Mickey Rourke overcomes addiction to drugs and alcohol in holy manner
Published: December 18, 2020
Mickey Rourke was one of the most desired men in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a handsome actor sought after not only by women, but by Hollywood’s top producers, directors and the like as well. He shot to fame starring opposite Kim Bassinger in the mid-1980s film ’9 1/2 Weeks’ and proceeded to grace the screens in movies like ‘Year of the Dragon’ and ‘Angel Heart’.
Soon after finding success on the screen he turned his back on the acting world and began a short professional boxing career. Although successful for a while, Rourke returned to acting in the 1990s. After several minor roles, he again turned his back on acting after ruining his established career by having a bad reputation for his alcohol and drug habits. His major career comeback occured in 2005, when he landed the role of Marv in ‘Sin City’.
During his time away from the limelight, Rourke went through profound changes. Not only his appearance had been altered, but also his outlook on life.
Consumed by an addiction to drugs and alcohol and to fighting, which he blames he violent step father for, Rourke says what ended up saving his life and removing him from his downward spiral was a priest. He was reportedly on the verge of killing himself, he says, before he turned to the Catholic Church for help.
“One day I looked in the mirror and I saw myself the way others saw me. I saw the armour and I scared the f**k out of myself,” he says.
“I did see a priest for a while, a great one who stopped me from blowing my brains out. We’d go in the basement, he’d pour me a glass of wine, we’d smoke cigarettes, and then we’d pray. But I needed a shrink too, so I forced myself to go. I had to learn not to let people push my buttons, find out what was triggering all this rage, and stop throwing things away. I’ve barely missed a therapy session in over a decade, and that takes willpower.”
Click to find out more about Mickey Rourke and plastic surgery, which he needed to repair his face after his days as a boxer.
Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mickey_Rourke_1_(2009).jpg, originally posted on Flickr by nicogenin.
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