Back in the day Mickey Rourke used to be a boxer. In fact, that’s what he did during the early nineties when his career had stalled. It’s also why Rourke had to have massive plastic surgery. Years of boxing can do a lot of damage to your face. Now Rourke is saying he plans to get into wrestling – though it’s certainly not because his career is suffering.
Mickey Rourke is taking this wrestling thing way too seriously. Hollywood’s comeback kid du jour, who just notched an Oscar nomination for playing a washed-up pro grappler in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, is eyeing the ring for real, announcing on the red carpet at last night’s SAG Awards that he plans to participate in the WWE’s Wrestlemania 25 in Houston April 5.
“The nicest thing has been the whole wrestling community embracing us,” Rourke tells E! News. “The movie was about their world and so I think maybe I’m gonna do Wrestlemania in Houston. I had some dialogue with Vince McMahon and Rick Flair, Roddy Piper and all the rest of them and they’ve been really supportive.” To prepare for his Golden Globe-winning, SAG-nominated role, Rourke bulked up his 56-year-old frame and trained for months to master the complex ring moves.
Which begs the question: Is Rourke (a) taking Method acting to a new level, (b) still punch-drunk from that ill-fated boxing career, or (c) just playing by his own rules? For now, we’re going with (c).
While Rourke didn’t say he was actually going to grapple with the pros, he does have his trash talk down pat. “Chris Jericho, you better get in shape,” said Rourke, “because I’m coming after your ass.”
[From E! News]
Rourke would certainly get a lot of attention if tried his hand at pro wrestling. Not that he needs any of it. In fact he’s been getting plenty of attention from the ladies lately. Earlier this month he was seen with tactress Bai Ling, and since then he’s been spotted making out with 21-year-old Evan Rachel Wood several times. They even got a room together after the SAG awards. Gross.
Wood played his daughter in “The Wrestler,” and had tried to explain all the sightings of the two together as “bonding.” Not that I’d expect either of these people to ever be classy, but somehow seeing them together is still shocking to me. Something tells me we’ll see Wood cheering ringside for Rourke any day now.
Here’s Rourke in “The Wrestler.” Images thanks to WENN.
Appearing at Wrestlemania doesn’t necessarily mean Rourke is going to start a career in wrestling. It means, IMO, that Vince McMahon is smart enough to want to capitalize on the movie’s success by promoting Rourke to fans willing to plunk down money for tickets to the event. I think this is just a one-time thing.
Exactly what I was going to say, Livia. It’s promotion both ways, any celebrity McMahon can bring in he’s all over it, and Mickey’s movie is about wrestling, so it’s an ideal PR move all the way around.
I do think Rourke has a physical competition obsession, though. I just hope he’s smart enough to just do the special guest spot and let it lie.
He probably isnt going to wrestle, just be there and trash talk in the ring.
ok, you gotta admit that he looks kinda good in the first pic, wow he beefed up right good. lol
I love Mickey Rourke. He was born to act.
He is so raw, and real and delivered such an exceptional performance.
When you got to that level of talent, I don’t really care about all the rest of the things.
The mediocre artists need them so it’s important what else they do, or what they said.
i hope he doesnt try to become a pro wrestler. what a joke. he’s finally getting back to the good stuff acting wise, so this ‘wrestlemania’ b.s. would just f it up for him.
i thought he was just doing some kind of promotion for his movie though? not actually becoming a wrestler…
He reminds me of Joaquin Phoenix, just doing whatever makes him happy and to hell with everyone else. He wanted to be a boxer, now a wrestler? Kind of bizarre but okay…
I think the reason he looks decent in the 1st pic is that his Jesus-esque hair partially obscures his face, which usually resembles the surface of the moon.
And WTF is wrong with Evan Rachel Wood? She’s not an unattractive girl, and seeing as how most of Mickey Rourke’s films are of the straight-to-TV variety, and he was washed-up for a number of years, I don’t she’s a gold-digger. She must have some serious “daddy issues.” Freud would have a field day.