Mickey Rourke Reflects on The Wrestler: “I Felt Like I Was Dying”
Mickey Rourke has offered some new, brutally honest thoughts about his experience filming The Wrestler, and it sounds like he still carries some heavy feelings about the role that re-ignited his career.
Appearing as a cast member on the current season of Celebrity Big Brother UK, Rourke opened up candidly when reflecting on the movie, which famously saw him play the battered, down-on-his-luck pro wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson.
"I wasn’t that big a fan of it [The Wrestler]... We also had such a low budget so I was working 15-16-hour days with 6 hours sleep with all the physicality. And I put on like 40 or 50 pounds so my body was uncomfortable at that weight.
The last day of working on The Wrestler I was sitting in my living room in New York and I was on the couch shaking, and crying, and hyperventilating, and exhausted. And they’re going, ‘Hey, where are you? We’re at the wrap party.’ And I had called my priest, my doctor, my psychiatrist because I felt like I was dying."
Released in 2008, The Wrestler is widely regarded as one of the most authentic depictions of professional wrestling ever put to film. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the movie strips away the glitz and spectacle to show the brutal realities of life on the independent circuit, from broken bodies and broken relationships to the addiction of crowd adoration. The film even featured appearances from real-life wrestlers like Necro Butcher, Claudio Castagnoli, Jay Lethal, R-Truth, and Ernest "The Cat" Miller, which helped give the story an extra layer of authenticity. For those familiar with the grind of professional wrestling, it remains a near-perfect portrayal of what life looks like beyond the bright lights of arenas.
The film earned Rourke tremendous acclaim, including a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Around that time, WWE even planned for Rourke to have a marquee match at WrestleMania XXV against Chris Jericho. But as Rourke began to catch heat in Hollywood, with insiders warning him that stepping into the ring could damage his awards season prospects, he ended up backing out of the match. Ultimately, Rourke didn't take home the Oscar that year, losing out to Sean Penn for Milk.
WrestleMania XXV took place after the Oscars, and Rourke still made an appearance at the event, getting a bit of revenge on Jericho with a post-match punch, but it wasn’t quite the same spectacle WWE originally envisioned. Still, for wrestling fans, The Wrestler endures as an all-time classic, even if its star doesn’t remember it so fondly.
[via Cultaholic]