Mickey Rourke: I Have Respect for Very Few Actors

Since “The Wrestler” came out more than a year ago and went on to get all critics and audiences singing its praise, Mickey Rourke’s career went upwards. Indeed, his comeback remains one of the most spectacular in the history of cinema but, even so, that’s not to say that he’s changed too much during this time, as a recent interview with Parade, cited by OMG Yahoo!, reveals.

Rourke has never been the one to keep quiet, even when he knows he should, so he’s not letting fame change that about him. Despite being one of the hottest commodities in cinema right now, the actor openly admits he enjoys the perks of his situation – and who wouldn’t, one may ask. Being part of the recently released “Iron Man 2” is also an excellent thing, with Rourke admitting that he’d rather do big budget movies than indie films, because they tend to steer into directions he’s not necessarily fond of.

“I’d just as soon do a big-budget movie as an independent one. Sometimes the independent movies can get a little too arty-farty. You watch the IFC Channel and you want to throw up. You don’t always have to take things so serious, you know. I’d just come off working on ‘The Wrestler,’ which had no budget and I didn’t even have a chair to sit in. I remember the first day on ‘Iron Man 2’ I said, ‘Can I have a cappuccino,’ and they said, ‘Which kind would you like?’” Rourke says with almost childish glee.

Still, he draws a line between a big-budget production and films that simply fare well at the box office. As far as he’s concerned, many of today’s stars shouldn’t even call themselves actors because they’re really not worthy of the name. Making movies is a business, that much is clear, Rourke says, but he doesn’t have to agree with what is going on with the industry, even if he’s not as vocal about it as he once used to be.

“You can be less than mediocre and be a movie star. I have respect for very few actors and actresses. Some of them get a lot of acclaim but just because their movie made $200 million at the box office; they still suck. I got no respect for them and I used to let them know it. It was important for me to put that aside and go, ‘You know what? This is a business.’ So, now, I just keep my mouth shut and pet my Chihuahuas,” the actor says.