The Tragic Life and Career of Mickey Rourke, Creep
At the beginning of his career, Mickey Rourke radiated infinite potential. It’s hard to overstate how hot he was at the beginning, both professionally and look-wise.
Rourke was seen as his generation’s Marlon Brando. Like Brando, Rourke was at once a muscular, masculine bruiser and a pretty boy who wasn’t just handsome: he was beautiful. Rourke wasn’t just beautiful. He was also wildly charismatic, talented, and blessed with incredible presence.
The 9 1/2 Weeks star ended up following in his hero’s footsteps in the worst way. Like Brando, Rourke proved to be his own worst enemy, personally and professionally.
The only thing standing in the way of Rourke and greatness, superstardom, and longevity was the actor’s personality and penchant for self-destruction.
Rourke infamously turned down roles in a plethora of hits, Academy Award winners, and zeitgeist-capturing masterpieces. He reportedly said “hell no” to 48 Hours (though he'd later star in Johnny Handsome for Walter Hill), Beverly Hills Cop, The Untouchables, Pulp Fiction, Death Proof, Dead Poets Society, Highlander, Inglorious Basterds, Rain Man, Tombstone, and Top Gun.
What an incredible assortment of movies to not be in!
Instead of playing a boxer for Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction (a role that was also offered to Matt Dillon), Rourke chose to pursue a career as a boxer in real life. Getting hit in the head repeatedly by professional pugilists wasn’t good for the actor’s body, film career, or mental health.
While Rourke said no to the aforementioned hits, he said hell yes to F.T.W., White Sands, Fall Time, Bullet, Exit in Red, Love in Paris, Point Black, Shades, and Out in 50. Don’t feel bad if you’re unfamiliar with those titles. They’re so obscure I doubt Rourke even remembers making them. Instead of headlining classics, Rourke ended up making direct-to-video garbage that barely exists.
Then came Rourke’s comeback. Nicolas Cage was originally cast in the lead role in The Wrestler, but he graciously dropped out so that the struggling actor/failed pugilist could take on a role that was perfect for him.
The Wrestler benefited tremendously from the iconic baggage Rourke brought to it as an exhausted survivor whose best days were far behind him. The Wrestler brought back in a big way.
Rourke was nominated for an Academy Award but did not win. He leveraged his professional heat to secure high-profile roles in notable films, most notably Iron Man 2 and The Expendables. Rourke’s comeback proved short-lived.
He quickly went from being the comeback kid to someone desperately in need of a comeback. It was all about quantity rather than quality as Rourke traveled the globe in search of quick, dirty paychecks in various international coproductions.
In 2015 alone, Rourke starred in four films, three of which were released direct to video: Skin Traffic, War Pigs, and Blunt Force Trauma.
Rourke made poor choices professionally, but he also committed the unspeakable sin of getting older and uglier in an industry and world that reveres youth and beauty.
Age and deterioration were particularly hard for Rourke because he was so gorgeous in his radiant prime. As we have established, he wasn’t just attractive: he was a sex god.
Beautiful women used to find Rourke irresistible. Now they find him terrifying. Rourke’s ex-wife Carrie Otis accused him of abuse. In 2020, Bella Thorne said Rourke physically and verbally abused her during the making of Girl.
Rourke continued to hit new lows. A man who said no to some of the biggest hits of all time seemingly found himself in a position where he couldn’t turn down anything, no matter how humiliating.
That’s how a man who once seemed like Marlon Brando’s creative heir found himself wearing a gremlin costume while competing unsuccessfully on the reality competition The Masked Singer.
It somehow gets worse. In desperation, Rourke signed on to compete on the English reality show institution Big Brother.
Name a more iconic duo!
That’s sad, but it’s not the saddest part. The former sex symbol asked Jojo Siwa whether she liked boys or girls. When she said that she preferred women, he boorishly insisted that if she were to spend a few more days with him, she wouldn’t be gay anymore.
Rourke bullied Jojo for her sexuality. Rourke expressed an interest in smoking a fag, which is English slang for a cigarette, but had a hateful, homophobic connotation when Rourke used it.
Unsurprisingly, Rourke left the Big Brother house shortly afterwards.
The 72-year-old doesn’t seem to understand human sexuality. He seemed convinced that he could turn Jojo, a pop star young enough to be his granddaughter, straight with his wrinkly trouser snake.
Lesbians don’t stop being queer because of some dude’s magical penis. The exception, bizarrely enough, is Jojo Siwa and Big Brother.
After very publicly proclaiming that she’s the gayest lesbian in the history of homosexuality, Jojo clarified that, actually, she was now totally into dudes and dating cast member Chris Hughes.
Someone on Big Brother got Jojo excited about heterosexual sex. It was not a horny grandpa with a face that looks like a catcher’s mitt.
Rourke’s appearance on Big Brother represents a new low for the actor. A man who once personified beauty, youth, and charisma is now a weird old bigot and bully.
The punch-drunk method actor once had the potential to be one of the all-time greats. Instead, he represents perhaps the greatest waste of talent in American film history.
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