Mickey Rourke Biography

Mickey Rourke, actor

Birthdate: September 16, 1956

Birthplace: Schenectady, New York

Sign: Virgo

Mickey Rourke was born Phillip Andre Rourke, Jr., in Schenectady, New York to Phillip A. Rourke, a country club caretaker and amateur bodybuilder and Ann Rourke. Ann divorced Mickey's father when he was just six years old, in part because he was abusive to Mickey and married Gene Addis in 1963, a strict disciplinarian. A few years later, Ann moved the family to Miami, FL, where Mickey grew up in Liberty City, a rough neighborhood. Mickey quickly learned how to fight for survival.

By the time Mickey was 12, he began learning how to box at the famed gym where Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard trained. He excelled at baseball and football, but Rourke's first love was boxing. Eventually Rourke left boxing after suffering two concussions and severe facial injuries that led to a number of operations to repair his face. Mickey attended Miami Beach Senior High School but it isn't clear whether he actually graduated. It was in high school that Rourke discovered acting by way of a small production of Jean Genet's "Deathwatch."

Once Mickey caught the acting bug, he moved to New York and studied with Sandra Seacat. He found his way into the famed Actors Studio where he learned method acting. He was soon being compared to Robert De Niro. Taking several odd jobs to make some money, Rourke was seen in several off-off Broadway productions that included his debut in a revival of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge." Eventually he moved to Los Angeles, where he landed his first film roles in box office failures such as "1941" in 1979 and "Heaven's Gate" in 1980. He made appearances in three television movies in 1980.

Rourke was working as a bouncer at a transvestite club when he auditioned for his breakout role as Teddy in the movie "Body Heat" in 1981. He was cast alongside William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. Rourke stole the show and soon attracted considerable attention for his role as a gambling hairdresser in the movie "Diner" in 1982. Rourke continued his impressive streak playing Motorcycle Boy in Francis Ford Coppola's screen version of "Rumble Fish" in 1983. After starring in two unknowns, "The Pope of Greenwich Village" in 1984 and "Year of the Dragon" in 1985, Mickey made considerable headlines for starring in the erotic film "9 ˝ Weeks" alongside Kim Bassinger in 1986. His portrayal of a sexually obsessed and domineering man who used food as an aphrodisiac launched him onto the female radar, making him a sex symbol overnight.

In "Barfly" Rourke delivered his best performance since "Diner." He delivered another compelling performance in "Angel Heart" in 1987 where he shared the screen with Cosby kid, Lisa Bonet. The director for that film described Rourke as "a nightmare" and "very dangerous on the set." Rourke tried his hand at writing with "Homeboy" in 1988 which bombed. His next film, "Francesco" also bombed.

By the time he starred in "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" in 1991, his acting career was on the ropes so he returned to the boxing ring to re-group. His numerous facial injuries forced him to retire again so Rourke staged his comeback in the film industry. His bankability began to rise after his portrayal of Bruiser Stone in John Grisham's "The Rainmaker" in 1997, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Mickey soon found his plate full with mediocre projects for several years. It was director Robert Rodriguez who cast him in a career-reviving role in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" in 2003. A true career revival came two years later as Marv in the comic book series "Sin City" in 2005.

Rourke received his most substantial critical kudos of his career for his leading performance in "The Wrestler" in 2008 alongside a much younger co-star, Evan Rachel Wood. Rourke received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama and ultimately took home the statue.

Rourke was married to Debra Feuer from January 1981 until 1989 and was married to Carre Otis from June 1992 until they divorced in December 1998.