When Mickey Rourke was still a young, up-and-coming actor, he had loads of potential.
The world was his oyster, and it looked like his future was nothing but bright and promising.
He was one of those actors that could have gone on to become one of the biggest stars
of his time, but as he started to grow a bit older, his life began to go off the rails,
leading him to eventually take a step out back from the limelight.
His once-flourishing career took a nosedive, and his reputation began to fall apart.
Although he eventually made a comeback of sorts after appearing in Darren Aronovsky's
The Wrestler in 2008, his acting career has never fully recovered.
In fact, it’s looking a lot more like Rourke’s career is all but over.
Rourke may have been able to save his career, however, if it weren't for the fact that he's
made quite a few enemies in Hollywood.
Folks that Rourke has insulted, disparaged, and alienated include stars like Robert DeNiro,
Tom Cruise, and Amber Heard.
And really, he’s been pretty outspoken about dissing the entire industry while making just
about everyone not want to work with him.
Keep watching to learn how Mickey Rourke's acting career self-destructed and what he
did to end up in that situation.
Mickey’s Problem With Tom Cruise
Rourke was recently interviewed on Piers Morgan Uncensored and was asked what he thought about
Tom Cruise's billion-dollar box office success with his latest film Top Gun: Maverick.
Instead of congratulating a fellow actor on his success, he went off on a long hate-filled
tirade running Cruise's name through the mud.
"The guy's been doing the same effing part for 35 years" Rourke said, before adding that
he has no 'respect for that'.
When elaborating on his hot take, Rourke explained that he has always looked up to and modeled
his own work after stars like Christopher Walken, Monty Clift, and Marlon Brando, who,
as he put it, stretched themselves as actors.
After Morgan asked him if he thought that Cruise was a good actor, Rourke replied by
doubling down and reiterating his stance that in his eyes, Cruise is completely irrelevant.
He Thinks Amber Heard Is A Gold Digger
In that same interview with Piers Morgan, the 57-year-old actor branded his friend Johnny
Depp's ex-wife as a gold digger.
Rourke told Morgan that he’s known Depp for many years, but that he’s never really
known him intimately.
That being said, Rourke expressed that he had once been in a situation where he was
blamed for something that he didn't do.
Not only did that situation cost him several movie roles, but he claims that it also tarnished
his reputation for several years.
Eventually, Rourke said that the truth came out, and he was cleared of wrongdoing.
But by that time, his career had already taken a beating.
He went on to say that his personal story is what makes him feel bad for somebody that
he sees as being ‘chopped down’ by a gold digger.
As you probably already know, Johnny Depp won his libel case against Amber Heard back
in June.
The “Pirates of the Caribbean” star says that he now ‘has his life back’ after
the jury ruled in his favor and awarded him $15 million.
Not to get too off-topic, but if you’re enjoying this video so far, take a moment
to show us a little support by giving it a like and subscribing to the Facts Verse channel.
Mickey Rourke Hates The Marvel Cinematic Universe
After appearing in 2008s The Wrestler, Rourke was cast as the villain Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash
in Iron Man 2.
While most stars would probably relish the opportunity to appear in such a big-budget
blockbuster feature, Rourke apparently hated every last minute of his experience.
Even years later, the actor continues to take jabs at Marvel.
His most recent remarks about the MCU came while he was praising Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit, which he apparently discovered while in quarantine during the early days
of the pandemic.
Rourke made a post on social media in which he stated that he much prefers the ‘real
acting’ seen on that television series over the ‘crap’ acting featured in Marvel films.
Rourke then praised Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay for being a very concentrated
actress who he thinks delivered a great performance in every episode of the series.
Mickey’s Beef With Robert DeNiro
In July of 2020, Rourke reignited his long-standing, one-sided public beef with actor Robert DeNiro
by threatening him in a scathing Instagram post.
The then 67-year-old posted a rather incendiary message along with a photo of DeNiro smoking
a cigarette.
Previously, the two actors appeared together in the 1987 neo-noir film Angel Heart.
In Rourke's post, he referred to DeNiro as a big effing crybaby while saying "that's
right I'm talking to you", making an apparent reference to DeNiro's famous line from Taxi
Driver.
Rourke went on to allege that he had been informed by a friend that Robert had called
him a liar in a recent newspaper interview.
He then went on to say that he was going to embarrass DeNiro "100% severely".
Mickey wrapped up the post by signing it with "Mickey Rourke, as God is my witness".
A year prior, Rourke told an Italian TV journalist that DeNiro had delivered poor performance
in Angel Heart.
When asked why he thought that, Rourke relayed a time during the production of that film
when DeNiro told him not to touch him during a scene that required contact.
Apparently, after that Mickey lost all respect for the veteran actor.
Mickey further alleged in that same interview that DeNiro once blocked him from getting
a role in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.
Although after that interview, DeNiro’s press rep, Stan Rosenfield, sent out a statement
debunking Rourke’s claim.
Mickey Rourke Thinks That “Most Actors Suck”
Mickey hardly ever minces his words.
When he thinks something, regardless of how it’s going to be received, he says it how
he sees it.
From his perspective, he thinks that Hollywood appears to reward an actor's box-office potential
more than their actual talent.
In an interview with Parade, he once said that there are very few actors and actresses
that he has any degree of respect for.
He went on to say that many stars get a lot of acclaim only because their films made lots
of money at the box office.
“They still suck.
I got no respect for them” Rourke candidly told the outlet.
Rourke added that he used to let actors know what he thought about them but eventually
decided to show a little restraint for the sake of his career.
Even so, he made it abundantly clear that his thoughts on the subject hadn't changed.
At the end of the day, he still believes that actors that find the most success in Hollywood
are the ones that suck up the most to the right people.
Rourke's beliefs are ones that he's held since the early days of his career.
In one recently resurfaced interview with the Los Angeles Times, Rourke offered very
similar opinions on his fellow actors.
Even then, he felt like mediocrity was rewarded in Hollywood much too often.
Still, in that interview, Rourke expressed respect for some of his contemporaries.
Among those that Rourke had a high appreciation for at the time included Al Pacino and Marlon
Brando.
Those two actors Rourke felt like were ones that never sold out.
He’s Notorious For Being Difficult To Work With
By most accounts, Mickey Rourke is an actor who is not very easy to work with.
Rourke has often been referred to a loose cannon while on set.
Director Alan Parker, who worked with Rourke on his film Angel Heart once said that working
with him was a nightmare.
He went on to tell People magazine that Mickey was very dangerous on set because you would
never know what he was going to do next.
Others that have worked with Rourke previously have stated that he was known for having a
short temper and that it was always his way or the highway.
If you ended up getting on his bad side, you were in for one nerve-wracking experience.
With so many top-notch actors vying for roles, it makes you wonder why a filmmaker would
choose to work with someone as volatile and universally disliked as Mickey.
By all accounts, Mickey's bad reputation is the main reason why his film career has all
but fizzled out.
Where there you have it.
Apparently, Mickey Rourke is one of the last people you’d ever want to be cast alongside.
Not only is he a pain in the rear to work with, but judging by things he’s said about
his former co-stars, he’s pretty much guaranteed to run your name through the dirt if you ever
do anything that remotely ticks him off.
You’ve heard what we have to say.
Now we’d love to hear from you.
Did you know that Mickey Rourke was such an opinionated jerk, and do you think that his
career will ever recover?
Let us know in the comments.
If you’ve enjoyed this video, take a moment to show us a little support by giving it a
like and subscribing to the Facts Verse channel.
Tap the bell to turn on notifications.
That way, you can keep up with all of our latest and upcoming content.
As always, thanks for watching.
We'll see you soon with more videos covering some of your favorite Hollywood stars, films,
and television shows.