Mickey Rourke biography: 13 things about Irish-Scottish actor, boxer

Philip Andre “Mickey” Rourke Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer. He is of Irish and Scottish descent.

As a professional boxer, Rourke competed from 1991 to 1994 with 6 wins, 0 loss and 2 draws. Here are 13 more facts about him:

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1. He was born in Schenectady, New York, United States to an Irish father named Philip Andre Rourke and a Scottish mother named Annette Cameron Rourke. His parents divorced when he was young.
2. He competed as an amateur boxer from 1964 to 1973 under the name Phil Rourke with a record of 27 wins and 3 losses. In 1967, he won his first boxing match, competing in the 51kg category. He defeated Steve Powell via unanimous decisio when he made his professional boxing debut on May 23, 1991 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He and Don Johnson played Harley Davidson and Marlboro, respectively, in “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man,” which was released on August 23, 1991.
3. When his mother married a police officer named Eugene Addis, he moved with them to South Florida, Florida, USA. He had a small acting role in the school play “The Serpent,” which was directed by Jay W. Jensen, while he was a senior at Miami Beach Senior High School in Miami Beach, Florida in 1971. In the same year, he graduated from high school and suffered a concussion in a boxing match in a Golden Gloves event in Florida.
4. He made his film debut when he played Private Reece in “1941,” which was released in the U.S. on December 14, 1979. It was directed by Steven Spielberg. He made his television debut appearing three TV films in 1980 namely “City in Fear,” “Act of Love” and “Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case.”
5. In 1981, he married Debra Feuer. They met on the set of “Hardcase,” which hit theaters in the same year. They co-starred in “Homeboy,” which was released in 1988, and divorced in 1989. In October 2011, HarperCollins published “Beauty, Disrupted: A Memoir,” an autobiography detailing her married to him. She co-wrote it with Hugo Schwyzer.
6. He provided the mid-song rap on “Shining Star (Makin’ My Love),”  a song on David Bowie‘s 17th album “Never Let Me Down,” which was released on April 20, 1987. He starred in three movies in 1987 namely “Angel Heart,” “A Prayer for the Dying” and “Barfly.”
7. He co-starred with Carre Otis in “Wild Orchid,” which hit theaters in 1989. They made headlines due to a rumor claiming that they filmed an unsimulated sex scene in the movie. They got married on June 26, 1992. He was accused of slapping and kicking her on July 18, 1994 and was charged with spousal batter on August 15, 1994 but she refused to testify so charges were dismissed on December 12, 1994. They eventually reconciled and co-starred in “Exit in Red,” which was released in 1996 in Germany, Poland and Sweden. They divorced in December 1998.
8. He starred opposite Helena Bonham Carter in “Francesco,” which was released in Italy in 1989. He said he donated most of his £1.5 million earnings from the film to support Joe Doherty, an Irish former volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, in his campaign for political asylum in the U.S.
9. Under the name Eddie Cook, he wrote the screenplay of the films “Homeboy,” “F.T.W.” and “Bullet,” which were released in 1988, 1994 and 1996, respectively.
10. He played Marv in the film adaptation of Frank Miller’s novel “Sin City,” which hit theaters in 2005. For this role, he was named Best International Actor by the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2006. He also played Darrius Sayle in the film adaptation of the novel “Stormbreaker,” which hit theaters in the U.S. in 2006. He spent $5,400 to have his dog named Loki flown to England while he was on the set of the film. The dog died at the age of 18 in his arms on February 16, 2009.
11. He starred opposite Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood in “The Wrestler,” which won the Golden Lion Award at the 65th Venice International Film Festival in 2008. He won several Best Actor awards from his performance in the film including those from Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Film Awards in 2009. In the same year, he earned his first Academy Awards nomination for his performance in the film.
12. He reprised his role as Marv in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” which hit theaters in the U.S. on August 22, 2014. On November 28, 2014, he briefly returned to boxing in an exhibition match in Moscow, Russia where he knocked out Elliot Seymour, who was born in 1985.
13. He was 68 years old when he competed in “The Masked Singer” Season 4 as Gremlin. In episode 2, which aired on Fox on September 30, 2020, he was eliminated after unmasking himself due to his unconformity with the costume. This made him the first celebrity to quit in the middle of the competition.