Though he emerged onto the film landscape loaded with talent and promise, actor and former amateur boxer Mickey Rourke squandered what could have been a long, prominent career, thanks to hubris and his combative nature. Rourke first made his presence known with a scene-stealing turn as an arsonist in the erotic noir, Body Heat (1981), before spending the next few years playing roles that would be looked back upon as the beginnings of his greatness. His performances in Diner (1982) and Rumble Fish (1983) were clear signs to some that the world was witnessing the emergence of another James Dean or even Robert De Niro. But by the time he starred opposite the latter in Angel Heart (1987), Rourke was well on his way to career obscurity and he had no one to blame but himself. Even as a struggling actor, Rourke ran afoul of many co-stars and directors, while not taking seriously the business side of making good in Hollywood, leading to often disastrous parts in films like Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) and Double Team (1997). But after coming to his senses particularly when he failed to rekindle his boxing career Rourke re-emerged in several small, but prominent turns, culminating in a full-fledged comeback with his acclaimed performances in Sin City (2005) and "The Wrestler" (2008).
Born on Sept. 16, 1956 in Schenectady, NY, Rourke was raised by his father, Philip, a country club caretaker and amateur bodybuilder, and his mother, Ann. In part because his father was abusive to him, his parents divorced when Rourke was six, leaving him and his brother, Joey, with their mother. A few years later, Ann moved the broken family to Miami Beach, FL, where Rourke came of age in Liberty City, a rough-and-tumble neighborhood where he quickly learned how to fight for survival. By the time he was 12. Rourke began learning how to box at the famed 5th Street Gym, where Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard trained. Though he also excelled at baseball and football, boxing was Rourkes first love, which led to an amateur career and participation in the Florida Golden Gloves tournament, though eventually he was forced to leave the sport after suffering two concussions. In between hanging out with friends halfway on their way to prison and graduating Miami Beach Senior High School, Rourke discovered acting by way of a small production of Jean Genets Deathwatch. Rourke later admitted to having no idea what he was doing, and once the production lowered its curtain for good, the young actor vowed to learn all he could about his new-found passion.
Once he caught the acting bug, Rourke moved to New York and studied with Sandra Seacat, then managed to find his way into the famed Actors Studio, where he learned method acting like his hero, Robert De Niro, with whom he would soon be compared. While living in a rundown hotel in Greenwich Village and taking a series of odd jobs pretzel vender, Good Humor man to make some money, Rourke was seen in several off-off-Broadway productions, including making his debut in a revival of Arthur Millers A View from the Bridge. Eventually, he made his way west to Los Angeles, where Rourke landed his first film roles in spectacular failures like 1941 (1979) and Heavens Gate (1980), as well as made appearances in three television movies, playing a murderer in "City in Fear" (ABC, 1980), a paraplegic who begs his brother to kill him in "Act of Love" (NBC, 1980) and a husband accused of assaulting his wife (Linda Hamilton) in "Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case" (CBS, 1980).
Rourke was working as a bouncer at a transvestite club when he auditioned for his breakout role, playing Teddy in the neo noir Body Heat (1981). Though the film centered on the sizzling relationship between William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, Rourke stole the show as an arsonist who shows an attorney (Hurt) how to get away with murder. He then attracted considerable attention as the gambling, debt-ridden hairdresser and lothario Boogie in "Diner" (1982), Barry Levinsons cult-favorite comedy about a group of young men in the 1950s including up-and-comers Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern and Kevin Bacon stumbling into adulthood while passing their time away at a local diner. Though Diner was credited with launching the young actors careers, Rourke was singled out by several critics as being the one to watch. Rourke continued his impressive streak playing the nameless Motorcycle Boy in Francis Ford Coppola's screen version of S.E. Hinton's "Rumble Fish" (1983). His performance was reminiscent of James Dean a tough, eccentric, but addled rebel whose fragility was clearly visible. Once again, Rourkes supporting performance stole the show from an otherwise excellent cast, which included Matt Dillon, Diane Lane and Nicolas Cage.
With his career on a fast upward trajectory, Rourke starred in Stuart Rosenbergs low-budget character-driven crime drama, "The Pope of Greenwich Village" (1984), playing a low-level Italian crook who runs afoul of a local mob boss (Burt Young) and the police after he and his dim-witted cousin (Eric Roberts) botch a safecracking job. Though not as revered as his prior efforts, Rourke was nonetheless effective in his first leading role. Rourke solidified his rough-edged, anti-hero persona in Michael Cimino's "Year of the Dragon" (1985), morphing from a sympathetic existentialist to violent nihilist in playing a rogue cop taking it upon himself to break the back of Chinatown drug cartels. He made considerable headlines for starring in Adrian Lyne's erotic, but campy 9
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