Film actor, born in Schenectady, New York, USA. He studied acting in New York City, and became known for his performances in Body Heat (1981), Diner (1982), and The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984). Later films include Bullet (1995), Any Given Sunday (1999), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Sin City (2005), and Stormbreaker (2006).
| Mickey Rourke | |
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Mickey Rourke at the Cannes Film Festival |
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| Birth name | Philip Andre Rourke Jr. |
| Born |
September 16, 1956 Schenectady, New York |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in / 1.80 m |
| Notable roles |
Stanley White in Year of the Dragon Harry Angel in Angel Heart Henry Chinaski in Barfly Marv in Sin City |
Mickey Rourke was born Philip Andre Rourke Jr. on September 16, 1956 in Schenectady, New York His exact year of birth is disputed, with some sources citing 1950 and 1953 as possible years of birth. Although Rourke's acting career has been uneven, he has carved out a niche over the last several decades in gritty, marginalized anti-hero roles.
History
Early life
Rourke was born into an Irish Catholic family and claims to have grown up in the neighborhoods of heavily African-American Liberty City in Miami.
Rourke attended Miami Beach Senior High School and is believed to have taken a drama class with legendary South Florida acting teacher Jay W.
Early acting career
Rourke's film debut was a small role in Steven Spielberg's film 1941.
Soon after, Rourke starred in Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up to The Outsiders in the coming-of-age tale, Rumble Fish.
Rising status as actor
Rourke's performance in the film The Pope of Greenwich Village alongside Darryl Hannah and Eric Roberts caught the attention of critics.
In the mid-1980s, Rourke earned himself additional leading roles.
In the late 1980s, Rourke performed with musician David Bowie on the Never Let Me Down album. 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.
Acting downturn
Rourke's acting career eventually became overshadowed by his personal life and seemingly eccentric career decisions.
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. 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 Hours, Christopher Lambert's part in Highlander and a part in Platoon. 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.
During this period, Rourke spent time with an entourage that included motorcycle gang members and hip-hop star Tupac Shakur. 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.
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 PIRA.
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."
An anecdotal [reference please] account of Rourke's boxing career in Japan ridicules his "neko (cat) punch."
Return to the screen
In the early 1990s, Quentin Tarantino offered Rourke the part of Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction. Rourke refused, 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.
Beginning in 2000, Rourke took the role of The Cook in Jonas Åkerlund's Spun, which became popular amongst Generation X audiences. 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.
Previous collaborations
During his career, Rourke worked with directors including Steven Spielberg, Lawrence Kasdan, Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson, Stuart Rosenberg, Nicholas 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.
Current Activities
It is anticipated that Rourke will take 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.
In addition, in 2003, Rourke provided the voice for "Jericho" in the third installment of the Driver series: Driv3r. 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."
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