provided the voice for "Jericho" in the third installment of the Driver video game series. Rourke also recently appeared in a 40-page story by photographer Bryan Adams for Berlin's Zoo Magazine. In an article about Rourke's return to steady acting roles, entitled Mickey Rourke Rising (from The Gate), Christopher Heard stated that actors/musicians Tupac Shakur, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have "…animated praise for Rourke and his work."

Despite having withdrawn from acting at various points, and having made movies that he now sees as a creative "sell-out" (the action film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man), Rourke has stated that "…all that I have been through… made me a better, more interesting actor." Rourke's renewed interest in pursuing acting can be seen in his statement that "…my best work is still ahead of me" (article in The Gate).

In November 2006, during an interview, he called Tom Cruise an expletive for his attacks on Brooke Shields and Psychiatry. In February of 2007 he was in South Beach, Florida, protesting against a puppy store he claims sells dogs with parvo. He wanted the store to shut down, claiming a puppy he bought for his friend at the store died. He was supported with other activists.

Mickey signed up to act in the movie version of the The Informers in the role of Peter, an amoral former studio security guard who plots to kidnap a small child.

Mickey has also signed on to The Wrestler an upcoming movie about a washed up wrestler. The part was originally Nicholas Cage's but he dropped the role for unknown reasons. Mickey has begun undergoing actual pro-wrestling training under WWE Hall of Famer Afa The Wild Samoan.

Previous collaborations

During his career, Rourke worked with directors including Steven Spielberg, Lawrence Kasdan, Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson, Stuart Rosenberg, Nicolas Roeg, Michael Cimino, Adrian Lyne, Alan Parker, Mike Hodges, Barbet Schroeder, Walter Hill, Tsui Hark, Terrence Malick, Jonas Åkerlund, Wong Kar Wai, Tony Scott, Robert Rodriguez and John Madden, as well as actors-turned-directors Sean Penn, Vincent Gallo and Steve Buscemi.

Political and religious views

Rourke's political views came under fire when he claimed to have donated part of his salary from the 1989 film, Francesco, to the Provisional Irish Republican Army. He later backed away from that statement, although he has an IRA symbol tattooed on his left forearm. In 2006, Rourke declared his support for the Republican US President George W. Bush. Rourke was born into an Irish-American family, and is still a devout Roman Catholic.

Filmography

The Wrestler (TBA)
The Informers (TBA)
Killshot (2008)
Stormbreaker (2006)
Domino (2005)
Sin City (2005)
Man on Fire (2004)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Masked and Anonymous (2003)
Spun (2002)
Picture Claire (2001)
The Follow (2001)
The Pledge (2001)
They Crawl (2001)
Get Carter (2000)
Animal Factory (2000)
Shades (1999)
Shergar (1999)
Cousin Joey (1999)
Out in Fifty (1999)
The Thin Red Line (1998) (scenes deleted)
Thursday (1998)
Thicker Than Blood (1998) (TV)
Buffalo '66 (1998)
The Rainmaker (1997)
Love in Paris (1997)
"Another 9 1/2 Weeks" (1997)
Double Team (1997)
Bullet (1996)
Exit in Red (1996)
Fall Time (1995)
F.T.W. (1994)
White Sands (1992)
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
Desperate Hours (1990)
Wild Orchid (1990)
Johnny Handsome (1989)
Francesco (1989)
Homeboy (1988)
Barfly (1987)
A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
Angel Heart (1987)
9½ Weeks (1986)
Year of the Dragon (1985)
Eureka (1984)
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
Rumble Fish (1983)
Diner (1982)
Body Heat (1981)
Fade to Black (1980)
Heaven's Gate (1980)
1941 (1979)

References

External links

Mickey Rourke at IMDb
Zoomagazine.de - Features the shoot of Mickey by photographer Bryan Adams (see issue number 9)
Rourke's Rotten Tomatoes Page
Mickey Rourke Rising Interview @ The GATE.ca
Boxing record for Mickey Rourke from BoxRec (registration required)

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