Born:
September 16, 1952
in
Schenectady, New York
Best Known For:
Nine 1/2 Weeks and The Wrestler.
Early-life:
Philip Andre Rourke Jr was born in Schenectady, New York, on September 16, 1952 to Annette and Philip Sr. After his parents divorced and his mother remarried, Mickey was brought up in Florida. He took up boxing at an early age and won his first bout at the age of 12. Between 1964 and 1973, had an amateur boxing record of 27 wins and three defeats. After temporarily giving up boxing, Mickey landed a role in a play and got bitten by the acting bug. He borrowed $400 from his sister and went to New York, where he took private lessons with Actors Studio teacher Sandra Seacat.
Career:
After minor roles in Steven Spielberg's film 1941 (1979) and a number of TV movies, Rourke first made an impact as an actor in Body Heat (1981). He went on to star in Diner (1982), Rumble Fish (1983), Nine ½ Weeks (1986), Angel Heart (1987) and Wild Orchid (1989). After falling out of favour in Hollywood, he became a professional boxer in 1991at the age of 39 and retired undefeated after eight fights in 1995. He went back to acting but starred in a number of largely forgettable movies. He returned to the spotlight in 2008 when he won a Golden Globe for his role in The Wrestler. Since then, he has appeared in Iron Man 2 (2010) and The Expendables (2010).
Quote:
"Where I come from, being a hard man is being able to take a good beating and then get back up again and carry on fighting."
Trivia:
Rourke is a motorcycle enthusiast.