Mickey Rourke (27 page)

T
O PREPARE FOR THE FILM, HE HAD TO COME TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD OF WRESTLING AND LEARN ALL THE RIGHT MOVES, HOLDS, AND THROWS SO HIS FIGHTING SKILLS WOULD LOOK CONVINCING ON SCREEN.

H
IS BOXING BACKGROUND WAS NO HELP AT ALL IN PREPARING TO PLAY A WRESTLER. “
T
HE SPORTS ARE AS DIFFERENT AS RUGBY AND PING PONG,”
M
ICKEY EXPLAINED.
W
HILE BOXING IS ALL ABOUT HIDING THE PUNCH, WRESTLING IS ABOUT SHOWING IT WITH EXAGGERATED SWINGS, SO HE HAD TO UNLEARN ALL HIS ESTABLISHED RING TECHNIQUE, INCLUDING SLOWING DOWN TO A MORE LEISURELY PACE THAN HE WAS USED TO IN BOXING.
W
RESTLING IS ALL ABOUT DELAYING THE RESULT AND STRETCHING OUT THE STORY, WHEREAS BOXERS JUST WANT TO GET IT ALL OVER AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

“
I
T TOOK ME A MONTH AND HALF TO STOP FIGHTING LIKE A BOXER.
T
HEY BROUGHT IN SOME EX-WRESTLERS AND THEY WORKED WITH ME REAL PATIENTLY.
I
KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE SPORT –
I
DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PUT MY TIGHTS ON.”

B
UT HE SOON LEARNED WRESTLING REQUIRED A DISCIPLINE AND DEDICATION THAT HE HAD NEVER EXPECTED.
T
HOSE WERE QUALITIES
M
ICKEY NEEDED AS WELL, IN ORDER TO PUMP UP HIS BODY FOR THE PART.
T
O ACQUIRE THE PHYSIQUE OF A WRESTLER, HE HAD TO GAIN 35 LB OF MUSCLE AND ACHIEVED IT BY TWICE-DAILY WORKOUTS WITH AN
I
SRAELI EX-CAGE FIGHTER, INCLUDING LOTS OF WEIGHTLIFTING, AND EATING SEVEN MEALS A DAY.
H
E WAS ALSO FLINGING HIMSELF AROUND THE RING LEARNING TO WRESTLE, MOSTLY WITH COACHING FROM THE FILM’S FIGHT SCENES CHOREOGRAPHER
A
FA
A
NOA’I WHO HAD ONCE BEEN A MEMBER OF A BAD-GUY TAG TEAM CALLED THE
W
ILD
S
AMOANS AND IS THE UNCLE OF WRESTLER-TURNED-FILM STAR
D
WAYNE “
T
HE
R
OCK”
J
OHNSON.
T
HE ACTOR QUICKLY LEARNED THAT WHILE MUCH THAT HAPPENS IN THE SPORT MIGHT BE STAGED, THE PAIN IS ONLY TOO REAL.

M
ICKEY INJURED HIMSELF SO SEVERELY IN TRAINING FOR THE FILM THAT HE WAS CARTED OFF TO THE HOSPITAL ON THREE OCCASIONS – BUT DIDN’T TELL THE DIRECTOR FOR FEAR OF LOSING THE ROLE. “
I
’M NO SPRING CHICKEN AND
I
WAS GETTING HURT.
I
TOLD MY AGENT BUT DIDN’T WANT TO TELL
D
ARREN.
I
HAD THREE
MRI
S IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS’ TRAINING FOR THIS.”

H
E BLEW OUT A DISC IN HIS BACK, BADLY INJURED HIS KNEE, AND ALSO SEVERELY TWISTED HIS NECK.

“
I
DON’T LIKE DOCTORS.
I
WAS GOING TO AN ACUPUNCTURIST FOR treatment. After three weeks of hell, I finally went to a real doctor and he gave me anti-inflammatory drugs. I was fine after that.”

B
UT SUDDENLY, DURING HIS TRAINING FOR THE PART,
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE WAS REPLACED.
I
T HAD NOT PROVED POSSIBLE TO ATTRACT FINANCING FOR THE FILM WITH
M
ICKEY IN THE LEAD ROLE.
I
NVESTORS WANTED A SAFER BET, AN ESTABLISHED MOVIE STAR.
S
O IT WAS THAT
N
ICOLAS
C
AGE CAME ON BOARD AS THE NEW STAR OF
THE WRESTLER
.
W
ITHIN TWO WEEKS OF HIS AGREEING TO DO THE MOVIE, THE FUNDING FELL INTO PLACE WITH $15 MILLION READILY AVAILABLE.

M
ICKEY’S REPRESENTATIVES WERE DEVASTATED, BUT
M
ICKEY TOOK THE NEWS SURPRISINGLY WELL.

H
E EXPLAINED, “
I
WAS REALLY RELIEVED.
I
KNEW
D
ARREN WOULD WANT ME TO REVISIT SOME DARK PLACES FOR THIS ROLE, PLUS
I
WASN’T BEING PAID, SO WHEN THEY SAID
I
WASN’T IN THE MOVIE ANY MORE,
I
WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WASN’T UPSET.
T
HEN SOMETHING HAPPENED WITH THE OTHER ACTOR AND SUDDENLY
I
WAS BACK ON THE FILM AND IT WAS BACK TO THE TRAINING FOR ME.”

H
E WASN’T WILDLY ENTHUSIASTIC TO BE BACK THROWING HIMSELF AROUND THE RING AND VISITING THOSE DARK, TRAUMATIC PLACES.
W
HEN HIS AGENT CALLED TO TELL HIM HE WAS RE-ATTACHED TO
THE WRESTLER,
M
ICKEY EVEN REPLIED, “
O
H FUCK, CAN’T YOU GET ME SOMETHING ELSE?”

A
PPARENTLY,
C
AGE WAS AVAILABLE ONLY FOR A LIMITED PERIOD AND DIDN’T FEEL HE HAD THE TIME TO BULK UP HIS BODY INTO A WRESTLER’S PHYSIQUE.
H
E KNEW
M
ICKEY HAD BEEN ATTACHED TO THE ROLE EARLIER, AND EVEN CALLED
M
ICKEY FOR HIS BLESSING BEFORE STEPPING INTO THE PART.
I
N WORKING ON THE SCRIPT, HE SAW JUST HOW MUCH THE SCREENPLAY ECHOED ASPECTS OF THE LIFE OF
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE, WITH WHOM HE HAD WORKED ON
RUMBLE FISH
MANY YEARS EARLIER BUT HAD LOST TOUCH WITH OVER THE YEARS.

A
FTER
M
ICKEY GAVE HIM THE GO-AHEAD,
C
AGE STARTED TRAINING BUT, THE WAY HE TELLS IT, SOON REALIZED THAT THE ONLY WAY HE COULD RAPIDLY TRANSFORM HIS PHYSIQUE INTO THAT OF A WRESTLER WAS BY TAKING STEROIDS – SOMETHING HE WASN’T WILLING TO DO.
S
O HE RESIGNED FROM THE FILM, CALLED UP
M
ICKEY TO INFORM HIM OF THE DECISION, AND SAID HE HOPED
M
ICKEY COULD SOMEHOW GET THE ROLE BACK.

T
HE FACT THAT HE DID WAS ALL THANKS TO
M
ICKEY’S ENDURING POPULARITY IN
F
RANCE, WHERE EVEN FLOP FILMS LIKE
HEAVEN’S GATE
,
YEAR OF THE DRAGON,
AND
RUMBLE FISH
WERE HAILED AS CINEMATIC CLASSICS.
T
HE ONLY COMPANY THAT WOULD STEP FORWARD TO SUPPORT THE MOVIE WITH HIM IN IT WAS A
F
RENCH ONE,
W
ILD
B
UNCH.
I
T PROVED A WISE INVESTMENT AS THEY WOULD MAKE THEIR MONEY BACK MANY TIMES OVER.
THE WRESTLER
EARNED $27 MILLION IN
A
MERICAN CINEMAS AND MANY MILLIONS MORE AROUND THE WORLD AND ON
DVD
.

W
ILD
B
UNCH PROVIDED THE FILM’S BUDGET OF ALMOST $6 MILLION AND THAT GAVE THE MOVIE THE GREEN LIGHT, ALTHOUGH, GIVEN THE REDUCED BUDGET, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SHOT FASTER AND WITH FEWER LOCATIONS THAN PLANNED.
T
HIS WOULD BE BARGAIN BASEMENT MOVIEMAKING, A THIRTY-SEVEN-DAY SHOOT USING THIRTY-SEVEN LOCATIONS AND WITH NONE OF THE FRILLS OF MAJOR FILMS.
M
ICKEY WOULDN’T HAVE A LUXURY TRAILER OR EVEN A CHAIR WITH HIS NAME ON IT.

B
UT HE WOULD BE A LEADING MAN AGAIN.
O
N HIS FIRST DAY OF FILMING, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WOULD SHOUT, “
B
RING NUMBER ONE TO THE SET…,” AND THAT WAS MUSIC TO
M
ICKEY’S EARS.
H
E HADN’T BEEN NUMBER ONE IN A LONG TIME.

M
ICKEY THREW HIMSELF BACK INTO TRAINING AND
D
ARREN WOULD frequently check on his progress, all the time pushing him to be the best that he could be. Aronofsky felt his leading man had been a little lazy in previous film roles, coasting through the parts without much effort. But he demanded total commitment from Mickey on this film – and got it, too.

M
ICKEY RECALLS, “
I
WANTED
D
ARREN TO BE PROUD OF ME.
H
E KEPT YELLING AT ME ALL THE TIME.
I
THOUGHT, ‘
I
’LL SHOW YOU, YOU PRICK.’
S
O
I
LEARNED ALL THESE WRESTLING MOVES AND
I
SOON GREW TO LOVE THE SPORT.”

T
HE STAR DID SIX MONTHS OF BODYBUILDING AND THREE MONTHS OF WRESTLING TRAINING TO GET IN SHAPE FOR THE PART.
M
ANY PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS AND FANS OF THE SPORT THAT SAW THE MOVIE WOULD LATER COMPLIMENT HIM FOR HAVING THE LOOK AND THE MOVES JUST RIGHT.

D
UE TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE REDUCED BUDGET, THE FILM’S WRESTLING MATCHES WERE SHOT AT ACTUAL WRESTLING SHOWS WITH A LIVE CROWD, IN BETWEEN THE REGULAR WRESTLING CARDS THEY WERE THERE TO SEE.
T
HE CROWDS, WHO LOVE THE THEATRICS OF THE SPORT ANYWAY, SEEMED PSYCHED BY THE IDEA OF A WRESTLING MOVIE AND THEY GOT INTO THE REQUIRED SPIRIT.

A
S WELL AS PUTTING HIMSELF IN HARM’S WAY BY FLINGING HIS FIFTY-SOMETHING BODY AROUND THE WRESTLING RING,
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE LITERALLY BLED FOR THE PART.
A
T THEIR FIRST CONVERSATION ABOUT THE MOVIE,
D
ARREN HAD TOLD
M
ICKEY ABOUT “GIGGING,” A TRICK OF THE TRADE WHICH SEES WRESTLERS HIDE A BIT OF RAZOR BLADE IN THE TAPE COVERING THEIR WRISTS AND SNEAKILY PULL IT OUT AT A KEY MOMENT IN THE BOUT TO CUT THEMSELVES ON THE FACE SO THE BLOOD WILL FLOW INTO THEIR EYES AND GIVE THE AUDIENCE A DRAMATIC SPECTACLE.
A
RONOFSKY HAD TOLD THE STAR HE WOULD WANT HIM TO GIG IN THE FILM, AND
M
ICKEY HAD BEEN NERVOUSLY WAITING FOR THAT MOMENT FOR MONTHS.

W
HEN IT CAME TIME TO SHOOT THE SCENE,
D
ARREN TOLD HIM HE REALLY DIDN’T HAVE TO DO IT, BUT
M
ICKEY REPLIED, “
F
UCK THAT,
I
’M CUTTING MYSELF,” AND ANYONE WHO WATCHES THE FILM CAN SEE THE RESULTS.
M
ICKEY DID IT AS A MARK OF RESPECT FOR
A
RONOFSKY, WHO HAD WON HIS ADMIRATION FOR CONTINUING TO BE HONEST WITH HIM ALL ALONG.
H
E EXPLAINED, “
W
HEN HE SAID HE WOULDN’T PAY ME, AT LEAST HE SAID IT TO MY FACE.”

M
ICKEY DID EVENTUALLY GET PAID FOR THE FILM, BUT NOT THAT MUCH ABOVE “SCALE” – THE
S
CREEN
A
CTORS
G
UILD UNION RATE – AND A LONG WAY SHORT OF HIS BIG-MONEY PAYDAYS OF THE PAST.
B
UT THIS ONE WASN’T ABOUT THE MONEY. “
D
ARREN AND
I
GAINED EACH OTHER’S TRUST,” ADDED
M
ICKEY. “
I
LIKE TO WORK WITH DIRECTORS THAT ARE SMARTER THAN ME AND ARE VERY WELL PREPARED.”

B
UT IT WASN’T ALL SWEETNESS AND LIGHT BETWEEN DIRECTOR AND STAR AND THE PAIR HAD SEVERAL ARGUMENTS DURING FILMING, ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM THE COSTUMES
M
ICKEY WOULD WEAR TO THE NUMBER OF TAKES HE WOULD SHOOT.
A
RONOFSKY WAS ALWAYS PUSHING FOR MORE TAKES, SAYING, “
I
WANT YOU TO BRING IT,” AND WHEN
M
ICKEY SAID THAT HE JUST HAD, THE PERFECTIONIST DIRECTOR REPLIED, “
B
RING IT MORE.”
H
E WAS LIKE A BOXING TRAINER ASKING HIS FIGHTER FOR ONE MORE GREAT ROUND.

O
NCE WHEN HE WANTED TO DRAIN ALL POSSIBLE EMOTION OUT OF
M
ICKEY FOR A SCENE, HE DID SOMETHING GUARANTEED TO PUSH THE ACTOR’S BUTTONS.
R
IGHT BEFORE CALLING ACTION, HE IMPLIED THAT
M
ICKEY’S BELOVED DOG,
L
OKI, WHO HAD BEEN SICK IN RECENT DAYS, HAD DIED.
I
T WASN’T THE NICEST THING TO DO, BUT IT WAS CERTAINLY EFFECTIVE.

T
HERE WAS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GIVE AND TAKE BETWEEN DIRECTOR AND STAR BUT
A
RONOFSKY ESTABLISHED HIS AUTHORITY SO THAT HE GOT THE FINAL SAY EACH TIME.
W
HEN
M
ICKEY DECLARED HE WANTED TO WEAR A HEARING AID IN THE FILM, HE HAD TO FIGHT LIKE HELL TO GET HIS WAY.
D
ARREN DIDN’T WANT HIM USING ANY METHOD ACTOR–STYLE PROPS.
I
N FACT, HE CONSIDERS NOT LETTING
M
ICKEY WEAR SUNGLASSES HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT ON THE FILM!
M
ICKEY JUSTIFIED HIS CHOICE BY TELLING HIM ABOUT AN OLD WRESTLER HE HAD MET WHO NOW WORE A HEARING AID AND
A
RONOFSKY RELENTED, BUT UNDER-USED IT IN THE FILM, SO WE SEE THE HEARING AID ONLY FLEETINGLY.

T
HESE CREATIVE DEBATES WERE ALL ABOUT MAKING
THE WRESTLER
THE BEST MOVIE POSSIBLE, AND
M
ICKEY WAS COMING TO REALIZE THAT HIS WHOLE LIFE HAD BEEN LEADING UP TO PLAYING THIS ROLE.
H
E CERTAINLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE CHARACTER,
T
HE
R
AM, WAS GOING THROUGH AS A HARD-UP HAS BEEN.
H
E SAID, “
R
ANDY
T
HE
R
AM WAS SOMEBODY TWENTY YEARS AGO AND SO WAS
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE.
W
HEN YOU USED TO BE SOMEBODY AND YOU AREN’T ANY MORE, YOU LIVE IN WHAT MY THERAPIST CALLS A STATE OF SHAME.
Y
OU DON’T WANT TO GO OUT OF THE HOUSE.
I
LOST EVERYTHING – MY HOUSE, MY WIFE, MY CREDIBILITY, MY CAREER.
I
EVEN LOST MY ENTOURAGE, WHICH IS WHEN YOU KNOW THINGS ARE REALLY BAD.”

M
ICKEY
R
OURKE WAS ONCE SHOPPING IN A 7-
E
LEVEN WHEN A MAN WALKED UP TO HIM AND SAID, “
D
IDN’T YOU USED TO BE A MOVIE STAR?”
I
T WAS A HUMILIATING MOMENT FOR THE ACTOR AND ONE THAT IS MIRRORED IN
THE WRESTLER
WHEN
T
HE
R
AM IS MORTIFIED TO BE RECOGNIZED BY A WRESTLING FAN WHEN WORKING BEHIND THE DELI MEATS SECTION OF A
N
EW
J
ERSEY SUPERMARKET.
T
HAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT SCENE FOR
M
ICKEY IN THE MOVIE BECAUSE IT BROUGHT OUT MUCH OF HIS OWN SHAME AT HOW FAR HE HAD FALLEN IN HIS OWN LIFE.