The world-famous artist who devoted his life to boxing and acting is Mickey Rourke. His path was thorny, not easy, even dangerous. He played not only in a large number of controversial films, but even achieved recognition on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite a brilliant career, the personal life of a famous actor did not work out at all.
Early years. Parents of the actor and the beginning of life
In the Catholic Irish family on September 16, 1952 (according to some sources, in 1950) Philip Andre Rourke, Jr., later known as actor Mickey Rourke, was born. Place of birth - city Schenectady, USA. His father was a bodybuilder and was fond of baseball. The relationship of the parents left much to be desired, and after the divorce, mother, with Mickey, his brother Joe and sister Patricia, moved to live in the southern town of Florida - Liberty City. This is a poor suburban town in America with an extremely negative contingent, whose population was black. Mickey Rourke later became friends with this company. The filmography will subsequently reflect all aspects of the actor’s life, mostly dysfunctional.
Anne's mother again married Gene Addis, a local policeman who already had five children. The constant conflicts with his stepfather, his dictatorship and the uncontrollable character of Mickey led to the fact that the future actor spent more and more time in bad street companies. Aggression led to constant participation in fights. So, the biography of Mickey Rourke says that, on the advice of friends, the actor became involved in boxing and at the same time began attending a theater workshop. After that, his life changed.
Training
The actor’s theatrical life began when he attended the drama club of the rather famous acting teacher Jay Jensen. After staging a small play called “The Serpent,” where Mickey played a small role, the actor realized that this was his calling. In 1971, he graduated from a higher education institution in Miami, where he was successfully given only physical education, and decided to devote his entire life to cinema.
How did an acting career begin?
Not everything went smoothly and successfully. For a long period of time, Rourke worked on jobs with low qualifications and appropriate pay. It is known that in the period from 1971 to 1975 he was engaged in drug trafficking. The actor decided to put an end to such a life only after an unsuccessful and dangerous transaction, which ended in a brutal shootout. To somehow change his life, Mickey Rourke turned to his sister Patricia. She lent him $ 400, which allowed him to change the situation and move to live in New York. Rourke passionately dreamed of being an actor, and within a year he was enrolled in a theater studio. To pay for education, the future favorite of the public haggled with salt chips, cleaned pools and guarded transvestite clubs, traded chestnuts, washed floors, and trained fighting dogs.
The conquest of Los Angeles was difficult. I had to try 78 times for the role - and all to no avail, but not so easy to surrender to Mickey Rourke. The best thing that happened to him during this time - Steven Spielberg noticed an unrecognized talent and invited him to shoot a movie. The first film as an extras is "1941". Later there were many inconspicuous roles. He even happened to play with young Linda Hamilton in the film “The Case of the Four Routs”. In The City in Fear, the actor played the killer. Acquaintance with the director Lawrence Casdan was a turning point in his biography. The talent of the young actor was finally appreciated.
Bright rays of glory
The most famous film that has long been considered a classic is 9 1/2 weeks. It was with him that a real stellar career began. The actor was even given the title "sex symbol" - an interesting appearance and growth of Mickey Rourke (1 meter 80 cm) immediately attracted the attention of fans. Already in the late 80s, the actor was offered only high-paying roles - at least a million per film. Another film, which has become famous throughout the world, is Wild Orchid with elements of eroticism and love drama. Carrie Otis became Mickey Rourke's partner in the film, and he chose her at the casting himself, and later married her. This game was truly brilliant. However, the marriage with Carrie was short-lived, as two emotional people could not get along together.
Only in 1996, former lovers played in one film, “Going Red”. The role in the movie "Bullet", which was released in 1996, was very vital for the actor, since he played himself in the past. This is the same drug dealer as Mickey Rourke used to be. The filmography of the following years was not particularly remarkable. He no longer received the main, highly paid roles. From hopelessness, the actor starred in the sequel to "9 1/2 weeks." But this film did not look like a masterpiece, unlike the first part.
In the 2000s, the situation changed a bit, and director Robert Rodriguez took mercy on the actor. He decided to resume his acting career and invited him to star in the cult films Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Aerobatics. The year 2005 also became significant for the actor, because then he was lucky enough to appear in no less famous films - “Sin City” and “Domino”. Then there were several years of respite.
Professional boxer
The small boxing gym in Miami Beach is the place where actor Mickey Rourke began training. This occupation to some extent led to failures in the profession. Directors, producers were afraid of the temper of the actor and did not want to take risks. The media, which described the actor as an extremely scandalous and unbalanced person, also played a bad joke. For several years, Mickey Rourke fought in the best European and Asian rings. Ten fights ended in victory, the next two - with the result of a “draw”. In a fight with a pretty strong boxer at the age of 19, the actor received a serious head injury. Because of this, professional boxing had to be abandoned.
Return to the cinema
After a break in 2008, the famous actor Mickey Rourke again loudly declared himself. The filmography was replenished with the movie "Wrestler", where he happened to play the main role - Randy Robinson, who was nicknamed The Ram. Rourke later admitted that this work was an important and only chance after the break. The film was received by fans and fans with a bang, it caused a massive surge of emotions and discussion. So the talent of the great actor made itself felt after a respite. For his inimitable work, the actor was nominated for an Oscar - the most prestigious award. However, fate prepared another gift for him - the Golden Globe Award for his leading role in Wrestler. This event stirred the public, the name of Mickey Rourke was heard by many. And the proposal to star in other interesting projects was not long in coming.
Already in 2010 and 2011, the actor received roles in other famous and popular films - The Expendables, Iron Man 2, and Thirteen. In the 3D film War of the Gods: Immortals, the actor played the role of a king. Rourke himself belittles his talent and believes that he has not yet played standing and brilliant roles.
Relations
Aggressive and hot-tempered character did not contribute to good relations in personal life. The actor was married 2 times. From 1982 to 1989, he was the husband of Debra Foyer, and from 1992 to 1998, his partner in the "Wild Orchid" Carrie Otis became his wife. The actor has no children, possibly due to injuries in professional boxing.
Mickey Rourke: movies list and release dates
As an actor, he realized quite successfully. In addition to the well-known films, there are countless others, no less interesting. Here are the best Mickey Rourke movies:
- “1941” (1979);
- “The Gates of Paradise” (1980);
- “The city in fear” (1980);
- “Fighting Fish” (1983);
- “The Godfather” (1984);
- “9 1/2 weeks” (1986);
- “Wild Orchid” (1990);
- “The Last Outcast” (1993);
- “The Bullet” (1996);
- “Love in Paris” (1997);
- "Buffalo 66" (1998);
- “Remove Carter” (2000);
- “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” (2003);
- “Sin City” and “Domino” (2005);
- “Stormbreaker” (2006);
- “Wrestler” (2008);
- “Iron Man-2”, “The Expendables”, “Thirteen” (2010).
The rest of the films with Mickey Rourke, although less well-known, are also worth watching, as the actor’s game is brilliant everywhere - “Love in Hampton”, “The Power of Love”, “Going Black,” “Violence and Marriage”, “Heat of the Body”, Eatery, Eureka, Year of the Dragon, Heart of an Angel, Departure Prayer, Drunk, Simpleton, Handsome Johnny, Francis, Hours of Despair, Harley Davidson and Cowboy Marlborough, White Sands, The Last Cowboy, Fall Time, Going Red, Colony, Benefactor, Thicker Than Blood, Bloody Thursday, Under Fire, Thin red line, Champion Abduction, the law of revenge "," Through the eyes of a killer "," Animal Factory "," Beetles "," Promise "," Murder in a strange city "," Tracking "," Aerobatics "," Show of the Century "," Anger "," Killer ", Informants, Passion Games, Black Gold, Courier, Eleven Minutes, Black November, The Heat of Java, Dead Man at Tombstone, Sin City 2, The Expendables 3 "