We need to talk about Mickey Rourke. Not the leather-clad, chihuahua-toting, late-career wildcard who occasionally turns up in sunglasses indoors. No, we’re talking about peak Rourke, the man who dove into The Wrestler like it was an Olympic sport and came out the other side sounding like he survived actual combat.

Before we get into the full mental collapse he suffered, on a couch, in New York, while missing his own wrap party, let’s appreciate just how hard Rourke went for this role. This wasn’t your usual actor puts on 10 pounds and gets a spray tan situation. This was gained 40–50 pounds, worked 16-hour days, did my own stunts, and slept like a raccoon in a thunderstorm levels of commitment.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler | Credits: Searchlight Pictures

“I wasn’t that big a fan of it,” Rourke admitted, casually body-slamming a movie that got him an Oscar nomination.