Mickey Rourke flamed out. Big time. But after almost two decades in the woods, he looks poised to make a comeback, thanks to his Oscar-nominated, flat-out brilliant performance in Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler."Rourke's problem was never lack of talent. After his breakout role in "Body Heat," Rourke delivered a string of soulful leading performances in the '80s -- "Diner," "Rumble Fish," and "The Pope of Greenwich Village" -- that floored the critics. He had an aura of both menace and vulnerability that had audiences comparing him to Marlon Brando.As legendary critic Pauline Kael wrote, "'He has an edge and a magnetism and a pure, sweet smile that surprises you."Rourke's problem was one of temperament. He was raised in a house with a violent, abusive stepfather. Rourke channeled that pain and aggression into his first love -- boxing -- before the doctors sidelined him after a particularly nasty concussion. Later, as his acting career took off, he developed a reputation for being "difficult." He got into brawls.
He partied too hard. He burned bridges with studio heads, and infuriated directors. He developed a knack for rejecting roles in soon-to-be classic movies: Nick Nolte's part in "48 Hours," Tom Cruise's part in "Rain Man," Eliot Ness in "The Untouchables," Christopher Lambert's part in "Highlander" and Bruce Willis' part in "Pulp Fiction." Instead, he chose to star in increasingly sleazy fare like "9 1/2 Weeks," "Angel Heart," and "Wild Orchid."
Rourke, in the eyes of the industry, went from being an up-and-coming silver-screen rebel to a dissolute deviant. His performances hollowed out and became increasingly vacant. In numerous interviews, he admitted that at this period in his life his self-respect was hitting the skids. And that was before he starred in that dignity-sapping Razzie favorite "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man."
Not long after that film flopped, he retreated back to the ring. And as it turned out, Rourke wasn't a bad boxer. He ended his career undefeated: six wins -- half from KOs -- and two draws. Yet his time as a pugilist exacted a toll. He suffered neurological damage and all those punches to the face destroyed his matinee-idol good looks. He needed five reconstructive operations on his nose. Not long afterwards, his disastrous marriage to "Wild Orchid" co-star Carrie Otis fell apart after she filed spousal abuse charges against him (they were later dropped). He was scraping by acting in dreck like Dennis Rodman vehicle "Double Team," while living beyond his means. When it all eventually came crashing down, Rourke hit bottom. And he blamed only himself:
"I brought [it] upon myself. I lost everything, the wife, the house, my friends, my name in the business," he told the British newspaper The Guardian. "I was paying $500 a month for an apartment with my dogs. Nobody really knew how broke I was. A friend used to give me a couple of hundred of dollars a month to buy something to eat. And I'd be calling up my ex-wife and crying like a baby and trying to get her back. I was desperate. And I was all alone. And this went on for years, for years."
Rourke brought all that suffering and anguish to his role as a spandex-clad has-been Randy the Ram in "The Wrestler." His performance is so emotionally raw that Rourke claims that he hasn't actually managed to watch the film all the way through. It's simply too painful. The parallels between his character and his life too obvious.
Rourke spent the late '90s and the beginning of the '00s struggling to climb out the hole he dug himself. He made bit parts memorable in movies like "The Rainmaker," "Buffalo '66," and Sean Penn's "The Pledge." But his really career started showing signs of life with his turn as Marv, a brutishly strong, sociopathic good guy in Robert Rodriquez's "Sin City." The only problem was that he was under piles of latex makeup; no one recognized him.
After all the buzz with "The Wrestler," however, his career looks back on track. He's already been tapped for a part in Sly Stallone's upcoming "The Expendables" and he's in discussions with Marvel over playing the villain in "Iron Man 2."
Thanks to a decade and a half of psychotherapy, and the support of his aging Chihuahua, Loki, Rourke claims he's coming to terms with his personal demons. He has no plans to backslide like his character Randy. "Never. Not as hard as I've worked to change. No. I've been to hell, I'm not going back there," he told The Guardian.
Of course, Rourke is still prone to tabloid-worthy antics. He was spotted tongue-wrestling his on-screen daughter Evan Rachel Woods during a SAG award after-party (a charge she publically denied today). He was also reportedly set to jump into the ring at Wrestlemania and square off against Chris Jericho, before his management stepped in and nixed the idea.
So will Rourke get Oscar redemption or will he go down against Sean Penn or Brad Pitt? And will this comeback be the one that finally sticks? Tell us what you think below.
