Cliff Notes – The ‘mindless’ film that saw Celebrity Big Brother star Mickey Rourke exiled from Hollywood
- Mickey Rourke, once a leading man in Hollywood, faced a career downturn following the box office flop of "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man," which grossed only $7 million against a $23 million budget.
- Recently, Rourke was removed from Celebrity Big Brother due to inappropriate behaviour, resulting in a loss of his £500,000 fee and further tarnishing his public image.
- After a tumultuous career, Rourke made a notable comeback with roles in films like "Sin City" and "The Wrestler," but his recent actions may jeopardise his resurgence in the industry.
The ‘mindless’ film that saw Celebrity Big Brother star Mickey Rourke exiled from Hollywood
Mickey Rourke was a leading man in Hollywood before a box office flop changed his career (Pictures: Rex/ ITV)
Across his film career spanning more than 40 years, Mickey Rourke has gone from a leading man to starring in box office flops and then staging a dramatic comeback.
Last week the 72-year-old Hollywood star was booted from the Celebrity Big Brother house following a series of incidents involving inappropriate language and unacceptable behaviour.
His actions have meant he will miss out on his reported £500,000 fee for appearing on the ITV reality show.
The highest-paid housemate, Mickey’s star power was set to introduce him to a new generation of fans, but instead, he’s been slammed by many.
Across his career, he’s found himself in hot water several times.
Here’s a wrap of Mickey Rourke’s career, his break from Hollywood and pivot to boxing, before his eventual return to the limelight.
What is Mickey Rourke best known for?
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Born Philip Andre Rourke Jr., Mickey first began appearing in TV films in the 1970s before making his feature film debut with a minor role in Steven Spielberg’s 1941 in 1979.
Mickey Rourke rose to fame as a leading man in a string of movies in the 1980s (Picture: Universal/ Kobal/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
Two years later he received significant attention appearing as an arsonist in Body Heat despite his limited screen time.
In 1982 Mickey then received further acclaim for playing compulsive gambler ‘Boogie’ Sheftell in Barry Levinson’s Diner.
He then went on to star in Rumble Fish (directed by Francis Ford Coppola) and in The Pope of Greenwich Village alongside Daryl Hannah and Eric Roberts.
Subsequent starring roles in the 1980s came in 9 ½ Weeks, Barfly and Year of the Dragon.
He starred alongside Claudia Cron in 1982’s Diner (Picture: Everett/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
Despite courting controversy for a sex scene involving the Cosby Show’s Lisa Bonet, his 1987 movie Angel Heart was also nominated for several awards.
He also wrote and starred in the boxing movie Homeboy, but a series of box office bombs then followed.
The critically panned Wild Orchid saw him nominated for an infamous Razzie award.
But it was 1991’s Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man that saw the praise he’d previously receive recede.
What movie saw his star power fade?
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man saw Mickey star as Harley Davidson, a biker whose best friend, Marlboro, was played by Don Johnson.
Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man was a box office flop (Picture: Moviestore/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
It also starred Chelsea Field, Tom Sizemore, Daniel Baldwin, Giancarlo Esposito, and Vanessa Williams, however only made $7 million against a budget of around $23 million.
In its review the Los Angeles Times called it a ‘mindless cobbling from countless buddy movies’ while Variety said it was a ‘dopey almost poignantly bad actioner’.
Time Out London called it ‘utter rubbish and badly dressed at that’.
Mickey once brutally said of the project: ‘That piece of s***fell in my plate, and they offered me a boatload of money.
He starred in the 1991 movie with Don Johnson (Picture: Hartley/ Krisjair/ Laredo/ Kobal/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
‘And like a wh*** I took the $4 million or whatever it was and bought a big f***ing Elvis Presley house that I couldn’t afford. And I remember doing this film and hating myself every day.’
He also once said he felt like a ‘sellout’ when choosing certain projects.
Around the same time, directors and other actors said working with Mickey was a ‘nightmare’.
It also didn’t help that he turned down parts in The Silence of the Lambs, The Untouchables and Pulp Fiction and forgot to call Dustin Hoffman back about a role in Rain Man that eventually went to Tom Cruise.
When did he become a boxer?
As a teenager, Mickey had initially decided to pursue a career as a boxer before he was introduced to acting.
He pursued a boxing career in the 1990s (Picture: Getty Images)
Age 12 he won his first match and went on to have other success’ but was told by doctors to take a year off after suffering a string of concussions.
But in 1991 he decided to turn his interest back to the sport because he felt he was ‘self-destructing and had no respect [for himself] as an actor’.
He was undefeated in eight fights and competed around the world, but also faced several injuries including broken nose, toe, and ribs, a split tongue, and a compressed cheekbone, as well as short-term memory loss.
His injuries were also so severe he eventually required reconstructive surgery on his face.
What happened during his comeback and what’s he starred in since?
After stepping away from the cameras, Mickey struggled to regain the previous attention and acclaim.
His screen comeback came in Sin City in 2005 (Picture: Aldamisa Entertainment/ Kobal/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
Although he had small supporting roles in several films in the 1990s, he once described that time in his career as struggling with feelings of being a ‘has-been’.
He once said he ‘lost everything’, telling The Guardian: ‘The wife, the house, my friends, my name in the business. I was paying $500 a month for an apartment with my dogs. Nobody really knew how broke I was.
‘A friend used to give me a couple of hundreds of dollars a month to buy something to eat. And I’d be calling up my ex-wife and crying like a baby and trying to get her back. I was desperate. And I was all alone. And this went on for years, for years.’
He was then nominated for a string of awards in 2008’s The Wrestler (Picture:Saturn/ Kobal/ Rex/ Shutterstock)
He was kicked off Celebrity Big Brother a few days ago (Picture: Rex/ Shutterstock for Big Brother)
However, in 2005 his role in Sin City marked a turning point and he was again back in public favour.
Other notable films he appeared in that followed included Domino, The Informers and The Wrestler, which saw him nominated for a Bafta, Golden Globe and Oscar.
In the years since he’s appeared in Iron Man 2, Immortals and The Palace, as well as on The Masked Singer in 2020.
Although Celebrity Big Brother could have marked the next step in his return to favour, it’s instead potentially left his careers in tatters for a second time.