Ok, so if you’re a big fan of “The Wrestler” and or are greatly anticipating for when it hits your city (currently it’s in limited NY/L.A. release), you’ve probably already read all the stories about Darren Aronofksy and Mickey Rourke on this blog and tons of other places.
There’s definitely no bad blood between them, but both of them are candid. Rourke has essentially called Aronofsky a taskmaster onset and Aronofsky has hinted that he had to keep Rourke inline and focused. Again, you’ve read all that, but man this interview with the filmmaker and the L.A. Times is a perhaps way more revealing than most.
Aronosfky describes this working relationship as both a “battle” and a “collaboration” (check today’s earlier piece about music of the film and how Rourke got pissed because he didn’t get his way about the placement of a Guns N’ Roses song for more examples).
For one, Aronofsky says most of Rourke’s stories about their experiences together onset are an exaggeration. “Mickey’s a storyteller, if you haven’t figured that out,” he said — but the director also believes that “the ends justify the means” for all it took to get the performance from Rourke.
“I think the reality about Mickey is, he’s so talented, he can coast through a film and actually be pretty good, and he’s done that way too much,” said Aronofsky. “I just had to push him every day. I had to, honestly, get him out of bed and fight to keep him on set to do the work. But . . . there was no one more natural and more giving. Just getting him to the starting line was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my career.”
Rourke does seem difficult, but man, that’s kind of nuts (and no he doesn’t sound like he’s being figurative there either). Aronofsky had to fight every single day to make sure Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” character did not wear sunglasses in any scene.
“One thing Mickey does, he tries to protect himself from people looking into his eyes. You look into his eyes and he’s an open wound, there’s so much pain, there’s so much struggle, so much wisdom, love and soul, but he hides it. If there’s any accomplishment that’s my greatest accomplishment in this movie it’s the fact he never wears sunglasses in this film. I fought him every day about the sunglasses, because he wants to hide. I guarantee you, there aren’t many movies where he doesn’t wear sunglasses.”
Furthering the point. Read what Marisa Tomei had to say about Mickey in this /Film interview.
“He’s like a freaky teddy bear. He’s definitely an eccentric. I mean, I love eccentric people. I adore him. He’s very, very sensitive, he’s vulnerable, he’s funny, he’s street wise, he uses his sexuality, he uses his machismo, he, you know, he’s an artist. He’s an artist to the core.”
Sounds like he’s one in a million for better or worse. Our random rhetorical question for the day: Is this truly Mickey Rourke’s comeback? Or will he follow in the steps of John Travolta, Pam Grier and Robert Forster, and complete one amazing performance with one incredible director and then go back to B-Movie crap (like most of those actors have). Or will he be like Bill Murray and continue to ascend after his comeback? Something to think about.
