It would be hard for me to love Mickey Rourke more than I already do, because he’s like your awesomely inappropriate uncle. Only everyone secretly loves him because the inappropriate things he says are usually true, and because beneath his clay-faced exterior, he has a heart of gold, as proven by his love of tiny dogs, cancer kids, and hookers. He recently made such films as 13, about competitive Russian roulette, opposite 50 Cent and Jason Statham; and Passion Play, where he played a broken-down old trumpet player trying to protect a sideshow attraction with angel wings played by Megan Fox from gangster Bill Murray. Combine terrible movies with awesome candidness, and you get this conversation, which Rourke recently had with NY Magazine at the Scre4m premiere:
Let’s start with horror movies: You a fan?
Depends.On what?
If there’s nothing else to watch. I came here to see Harvey. I don’t know nothing about the movie.What about 50 Cent? He’s hosting.
I haven’t seen him.You guys are in a movie together, right?
A really bad movie, yeah.What?! Is it out?
No, it’s so bad it can’t get out.Tell me why you made it.
For the money.But you think the movie’s bad.
Terrible.Why?
You have to watch it.What about your movie with Megan Fox and Bill Murray?
Terrible. Another terrible movie. But, you know, in your career and all the movies you make, you’re going to make dozens of terrible ones.You called Megan Fox, like, one of the best actresses of all time.
That I worked with [smirk].That movie’s getting limited release.
That’s because it’s not very good.I know a good movie we can talk about: your rugby movie.
That’ll be a great movie. We start shooting February.
Call it sad if you want, but honesty is revolutionary in the entertainment business, and Mickey Rourke is a patriot. Luckily he gets away with it because he’s a veteran, award-winning actor. He has what I like to call “F*ck-You Gravitas.”
