Profile of Mickey Rourke on Famous Like Me

Philip Andre Rourke Jr. (born September 16, 1956 in Schenectady, New York) is an iconic American actor.

Life and career

Rourke, born to an Irish Catholic family, grew up in the tough neighborhoods of Liberty City in Miami. After attending Miami Beach Senior High School, he would go on to study at the legendary Lee Strasberg Institute (where veteran method actors such as Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken studied).

Rourke's film debut was a small role in Steven Spielberg's 1941, but his memorable portayal of an arsonist in Body Heat garnered significant attention, despite his modest time onscreen.

During the early 1980s, Rourke's career blossomed. In 1982 he starred in the underrated cult classic Diner, also starring Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg and Kevin Bacon. The film was directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, and almost all of the principal actors went on to larger careers - most notably Rourke.

Soon, Rourke starred in the Francis Ford Coppola coming-of-age tale, Rumble Fish, wherein he played the older (and badder) brother of Matt Dillon.

One of Rourke's most memorable performances of the decade came in the film The Pope of Greenwich Village alongside his good friend Eric Roberts.

Rourke became one of the decade's leading men, and arguably the major sex symbol of his acting generation, a title no doubt fueled by his role alongside Kim Basinger in the controversial box-office hit 9½ Weeks. He attained mass critical acclaim for his work in Barfly as the alcoholic writer Charles Bukowski, but many critics consider his finest film of the latter end of the 1980s to be the controversial and hauntingly dark Angel Heart.

Directed by Alan Parker, Angel Heart is about a private eye who is hired by a man named Louis Cyphere (Robert De Niro) to track down a missing singer. The film takes place in the sweltering heat waves of 1950s New Orleans, given a backdrop involving Voodoo and satanic rituals. The film was most controversial for its explicit sex scene involving a Cosby Show cast member. Bill Cosby allegedly tried to have the film blocked from release so that it would not "taint" the image of his sitcom.

Parker's multi-genre film was not only visually satisfying, but featured one of Rourke's most intense and tour de force performances. Many critics maintain that it is his best.

Around the time of Angel Heart's release, he also performed with musician David Bowie on the Never Let Me Down album, and wrote his first screenplay, Homeboy, a boxing tale in which he also starred. His other big role in 1991 was in the action film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man as Harley Davidson, a biker in the near future whose best buddy is named Marlboro. It failed to offer any real profits, although today it is considered something of a "great bad movie" amongst home video fanatics.

Unfortunately, Rourke's promising acting career eventually became overshadowed by the demands of his personal life as well as his eccentric career decisions. Becoming typecast as a soft-core pornographic actor in the early 1990s for taking on roles in smutty films like Wild Orchid, he ditched acting (temporarily) to become a professional boxer in 1991, and although he won the majority of his fights against minor opponents he never achieved national prominence. In fact, on a recent E! Television program, boxing promoters claimed Rourke was merely "okay" - that he was simply too old to get back in the ring.

The next year he retired from boxing, and segued back into acting with brief but memorable turns in John Grisham's The Rainmaker, Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, and Jonas Ã…kerlund's Spun (a cult hit amongst Gen X).

Rourke's short-lived stint as a boxer seemed to be a way of finally exorcising his inner demons. Known for his intense self-loathing, Rourke transgressed through a type of emotional catharsis, and when he returned to acting, he seemed to be a new man (both physically and emotionally).

Since gradually working his way back into full-time acting, Rourke has expressed his newfound dedication to the craft. An avid dog lover, he can be seen alongside his canine companion in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the capper to the El Mariachi trilogy. Rourke has also proved recently memorable in Tony Scott's Man on Fire, Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory, and Jack Nicholson's The Pledge.

One of Rourke's most acclaimed performances of late is the role of Marv in Robert Rodriguez's Sin City; he also stars in Tony Scott's 2005 film Domino.

He has an upcoming appearence in the film Stormbreaker as villain Sayle. He is also slated to play Marv in Sin City 2.

Speaking His Mind

If there is one thing Rourke is known for in Hollywood, it's his loose mouth. Unafraid to take names and exploit them, Rourke has consistently provided the average moviegoer with a good laugh. For example, recently he slammed "actress" Paris Hilton and claimed she was an insult to the profession. He also is known for holding a continuing grudge against director Barbet Schroeder, who filmed Barfly. According to Rourke, he was an "a--hole."

During the early 1990s, Rourke criticized whoever he thought deserved it. In return he attracted some of his own infamy. Mel Gibson said he was just a wannabe bad boy who was just a poser.

Filmography

• Killshot (2006) (announced)
• 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 Hire: The Follow (2001)
• The Pledge (2001)
• They Crawl (2001)
• Get Carter (2000)
• Animal Factory (2000)
• Shades (1999)
• Out in Fifty (1999)
• Shergar (1999)
• Thursday (1998)
• Thicker Than Blood (1998) (TV)
• Buffalo '66 (1998)
• The Rainmaker (1997)
• Love in Paris (1997)
• Double Team (1997)
• Point Blank (1997/I)
• Bullet (1996)
• Exit in Red (1996)
• Fall Time (1995)
• The Last Outlaw (1994) (TV)
• F.T.W. (1994)
• White Sands (1992)
• Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
• The Desperate Hours (1990)
• Wild Orchid (1990)
• Francesco (1989)
• Johnny Handsome (1989)
• Homeboy (1988)
• Barfly (1987)
• A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
• Angel Heart (1987)
• Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986)
• Year of the Dragon (1985)
• Eureka (movie) (1984)
• The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
• Rumble Fish (1983)
• Diner (1982)
• Body Heat (1981)
• Heaven's Gate (1980)
• Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case (1980) (TV)
• Fade to Black (1980)
• Act of Love (1980) (TV)
• City in Fear (1980) (TV)
• 1941 (1979)

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