Niko Tavernise/Fox Searchlight PicturesYa really don't want to get on Mickey Rourke's bad side. Just have a look at the work he does in The Wrestler and you'll know why.
The 52-year-old actor actually did all his own stunt work as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a washed-up, steroid-pumped champion wrestler from the 1980s. Even though he's beaten down—physically and emotionally—he continues to fight in the ring for extra cash.
And that's actually Rourke getting body-slammed, flipping over the ropes and being pummeled by his opponents.
Director Darren Aronofsky admits he was "terrified" of things going terribly wrong.
"We were very careful when we were shooting," Aronofsky told me last night at the movie's L.A. premiere. "We actually didn't have that much time to shoot because we were shooting at live promotions with live wrestlers with live fans, so you'd get one or two takes and you'd be done."
Fortunately Rourke went uninjured.
Rourke has already scooped up a Golden Globe nomination for his work and is likely to get a nom come Oscar time. "Just look in his eyes," Aronofsky said, explaining why he was willing to take a chance on one of Hollywood's most infamous bad boys. "When you meet him you see all this armor, but then you look into his eyes and he's as soft as jelly."
But getting a look into his eyes isn't always easy. "If I have a great accomplishment, it's that Mickey Rourke doesn't wear one pair of sunglasses in the entire film," Aronofsky said with a laugh. "Believe me, every day he came in with a new pair and tried to put them on."