Mickey Rourke - an actor who preferred boxing

Childhood and youth

Mickey Rourke was born on September 16, 1952 in the small town of Schenectady, New York. The actor's real name is Philip Andre Rourke Jr. His father is an amateur bodybuilder of Irish and German descent, his mother is French-Canadian. In 1958, the father left the family; the couple at that time had three children. Mickey Rourke and his younger brother and sister soon moved to Miami, Florida, when the actor's mother remarried a police officer who had five sons from previous marriages.

After moving to Florida, Mickey began to actively engage in sports. After completing a self-defense course, he became interested in boxing and soon became actively involved in amateur fights. At the age of twelve, under the name Phil Rourke, he began boxing at a weight of up to 51 kilograms. Before graduating from high school, he fought thirty fights, lost three times, won twenty-seven times. After another concussion, doctors advised the young man to take a year-long break from boxing, at which time Rourke became interested in theater and decided to leave his career as an athlete.

Biography of Mickey Rourke

Philip Andre Rourke Jr. was born in Schenectady, and at the age of 6, after his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to Florida. His father once gave him the nickname Mickey in honor of the bodybuilder he was a fan of. In his mother’s new family, he did not get along with his stepfather and 5 children from a previous marriage. He often witnessed aggression, and to “let off steam” he began boxing.

In 1971, the actor graduated from school without honors, after which he began acting with friends in small productions and performances in Miami. While working as a laborer, he dealt in drugs to get more money. In the late 70s, he flew to New York, enrolling in Lee Strasberg's acting school the first time. In 1978, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was noticed by Steven Spielberg.

In the early 80s, he starred in films in supporting roles and received invitations to productions by famous directors. Having become the highest paid actor in Hollywood, Mickey Rourke himself admits that he drank all the money he earned and spent it on himself.

The lifestyle of a carefree person lasted for 10 years. In the early 2000s, directors offered him leading and supporting roles, but the actor was unable to work at a fast pace. His boxing career also did not work out due to psychological trauma - his best friend died in his arms after a difficult fight.

In sports, Mickey Rourke suffered serious injuries:

• 4 concussions;
• broken jaw and lack of coordination;
• broken arm, crushed cheekbone;
• a broken nose and loss of sensation in some limbs.

The last time he entered the ring was in 2014, when, at the end of his sports career, he decided to give up what he loved and the opportunity to win the title.

Carier start

While still in school, Mickey took part in a theater production under the direction of the famous teacher Jay W. Jensen, who was also the teacher of actor Andy Garcia. After retiring from boxing, Rourke borrowed four hundred dollars from his sister and moved to New York to take part in a friend's show. After some time, he was able to enter the prestigious Actors Studio, and during his studies he changed many low-paying jobs.

The first full-length film starring Mickey Rourke was Steven Spielberg's comedy 1941, which failed at the box office and was panned by critics. In 1980, the young actor appeared in a small role in Michael Cimino's western Heaven's Gate, which also became a major financial failure. In addition, Rourke could be seen in a supporting role in the horror film Fade to Black. Also at this time, the actor appeared in several television films.

The actor’s first success came thanks to a small but memorable role in the thriller “Body Heat.” After this, Mickey was remembered by critics and audiences. Over the next few years, he established himself as a rising star with roles in the successful comedy "Diner," the Francis Ford Coppola drama "Rumble Fish," the period film "Eureka" and the black comedy "The Pope of Greenwich Village."

Peak of popularity

In 1985, the actor received the lead role in Michael Cimino's crime drama Year of the Dragon, which failed at the box office, but later gained cult status. The following year, one of the most popular films starring Mickey Rourke, the erotic melodrama “Nine and a Half Weeks,” was released, which became a real hit and established the actor as one of the main sex symbols in Hollywood.

In subsequent years, Mickey played the main roles in the successful drama based on the works of Charles Bukowski “The Drunk” and the mystical thriller “Angel Heart”. After this, the actor continued to work actively, however, the films with his participation were no longer so successful.

In 1988, Rourke wrote the script and played the lead role in the sports drama “Simply”, a year later he worked with the cult director Walter Hill on the film “Handsome Johnny”, and in 1990 he appeared in the erotic thriller “Wild Orchid” and the crime drama “The Hours” by Michael Cimino despair."

In 1991, one of the most popular films starring the actor, the crime comedy Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, was released, which failed at the box office, but subsequently gained cult status.

The fading of Mickey Rourke's career was influenced by his difficult character; many directors (for example, Angel Heart director Alan Parker) spoke poorly of the actor and refused to work with him again. Rourke is also rumored to have turned down leading roles in such successful projects as “48 Hours,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Top Gun,” “Rain Man” and “Silence of the Lambs.”

Film career

Soon American director Steven Spielberg drew attention to Mickey. He called Rourke for a small role as an extra in his film “1941.” After this, the unknown actor began to be trusted with some roles:

• Nick Ray in Gates of Glory;
• killer Tony Pate in Fear City;
• the paralyzed motorcyclist in The Power of Love.

And in 1980, the television film “Violence and Marriage” was released, in which Rourke already played the main character.

1983 turned out to be significant in his film career, when Mickey played with Francis Ford Coppola in the film “Rumble Fish”. The director experimented and made films only with young, unknown actors. Thanks to this idea, many now famous names were discovered in the world of cinema.

The role of a colorblind motorcyclist has not yet made a star out of Rourke, but people began to recognize the actor and trust him with serious roles:

• director Stuart Rosenberg invited him to play the leading role of Charlie Moran in the film “The Godfather of Greenwich Village”;
• in the film “Eureka” by Nicolas Roeg, based on the real murder of a former gold miner, Rourke got the role of Aurelio;
• In Michael Cimino’s crime film “Year of the Dragon,” Rourke played the main character, police captain Stanley White.

His role in the comedy “Eatery” brought Rourke his first awards; he was recognized as “Best Supporting Actor” by the National and British Society of Film Critics. And in 1986, the world premiere of the film “Nine and a Half Weeks” took place, after which Rourke woke up not just as a movie star, but also as a sex symbol. In the erotic melodrama directed by Adrian Lyne, Mickey's partner was the charming Kim Basinger.

And the following year, 1987, Rourke played his best role in his film career. The film “Angel Heart” combines a horror film with an action-packed detective story. Mickey got the main character - private detective Harry Angel. After the premiere, the actor firmly established himself in the galaxy of world cinema stars.

Now Mickey himself chose where he wanted to play. He did not act for less than a million dollars and in the late 1980s became the highest paid actor in Hollywood. His best paintings of that period:

• "Departure Prayer";
• "Drunk";
• "Simpleton";
• "Handsome Johnny";
• "Francesco";
• "Wild Orchid";
• "Bullet".

In the late 1990s, the actor's career began to decline; he could only be seen in second-rate action films. The return to the world of cinema took place in 2003 thanks to director Robert Rodriguez, who invited Rourke to his film “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” Then the films “Aerobatics”, “Domino”, “Sin City” were released.

The actor’s name became loud again in 2008 after the premiere of the film “The Wrestler.” For his role as Randy Robinson, Mickey received a Golden Globe. The actor again began to receive many offers and act in films. His best works after returning to the world of cinema:

• "Iron Man 2";
• "The Expendables";
• "Thirteen";
• "Game of Passion";
• "War of the Gods: Immortals";
• "Courier";
• "Ashby."

Boxing career

In 1991, Mickey Rourke decided to leave his film career and try himself in professional boxing. He planned to have sixteen fights and, as a result, win one of the belts of world organizations. Rourke was assisted in his training by Freddie Roach, a former professional boxer and trainer who later worked with Manny Pacquiao.

In total, Mickey had eight fights in the professional ring, winning six times, four of them by knockout. Two more matches ended in a draw. As a result, Rourke stopped his boxing career, as he was already too old to compete on equal terms with the best fighters in the world at that time. As a result of the fighting, the actor received severe facial injuries; after several plastic surgeries, his appearance changed greatly, which can be easily seen by comparing photos of Mickey Rourke before and after a break in his acting career. According to the actor himself, this is due to the poor choice of a plastic surgeon, who made a number of mistakes during operations.

Mickey Rourke before and after surgery

Mickey Rourke was very recognizable before the operation. The actor's smile with grotesquely raised corners of his lips was his calling card in the world of cinema. Lately, it was the only thing that barely remained on his face. Mickey Rourke before and after surgery are two completely different people. What interventions so disfigured the actor and turned the face of a once handsome man into a chewed piece of meat?

• Rhinoplasty. Powerful blows have broken the actor’s nose more than once. While still a boxer, he underwent 5 surgeries to reconstruct his nose. “Boxing had a great influence on my appearance. When it was necessary to patch my nose, the surgeons had to cut out the cartilage from my ear, because there was simply nothing left in my nose,” says Mickey Rourke after the operation.
• Plastic surgery of cheekbones. In one of the boxing matches, the actor's cheekbone was crushed. Doctors pieced together his face piece by piece. Mickey Rourke in his youth admits that he underwent most of the operations to get rid of the consequences of his turbulent youth. And also, correcting previous mistakes of incompetent doctors. In 2020, the actor once again pumped up his cheekbones with silicone.

• Eyelid surgery. Before plastic surgery, Mickey Rourke had a languid, languid look. But as the years go by, the most beautiful actors change. And they are not changing for the better. The actor decided to change the shape of his eyelids, tightening the skin around his eyes. All surgeries in the United States of America are not divided into male and female. Therefore, after plastic surgery, Mickey Rourke began to look like an “overripe woman.” The eyes became “bald”, all sexuality and mystery disappeared. Now Mickey Rourke, after surgery with new eyes, looks as if he “wants to go to the toilet.”

• Circular facelift. Photos of Mickey Rourke before his facelift show us an elderly actor desperately fighting for eternal youth. After surgery in 2008, Mickey Rourke horrified all Internet users by tightening the skin on his face.

The operation was unsuccessful, the face was all swollen and haggard. There were ugly scars and welts all over the circumference. The temples moved towards the ears. The sideburns are gone. In total, the harmony of facial proportions was disrupted. It looked disgusting. Later, Mickey Rourke lost weight, and he had to once again tighten his sagging skin. In 2013, the whiskey returned to its place. Apparently, it was no longer the club-handed doctor who worked on Mickey.

• Raising the forehead line. After surgery to raise his hairline, Mickey Rourke looks like the evil monkey from the Christmas cartoon. The forehead turned out disgustingly huge, spread out, uneven. After an unsuccessful result, the man wears headbands and caps. The actor's hair has noticeably thinned. Now he is forced to wear a wig.

• Lip surgery This is a separate topic. Famous plastic surgeons acknowledge the fact that Mr. Rourke's lower lip has noticeably shrunk in 2020. She was cut off. Until 2020, like the capricious ladies of Hollywood, Mickey Rourke injected silicone into his mouth. This is noticeable when looking at photographs of Mickey Rourke taken recently.

Return to cinema

After returning to cinema, Mickey wrote several scripts, in particular for the crime drama Bullet, where he also played the main role along with his friend rapper Tupac Shakur. Mainly during this period, the actor starred in supporting roles; among the projects with his participation one can highlight the films “The Benefactor”, “Buffalo 66”, “Animal Farm”, “The Promise” and “Get Carter”.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Rourke began to increasingly appear in films that were released directly on video media; the actor could also be seen in several music videos, commercials and small roles in the Hollywood projects “Wrath” and “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” Mickey's real return to the top was the leading role in Robert Rodriguez's film Sin City, for which the actor received several awards; the film itself became a box office hit.

Over the next few years, Rourke was able to gain a foothold at the top thanks to roles in the action film Domino and the crime drama The Informers. In 2008, the sports drama “The Wrestler” was released, which received the main prize at the Venice Film Festival. For the leading role, Mickey Rourke received Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, and was also considered the main favorite to win an Oscar, but lost to Sean Penn.

It soon became known that the actor would play the role of the main villain in the sequel to Iron Man. Shortly after filming began, photos of Mickey Rourke as a character named Whip appeared on the Internet. Also in 2010, the actor appeared in a small role in the blockbuster “The Expendables” and the thriller “13.”

Mickey Rourke now

The demand for an actor in the new century is as high as in the 80s. In 2019, a part of the “Cities of Love” franchise, dedicated to Berlin, was released. In the film, Rourke starred in the company of Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren and Jim Sturgess.

In the same year, preparations for filming the thriller “MR-9” began. Mickey's partners were Michael Paré and Gabriella Wright.

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Mickey Rourke in 2020
The premiere of the crime melodrama “Night Walk” (“Night Transfer”) took place at the Moscow International Film Festival. Rourke played a neo-Nazi who recruits prison inmates into his ranks. The main role was played by Oliver Stone's son, director and producer Sean Stone.

The drama “Disadvantaged” is in the post-production stage, with the director of which Brian Metcalfe is working in the independent project “Twilight in the Dark”. Rourke got the main role of a detective for whom the search for a child killer turns into a way to atone for his own sins. He also serves as the producer of the film. Smallville star Chad Faust has cast Mickey Rourke in his own directorial project, the thriller Girl.

Views and hobbies

Since childhood, Mickey was raised in the traditions of the Catholic faith and still calls religion an important part of his life. As for the actor’s political views, he supports the US Republican Party. Rourke was criticized in the press for supporting George W. Bush after the start of the Iraq War, as well as for publicly wearing a T-shirt with a portrait of Vladimir Putin in 2014.

Mickey Rourke is a big fan of dogs; for many years, several pets have always lived in his house; he gives particular preference to the Chihuahua breed. Actively supports animal rights organizations. The actor is also a big fan of motorcycles.

Personal life

Mickey Rourke's personal life has been the subject of heated discussion in the press from the very beginning of his career. Even before worldwide popularity, in 1981, he married the young actress Debra Feuer, and they later worked together several times. The marriage ended eight years later, according to the wife, the reason was that they decided to get married too early, and the actor’s wife was unhappy with the actor’s candid filming in the film “Nine and a Half Weeks.” The couple had no children.

Mickey Rourke married actress Carrie Otis for the second time in 1992; the couple met on the set of the film Wild Orchid. In 1994, Rourke was arrested on charges of domestic violence, however, the couple remained together and separated only four years later. In addition to two marriages, the actor was in relationships with several celebrities, including Terry Farrelly and Sasha Volkova. Since 2009, he has been dating Russian model Anastasia Makarenko, at the same time they announced their engagement, but nothing is known about the couple’s wedding. Mickey Rourke has no children.