MISC:- His real name is Philip Andre Rourke Jr.
- He played in more than 45 movies, mostly as a leading role.
- He has Irish and French descent.
- His father was an amateur body builder.
- His stepfather was a Miami Beach police officer.
- He has a brother and a sister and 5 stepbrothers.
- He is a practicing Roman Catholic.
- He has an Irish Republican Army symbol tattoo.
BOXING:
- At 12, Rourke won his first boxing match as Andre Rourke.
- He trained at the famous 5th Street Gym where Muhammad Ali began his career.
- In 1969, Rourke sparred with World Welterweight Champion Luis Rodríguez.
- In 1971, he got hurt during a boxing match and temporarily retired from boxing.
ACTING:- His started acting in the play Deathwatch directed by a friend.
- He borrowed $400 from his sister and he went to NYC to take private lessons with an acting teacher from the Actors Studio, Sandra Seacat.
- His first role was a small part in 1941 (by Steven Spielberg).
- He became famous and a "sex symbol" thanks to the movie 9½ Weeks.
- His work is mostly seen as controversial in the US, but has a great success with the French audience.
- He performed on the Never Let Me Down album with David Bowie.
- Rourke is known to be a "nightmare to work with".
- He turned down many important roles: Bruce Willis' part in Pulp Fiction, Eliot Ness in The Untouchables, Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop, Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, Tom Cruise's role in Rain Man, Christopher Lambert's part in Highlander and a part in Platoon.
- In 1991, he went back to boxing, and suffered many injuries which are responsible for his physical change and he underwent many reconstructive surgeries, leaving him "almost unrecognizable".
- Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have declared to be fans of his work.
- He was nominated but lost the Oscar to Sean Penn in 2008, with his leading role in the Wrestler.
- He has written 3 movies: Homeboy, The Last Ride and Bullet.
RELATIONSHIPS:- He dated several celebrities, including Terry Farrell and Sasha Volkova.
- He has been married twice, to Debra Feuer and Carré Otis.
- His 1st marriage ended in 1989 reportedly because of the making of the film 9½ Weeks.
DOGS:
- He is a famous pet lover, particularly fond of small-breed dogs, and said that Loki, his chihuahua-terrier, was the "love of his life".
- He fights for animal rights and supports the PETA, doing campaigns for them-
- Rourke declared at his Golden Globe speech in 2009: "I'd like to thank all my dogs. The ones that are here, the ones that aren't here anymore because sometimes when a man's alone, that's all you got is your dog. And they've meant the world to me."
- He has had as many as 7 dogs at once.
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