Mickey Rourke (24 page)

B
UT HE WAS STILL MAKING CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS AFTER THE
O
SCARS, ISSUING A THREAT TO
E
! CHANNEL HOST
J
OE
M
C
H
ALE FOR MAKING A JOKE ON HIS SHOW,
THE SOUP
, ABOUT
M
ICKEY’S LATE DOG,
L
OKI.
M
ICKEY’S CONSIDERED RESPONSE WAS, “
T
HAT MOTHERFUCKER IS GOING TO GET A SLAP IN THE FACE.”

D
ESPITE THE OCCASIONAL OUTBURST,
M
ICKEY IS DOING BETTER.
F
OR ONE THING, HE NO LONGER ASSOCIATES WITH THE SAME ROUGH-AND-READY CHARACTERS WHO USED TO MAKE UP HIS ENTOURAGE.
N
EITHER DOES HE TRAVEL WITH A BODYGUARD ANY MORE.
H
E STILL HAS THE ODD INEBRIATED NIGHT OUT NOW AND AGAIN – LIKE THE TIME IN
J
UNE 2009 WHEN HE STAGGERED OUT OF
W
EST
H
OLLYWOOD CLUB
G
UYS AND
D
OLLS AND HAD TO LEAN AGAINST THE NEAREST TREE FOR A WHILE BEFORE LOCATING HIS TAXI – BUT THAT’S ALL PART OF THE FUN.

O
N A VISIT TO
L
ONDON IN 2010, HE WENT DRINKING WITH A RUGBY TEAM AND DECIDED TO ARM WRESTLE SEVERAL OF THE PLAYERS.
H
E DID WELL AT FIRST, BUT ONE OF THE HULKING PLAYERS WAS JUST TOO STRONG FOR HIM AND TORE MUSCLE RIGHT OFF THE BONE IN HIS RIGHT ARM, RESULTING IN A LOT OF PAIN AND A TRIP TO HOSPITAL.

T
HE STAR STILL STRUGGLES TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE BUT HE’S NO WILD THING THESE DAYS.
C
ERTAINLY, THE
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE
I
HAVE MET IS MORE PUSSYCAT THAN MAD DOG.
A
ND THE ACTOR HIMSELF WOULD ARGUE THAT THE TROUBLEMAKER REPUTATION WHICH HAS FOLLOWED HIM FOR YEARS IS LARGELY UNDESERVED.
A
FTER ALL, UNLIKE VARIOUS OTHER BADLY BEHAVED
H
OLLYWOOD STARS,
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE HAS NEVER PUNCHED OUT A PHOTOGRAPHER, SPAT ON A REPORTER, OR BEATEN UP ANOTHER ACTOR… AND HE’S CERTAINLY NEVER KILLED ANYONE.

N
OW A LARGELY REFORMED CHARACTER AFTER MANY YEARS IN THERAPY,
M
ICKEY RECOGNIZES HE WAS HIS OWN WORST ENEMY FOR MANY YEARS.
L
ARGELY ASHAMED BY THOSE MISTAKES, THE EX–WILD MAN TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE HELL HE RAISED AND THE ENEMIES HE MADE.
A
ND IN SEVERAL INTERVIEWS,
M
ICKEY HAS RETURNED TO THE SAME BASIC THEME: “
I
HAVE NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME EXCEPT
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE.”

7
D
ESPERATE
H
OURS

M
ICKEY SAT IN THE KITCHEN OF HIS
LA
HOME DRINKING COFFEE AND TALKING SOFTLY WITH HIS BROTHER
J
OEY’S NURSE, AND FACING THE DEVASTATING FACT THAT HIS BRAVE SIBLING WAS ABOUT TO LOSE HIS LONG FIGHT AGAINST LUNG CANCER.

T
HE HOSPICE NURSE TOLD HIM, “
J
OE SHOULDN’T STILL BE HERE.
H
E SHOULD HAVE LEFT THREE OR FOUR DAYS AGO.
T
HE REASON HE’S NOT READY TO GO IS BECAUSE HE’S WORRIED ABOUT YOU.
Y
OU HAVE TO TELL HIM IT’S OKAY FOR HIM TO GO.”

J
OEY HAD NEARLY DIED TWICE BEFORE FROM CANCER, AND HAD LIVED THROUGH THREE COMAS CAUSED BY MOTORBIKE ACCIDENTS, BUT HIS FAMOUS BROTHER KNEW THIS TIME REALLY WAS THE END.
M
ICKEY GOT UP, SHAKING, AND MADE THE SHORT WALK TO THE BEDROOM WHERE HIS LITTLE BROTHER HAD BEEN STAYING FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS.
H
E PUT HIS ARMS AROUND HIM, TOLD
J
OEY HOW MUCH HE LOVED HIM, AND THEN SAID, “
I
F YOU GOTTA GO SOMEWHERE RIGHT NOW, YOU GO AHEAD AND
I
’LL MEET YOU THERE LATER ON SOME TIME.
I
T’S OKAY, BECAUSE
I
’LL BE OKAY, YOU UNDERSTAND?’

J
OEY THEN TOOK HIS LAST BREATH – AND DIED IN
M
ICKEY’S ARMS.

S
INCE HIS BROTHER’S FIRST DIAGNOSIS WITH CANCER AT SEVENTEEN,
M
ICKEY HAD DONE ALL HE COULD TO TRY AND HALT, THEN REVERSE, THE INEXORABLE MARCH OF THE CONDITION, INCLUDING A MERCY DASH TO
M
EXICO FOR RADICAL NEW STEM CELL TREATMENT.
H
E HAD ALWAYS COME TO
J
OEY’S RESCUE WHEN THEY WERE KIDS BUT HE COULDN’T SAVE HIM THIS TIME.
J
OEY
R
OURKE BATTLED VARIOUS FORMS OF THE DISEASE OVER THE YEARS, BUT LUNG CANCER EVENTUALLY CLAIMED HIM IN
O
CTOBER 2004.
M
ICKEY WAS SHATTERED.

A
S
M
ICKEY ADMITTED IN AN ARTICLE WITH THE
SUNDAY TIMES
IN 2005, THE ONE COMFORT TO HIM WAS THAT IN THE FINAL FEW WEEKS OF LIFE,
J
OEY SAID HOW PLEASED HE WAS THAT
M
ICKEY HAD CHANGED FOR THE BETTER AND WAS STARTING TO GET HIS LIFE BACK ON TRACK.
J
OEY HAD TOLD HIM, WITH RELIEF, “
Y
OU’VE CHANGED, BRO’, YOU’RE NOT SO CRAZY,” AND THE OLDER BROTHER CHERISHED THOSE WORDS.

A
FTER THE FUNERAL,
M
ICKEY SAID A FINAL GOODBYE TO
J
OEY AS HE THREW HIS ASHES INTO THE SEA – AND NOTICED A FLASH OF BLUE LIGHT ON THE HORIZON WHEN HE DID SO.
S
INCE THEN, WHENEVER HE SEES A BLUE LIGHT,
M
ICKEY BELIEVES IT IS
J
OEY WAVING TO HIM.
H
E STILL MISSES HIS BROTHER TERRIBLY AND, IN THE LIVING ROOM OF HIS
N
EW
Y
ORK HOME, KEEPS A CANDLELIT SHRINE TO
J
OEY WHERE ROSARIES AND PHOTOS OF HIM SURROUND A STATUTE OF THE
V
IRGIN
M
ARY.

T
HE LOSS OF
C
ARRÉ
O
TIS FROM HIS LIFE HAD BEEN
M
ICKEY’S FIRST SIGNIFICANT HEARTBREAK, AND THE NEXT WAS THE PASSING AWAY OF HIS BELOVED, BEARDED BIKER BROTHER.
T
HAT TRAGEDY CAUSED HIM TO QUESTION HIS FAITH IN
G
OD FOR THE FIRST TIME.
M
ICKEY, WHO HAD BRIEFLY BEEN AN ALTAR BOY AT THE AGE OF TEN, STOPPED GOING TO CHURCH FOR A WHILE AND NO LONGER PRAYED WITH THE SAME CONVICTION.
H
E COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY
G
OD WOULD TAKE HIS BROTHER.

T
WO DAYS AFTER
J
OEY’S DEATH, DIRECTOR
T
ONY
S
COTT, WHO HAD WORKED WITH
M
ICKEY ON
MAN ON FIRE
, CALLED TO OFFER SYMPATHY.
S
COTT’S OLDER BROTHER,
F
RANK, HAD DIED OF CANCER AND SO HE KNEW THE AGONY
M
ICKEY WAS GOING THROUGH.
T
ONY PROVED A TOWER OF STRENGTH AT THAT DIFFICULT TIME AND ALSO PROVIDED
M
ICKEY WITH SOME WORK TO GO TO, OFFERING HIM A ROLE IN HIS NEW MOVIE,
DOMINO
.

I
T WAS GOOD FOR
M
ICKEY TO BE BACK FROM THE
B
-MOVIE WILDERNESS, WORKING ON MAJOR MOVIES AGAIN BECAUSE FOR MOST OF THE PAST DECADE HE HAD BEEN IN STUCK IN A CAREER QUAGMIRE WHILE SUFFERING GREAT PERSONAL MISERY DURING WHAT HE CALLS “MY LOST YEARS.”

B
UT
J
OEY HAD LEFT
M
ICKEY WITH SOMETHING – HIS SPIRIT.
S
HOWING ALL THE DETERMINATION HIS LATE BROTHER HAD POSSESSED,
M
ICKEY RESOLVED TO BATTLE HIS WAY BACK TO THE TOP.

* * *

M
ICKEY QUIT BOXING ON HEALTH GROUNDS, AND THOUGHT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE A SWIFT COMEBACK TO ACTING BIG TIME, BUT IT DIDN’T HAPPEN.
D
OORS KEPT SLAMMING IN HIS MASHED-UP FACE.
H
E STILL HAD THE ACTING TALENT BUT, LIKE HIS EARLY SCREEN IDOL
M
ONTGOMERY
C
LIFT, WHOSE DAMAGED FACE HAD TO BE REBUILT AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT, HE WAS TRYING TO RELAUNCH AN ACTING CAREER WITH A VERY DIFFERENT LOOK.
F
ILM HISTORY IS FULL OF STARS SPRINGING BACK FROM OBSCURITY, HOWEVER, LIKE
M
ICKEY
R
OONEY,
M
ARLON
B
RANDO, AND
J
OAN
C
RAWFORD, TO NAME A FEW.
M
ICKEY RECKONED THAT IN TWO OR THREE YEARS, HE WOULD BE NEXT.

Y
ET MAINSTREAM
H
OLLYWOOD DIDN’T COMPLY.
R
EGARDLESS OF HIS ABILITY OR APPEARANCE,
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE WAS DAMAGED GOODS AFTER HIS WILD BEHAVIOR IN THE PAST, AND RESTORING THE INDUSTRY’S TRUST AND RESPECT WAS NOT GOING TO BE EASY.
T
HE FILM BUSINESS HAD MOVED ON, AND
M
ICKEY ENDED UP BEING CAST IN LOW-BUDGET MOVIES THAT WERE BENEATH HIM BUT TO WHICH HIS NAME AND RENOWN MIGHT ADD SOME EXTRA TAKINGS DURING THEIR SHORT CINEMA RUN OR
DVD
LIFE.
I
N A FEW SHORT YEARS, HE HAD GONE FROM STARRING WITH
R
OBERT
D
E
N
IRO TO ACTING ALONGSIDE THE LIKES OF TATTOOED BASKETBALL BAD BOY
D
ENNIS
R
ODMAN.

T
HE MAJOR STUDIOS WITH THEIR BIG PAY CHECKS WEREN’T CALLING ANYMORE AND HE HAD TO TAKE VERY DIFFERENT SCREEN ROLES: APPEARING IN A POP VIDEO FOR THE
E
NRIQUE
I
GLESIAS SINGLE
HERO
, DOING A
BMW
COMMERCIAL, AND PROVIDING ONE OF THE VOICEOVERS FOR A VIDEO GAME, THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF
DRIVER
.

A
S YEARS WENT BY AND HE STILL WASN’T BACK IN MAJOR MOVIES,
M
ICKEY BEGAN TO THINK THAT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAD WRITTEN HIM OFF AS A WASHED-UP HAS-BEEN MAYBE HAD A POINT.
B
EING YESTERDAY’S NEWS WAS HELL.
I
T WAS HUMILIATING FOR SOMEONE AS TALENTED AND PROUD AS HIM TO BE GETTING LITTLE, OR LITTLE SEEN, WORK AS AN ACTOR.
H
E FELT TERRIBLE WHENEVER A PASSER-BY WOULD VAGUELY RECOGNIZE HIM IN THE STREET AND STARE, STRUGGLING TO PLACE THE FACE AND THE NAME OF THE FORMER STAR.
T
HERE IS A SCENE IN
THE WRESTLER
WHEN
M
ICKEY’S CHARACTER,
R
ANDY, BECOMES SIMILARLY UPSET AT A DELICATESSEN COUNTER, CAUSING HIM TO REACT IN FRUSTRATION BY THRUSTING HIS HAND INTO A MEAT SLICING MACHINE.
A
RT REALLY WAS IMITATING LIFE, BECAUSE
M
ICKEY IS ALLEGED TO HAVE REACTED JUST AS DRAMATICALLY DURING HIS WILDERNESS YEARS.
H
E ONCE DESCRIBED TO AN INTERVIEWER, BUT HAS NOT DISCUSSED SINCE, HOW, IN A PARTICULARLY DARK MOOD, HE DELIBERATELY SLICED THE TOP OF HIS LITTLE FINGER ALMOST OFF, UNTIL IT WAS JUST HANGING ON BY A TENDON – AND NEEDED HOURS OF MICROSURGERY TO HAVE IT SEWN BACK ON.

T
O AVOID BEING RECOGNIZED ALL THE TIME, HE STARTED DOING HIS SHOPPING LATE AT NIGHT IN THE TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR
W
EST
H
OLLYWOOD supermarket when there were few customers around to gawp at him. Extravagant purchases were a thing of the past as his money had run out. The big house and the big cars were gone, along with his good looks His entourage of hangers-on left him as soon as the money disappeared; some of them even took all they could carry out of the big house.

C
OURT DOCUMENTS SHOW THAT HIS
LA
HOME WAS REPOSSESSED AFTER HE COULDN’T MAKE THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS.
A
ND HE OWED VARIOUS PEOPLE MONEY, NOT LEAST THE TAX AUTHORITIES.
H
E WAS $60,000 IN DEBT AT ONE POINT AND DIDN’T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY THE THERAPIST WHO WAS BY NOW TREATING HIM THREE TIMES A WEEK.

H
IS BUSINESSES HAD GONE BUST, INCLUDING
M
ICKEY AND
J
OEY’S, THE SMALL
B
EVERLY
H
ILLS STREET-STAND AND CANDY STORE HE HAD OWNED WITH HIS HAIRDRESSER PAL
G
IUSEPPE
F
RANCO.
M
EANWHILE, IN AN EFFORT TO STOP ALL HIS WILD SPENDING,
M
ICKEY’S ACCOUNTANTS TOOK HIS CREDIT CARDS AWAY FROM HIM.

W
ITH BOXING GONE AND
H
OLLYWOOD NOT CALLING,
M
ICKEY WAS LIVING IN A $500-A-MONTH ONE-ROOM APARTMENT, GETTING BY WITH THE MONEY RECEIVED FROM THE RARE ACTING JOBS WHICH CAME HIS WAY, AS WELL AS LOANS FROM FRIENDS, AND THE PROCEEDS FROM SELLING HIS MOTORBIKE COLLECTION.
E
VERY FEW MONTHS, ANOTHER OF THE DOZEN
H
ARLEYS HE HAD ACCUMULATED OVER THE YEARS WOULD GO AT A GREATLY REDUCED PRICE UNTIL THERE WAS ONLY ONE LEFT.
W
HEN HE COULDN’T AFFORD THE GAS TO PUT IN HIS CAR, A 1963
M
INI
C
OOPER, HE HAD TO SELL THAT, TOO.

H
E EVEN WROTE HIS WAY OUT OF TROUBLE AT ONE POINT BY COMPOSING POEMS AND SELLING THEM.
M
ICKEY MADE AN IMPRESSIVE $16,000 FROM SELLING EIGHT FRAMED, POSTER-SIZED POEMS DISPLAYED AT A SPECIAL
B
EVERLY
H
ILLS SHOW.
T
HIS IS A SAMPLE STANZA: “
I
SHOULD HAVE BEEN BORN A STATUE OF STONE,
I
’D HAVE NO PAIN, NO PLACE TO CALL HOME.”
I
T’S HARDLY
W
ORDSWORTH BUT IT WAS EFFECTIVE IN HELPING THE CASH FLOW.

A
POEM WHICH WOULD HAVE BETTER SUMMED UP
M
ICKEY’S LIFE AT THIS TIME WHEN LOVED ONES HAD LEFT HIM, THE STUDIOS NO LONGER EMPLOYED HIM, AND PHOTOGRAPHERS DIDN’T WANT TO TAKE HIS PICTURE ANY MORE WAS THE BEST-KNOWN WORK BY LYRICAL SIXTEENTH-CENTURY POET
S
IR
T
HOMAS
W
YATT: “
T
HEY FLEE FROM ME THAT SOMETIME DID ME SEEK….”
M
ICKEY WAS NOW
T
INSELTOWN’S FORGOTTEN MAN AND, WORSE THAN THAT, MOST OF THE TIME, THE PUGILIST-TURNED-POET WAS COMPLETELY WITHOUT THE MEANS TO PAY FOR EVERYDAY ITEMS.
H
E HAD GONE FROM EATING IN THE FINEST RESTAURANTS TO REGULARLY DINING AT
M
C
D
ONALD’S.