before / after (yeeeesh)
That motherfucker never left. He’s been acting in movies both good and horrible (mostly horrible) since the early 1980’s. The only thing that makes his performance in The Wrestler a “comeback” is that he might actually win an Academy Award for it instead of a fucking Razzie like his role in Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man.
Since I’m pretty sure 99% of you could give a shit whether Mickey Rourke lives to be a thousand or drops dead of a heroin overdose today, I’m going to be brief.
They say he’s been on a ten year break. A TEN YEAR BREAK?! Are you all nuts? Am I the only one who remembers these films:
1. Domino – 2005 (*starring)
2. Sin City – 2005 (*starring)
*It’s looking to me like 2005 was his “comeback” year.
3. Man On Fire – 2004
4. Once Upon a Time In Mexico – 2003
5. Spun – 2002
6. Get Carter – 2000
7. Animal Factory – 2000
8. Buffalo 66
9. The Rainmaker
10. Bullet
*I’m not even counting the 30 or so B-Movies he’s acted in over the years as well. The guy has been in 62 films, 27 of which were in the last ten years.
Now if this is considered being “out of work” then I know a slew of actors and actresses that would love to have his unemployment problems. I’ve loved Mickey Rourke for years and I continue to enjoy him, AS AN ACTOR. As a person giving interviews not so much. I’d rather watch a fresh booger dry on the bathroom wall than listen to him mumble and stutter about his so called trials and tribulations. His story is neither new nor original, he was young, he was rich, he got fucked up on drugs and ego, then he vanished; Fatty Arbuckle wrote the handbook on that move way back in the 1920’s.
– Mike James
Long Live The Motorcycle Boy
- Rumblefish (fan-fucking-tastic movie)
And This Is My America? 
Agreed. Sin City alone got a helluva lot of attention.
I swear to god I was just talking about this same thing this AM. A) Its not a comeback if you didnt go anywhere to begin with and B) even if it is a comeback, who gives a shit? He “came back” to acting in movies, banging extras and going to red carpet premiers; he didnt beat Lou Gherigs disease and start farting $20 bills to give to the homeless. The hollywood media is acting like its the second coming of Christ; this guy wasn’t DiNero to begin with. He’s a decent actor who has been working consistently so STFU already
Thanks for writing this. I’ve been thinking the same thing. All you have to do is go to IMDB and see he’s worked every year since he started. Including having 3 movies that he wrote produced. I also question how it is that he was living in a $500 a month “shit hole” apartment.. then does the Wrestler “for no pay” and 8 months later he’s renting a $20,000 a month loft. Seems like a great story dreamed up by his PR person. It all seems suspect to me.
Mickey, with all his faults, mirrors mine and many others lives. It helps to put our lives in perspective by watching him on film. He fills a void that can not be filled by any other. Mickey is the Man. Any body disagrees can meet me out back. I’ll be the guy in the black sweatshirt.
Oh it helps, does it? What about watching him because he’s an ACTOR, acting out a role in a movie. He shouldn’t be mirroring anyone’s lives as he’s playing a bounty hunter in Domino. Furthermore, who the fuck goes to the movies to be reminded of themselves? We go there to FORGET OUR SHITTY EXISTENCE, remember? It’s called escapism. Of course there’s exceptions to any rule, for example Annie Hall, but I don’t think Mickey Rourke embodies any of that. If you happen to relate to Iron Man 2, you have mental problems. Which might explain why you’re out back dressed like a skinhead waiting to beat the shit out of a total stranger.
Correction: Mickey should only be mirroring one person in Domino, and that’s Ed Martinez, the guy who his character was based on.