Mickey Rourke's wrestling redemption

Jan 7, 2009, 9:40 GMT

01/05/2009 - Mickey Rourke - "The Wrestler" London Premiere - Arrivals - Vue West End - London, UK © Solarpix / PR Photos

Mickey Rourke thought his career was over.

The 56-year-old 'Nine 1/2 Weeks' actor believed his acting career was finished, before landing the role of an ageing grappler in new movie 'The Wrestler'.

Now he has been nominated for a Golden Globe and is one of the favourites for a Best Actor Oscar nod for his role as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, and he can't believe the comeback he has made after 15 years in the wilderness.

The twice-divorced actor said: "Randy has been in the twilight of his career for several years. He thinks he has one more game in him - one more shot. He wants to come back again.

"I know what that feels like. Randy was somebody 20 years ago and so was Mickey Rourke. When you used to be a somebody and you aren't anybody anymore, you live in what my doctor calls a state of shame. Hollywood is a very unforgiving place, but I took a nosedive all by myself, no one pushed me."

Mickey - who was one of the biggest stars of the 80s before his wild partying and difficult behaviour made him a Hollywood outcast - accepts he only has himself to blame for his enormous fall from grace.

He added to Britain's The Sun newspaper: "I was on the bench for 13 years. Time goes by and you start to think, 'Man, is it really over like everyone says it is?' I would be buying cigarettes and some jerk would say to me, 'Hey, didn't you used to be in the movies?'

"Before I got to the top of the mountain I jumped off headfirst. I had a lot of lessons to learn the hard way. I thought I would get back in after a year or two but the struggle to come back has been over 15 years."