In “The Wrestler,” actress Marisa Tomei plays the stripper girlfriend of an aging wrestler played by Mickey Rourke. Marisa, 44, says she prepared for the raunchy role by taking pole dancing lessons and watching the skanky hos on the VH1 reality show, “Rock of Love.”
Oscar winner MARISA TOMEI studied rocker BRET MICHAELS’ raunchy reality show ROCK OF LOVE as part of her stripper research for new movie THE WRESTLER.
The actress tried pole dancing too – just to make sure she’d look authentic in her film debut as an exotic dancer.
She explains, “I had a friend who is a yoga teacher and she does a lot of pole dancing so I asked her to teach me. I went to a lot of clubs and watched to see the different styles of dancing.
“I would practice in a dance room with a bar and a mirror, like a ballet studio. I watched Rock of Love, that reality show with Bret Michaels, where he’s trying to get a wife and they’re all strippers. That was my closest association to the actual world of it.”
And her brief flirtation with the world of the stripper has brought Tomei a new love: “I like going to strip clubs now.”
Well, it’s nice to know that piece of garbage show isn’t totally useless. I’ve always liked Marisa – she’s a talented actress. She went through a dry spell for a while there, so it’s nice to see her working again. Early buzz is that Mickey Rourke’s performance is a powerhouse in this movie. He plays a professional wrestler – based on Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man ” Savage who is trying to make a comeback – sort of like Rocky. If it sounds like a stinker, keep in mind that the director is Darren Aronofsky, the director behind “Requiem for a Dream,” “Pi” and “The Fountain.” So, if nothing else, it will be a great looking stinker about pro wrestling and stripping.
Marisa Tomei is shown at screening of The Wrestler in New York City on Dec. 8. Still photos from “The Wrestler,” including one of Marisa’s character performing at a strip club. Photo credit: WENN.
The only thing you would learn from Rock of Love is how to dress like a skank and get sloppy drunk. If that’s what her role demands, I guess she turned to the right place.
Tomei poisoning, as she’s known in the industry.
She has a rocking body for a 44 year old.
Marisa looks incredibly sexy….better than ever..first in “Till the Devil knows You’re Dead” and now in the stills I’ve seen from “The Wrestler”. She did full nudity in the “devil” movie and her body was perfect, and more smoking hot that most 20 year olds…
I’ve always loved Marisa…ever since “Untamed Heart” a hundred years ago. And, of course, who could forget her on Seinfeld!
I’ve always thought she was an incredibly talented actress that was extremely poor at choosing roles. She should be a much bigger star than she is. Maybe she’ll be a late bloomer and really show her acting chops now that she’s a little older.
I watch Rock of Love.
You know what else it teaches you? It teaches you to be a needy attention whore.
Or in the case of Brandi C, looking like one of those kids on the Campbell’s soup can and still knowing how to give an aging rocker an erection while picking fights with fellow castmates and then sobbing every time you get outed for being a spineless pink-haired twit.