Mickey Rourke
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| Mickey Rourke | |
 Mickey Rourke at the Cannes Film Festival |
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| Birth name | Philip Andre Rourke Jr. |
| Born | September 16, 1953 (age 53) Schenectady, New York |
| Notable roles | Robert "Boogie" Shaftell in Diner The Motorcycle Boy in Rumble Fish Stanley White in Year of the Dragon Harry Angel in Angel Heart Henry Chinaski in Barfly J. Lyman (Bruiser) Stone in The Rainmaker Marv in Sin City |
Mickey Rourke (born September 16, 1953 [disputed, 1950 and 1953 also cited]), is an American actor who has primarily appeared in drama, action, and thriller films. Trained as a boxer in his early years, he had a short stint as a professional boxer in the 1990s. Although his acting career has been uneven, he has carved out a niche over the last several decades in gritty, marginalized anti-hero roles.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early life
Rourke was born Philip Andre Rourke Jr. in Schenectady, New York and raised into an Irish Catholic family. He claims to have grown up in the neighborhoods of heavily African-American Liberty City in Miami. In addition to his younger sister, Patty, he has a younger half-brother, Joey, and six step-siblings from his mother's remarriage.
Rourke attended Miami Beach Senior High School and is believed to have taken a drama class with legendary South Florida acting teacher Jay W. Jensen. His high school days are surrounded in a cloud of mystery, however. One of the few clear details of his early life is that Rourke became a fixture at the famed 5th Street Boxing Gym on Miami Beach. He reportedly compiled an amateur boxing record of 20-6 with 17 knockouts. After attending Miami Beach Senior High School, he studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute, where veteran method actors such as Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken also studied.
[edit] Early acting career
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 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, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne and Tom Waits.
[edit] Rising status as actor
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" [1] 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.
[edit] Acting downturn
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" [1].
He is alleged to have turned down a number of high-profile acting roles, including the roles of Eliot Ness in The Untouchables and Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop.[citation needed] It is also alleged that Rourke turned down the roles of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, Tom Cruise's role in Rain Man, Nick Nolte's part in 48 Hrs., Christopher Lambert's part in Highlander and a part in Platoon.[citation needed] In a documentary on the special edition DVD of Tombstone, actor Michael Biehn, who plays the part of Johnny Ringo, mentions that the role of Ringo was first offered to Rourke.
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. It was during production of Wild Orchid that Rourke began a relationship with his co-star, Carre Otis whom he later married. Rumors that a love scene they filmed for the movie was not simulated have persisted to this day, although both actors deny it.
A controversy over Rourke's political beliefs also developed when he claimed to have donated part of his salary from the 1989 film, Francesco, to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). He later backed away from that statement and was never banned from entering the UK. In 2006, Rourke voiced support for the Republican US President George W. Bush.[1]
In 1991, Rourke decided that he "...had to go back to boxing," because he felt that he "...was self-destructing...[and] 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, and ribs, a split tongue, and a compressed cheekbone. His trainer during his boxing career was Hell's Angels member Chuck Zito.
An anecdotal account of Rourke's boxing career in Japan ridicules his "neko (cat) punch."[citation needed] 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: "[I]...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.
[edit] Return to the screen
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.
Beginning in 2000, Rourke took the role of The Cook in Jonas Åkerlund's Spun, which became a hit among Generation X audiences. In Spun, Rourke was again teamed up with his The Pope of Greenwich Village co-star Eric Roberts and Rourke's performance is considered the highlight of the film by many critics.
In 2001 appeared as the villain in Enrique Iglesias 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Current activities
Rourke has taken on 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 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...[has] 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 a 'cunt' 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.
[edit] Filmography
- 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)
- 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)
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
- Internet Movie Database: [1]
- Miami Herald, October 16, 2004, 4B: BROTHER OF ACTOR MICKEY ROURKE.
- Miami Herald, September 10, 1994, Sports, page 6d: STATE MAY KO ROURKE.
- World Boxing, June 1994, pages 34-37 and 50-51: MICKEY ROURKE: ACTING LIKE A BOXER...OR BOXING LIKE AN ACTOR, by Tommy Deas, Jr.
- Miami Herald, January 7, 1994, Local, page 1B:ROURKE ARRESTED OUTSIDE HIS CLUB.
- Miami Herald, June 29, 1992, Sports, page 2D: ROURKE'S LATEST FIGHT NOTHING BUT A FARSE.
- Miami Herald, June 9, 1992, Front, page 2A: MICKEY ROURKE'S MANLY ART.
- Miami Herald, April 26, 1992, Sports, page 9D: FANS BOOS ROURKE AFTER DRAW.
- Miami Herald, April 2, 1992, Neighbors MB, page 16: NEIGHBORS.
- Miami Herald, April 9, 1992, Sports, page 2d: SPORTS.
- Miami Herald, April 8, 1992, Sports, page 1D: SPORTS.
- Miami Herald, April 19, 1992, Sports, page 13D: OH, MICKEY, YOU'RE SO SLY, YOU KEEP UMPS GUESSING ALL THE TIME.
- Miami Herald, March 28, 1992, Sports, page 9D: ACTOR ROURKE PLANS TO FIGHT AGAIN APRIL 25.
- Miami Herald, May 24, 1991, Front, page 1A: ROURKE'S NEW ROLE: ROCKY.
[edit] External links
- Mickey Rourke at the Internet Movie Database
- 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
- Professional boxing record
Categories: Articles lacking sources from February 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Living people | American boxers | American film actors | Irish-American actors | Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni | People from Miami | People from Schenectady | Roman Catholic entertainers
