Mickey Rourke (Film Stars) - Softcover

Keri Walsh

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184457430X ISBN 13: 9781844574308

Publisher: British Film Institute, 2014

Synopsis

Rebel', 'oddball' and 'Uncle Mickey': just three of the many conflicting labels Mickey Rourke has 'earned' over his remarkable career in the limelight. His public persona, moving from actor to boxer to actor, is not easy to define: making it all the more intriguing, and making Keri Walsh's study an unique and fascinating addition to the 'Film Stars' series.

About this title

About the Author

Keri Walsh is Assistant Professor of English at Fordham University in New York.

From the Back Cover

A Method Actor who has both inhabited and transformed the tradition of Brando, Clift, and Dean, Mickey Rourke came out of the Actors Studio in New York in the 1970s and rose to prominence in the early 1980s. In his early roles in Body Heat, Diner, and Rumble Fish, he was a scene-stealer and matinee idol who developed into one of the most interesting and talented stars of the 1980s. But Rourke's reputation as a serious actor was tarnished when he moved into softcore roles in films like 9 1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid. The resulting damage to his image sent him spiraling out of Hollywood and into a life of professional boxing. After reviving his career at the turn of the twenty-first century with a series of small but striking character parts, most notably in Frank Miller's Sin City, Rourke became the muse of young directors like Darren Aronofsky and Robert Rodriguez who valued his self-destructive edge, his conflicted masculinity, and his anti-industry cool. His masterful performance in The Wrestler (2008) revealed Rourke as a tragic actor of the highest caliber who had brokered at tenuous peace with Hollywood at last.

Edition details

• Publisher: British Film Institute
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184457430X
• ISBN 13: 9781844574308
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144