Every day someone would say, ‘weren’t you in the movies?’
By SIMON ROTHSTEIN
FOR the best part of 20 years MICKEY ROURKE has been a washed-up has-been — an alphabet away from the Hollywood A-lister he used to be.
Then along came a no-budget indie flick about professional wrestling, now Mickey is a movie star again and has Oscar hopes.
And not just any star, but the one he promised to be in the Eighties when he was making such great movies as Angel Heart and Nine 1/2 Weeks — before bad behaviour and a career-break to try and become a boxer all but ruined his career.
His portrayal of Randy “The Ram” Robinson in The Wrestler has seen Mickey nominated for a Golden Globe and installed as the bookies’ second favourite for the Best Actor Oscar.