Mickey Rourke has been quite the talked-about man recently as he headed back into the Hollywood limelight as a front-running Oscar “Leading Actor” nominee for his acting portrayal in The Wrestler. Rourke gained acclaim from his roles as a leading man in such successful films as The Pope of Greenwich Village (with Daryl Hannah), Nine 1/2 Weeks (with Kim Bassinger), Angel Heart (Lisa Bonet) and Sin City (with Jessica Alba). But sadly just days before heading to the 81st Academy Awards in February, Rourke lost his real life Chihuahua co-star, Loki. Everyone was hoping he would bring her as his pint-size, adorable date to the Oscars, as he said he would, “Loki is my date for everywhere.” Loki was 18-years-old; that’s 126 in dog years, and lived a long and eventful life.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that Rourke will surely miss her, he cherished Loki and looked to her throughout his changing careers as a constant companion and his rock. Rourke has four other canines that he adores as well; a black Pug named La Negra, a fluffy white Samoyed named Ruby Baby, and two other Chihuahuas named Taco Bell and Jaws.
Rourke never hesitated to speak about Loki. When asked about Loki’s name and how she won the destined part as his sidekick, Rourke replied, “I was just looking at a book one day, a picture book, and I saw the name and I thought it suited her, you know she had six other brothers and sisters and I just fell in love with her when she came out. She was the runt. She had these little white mittens and we’ve been together ever since.” The friendship between the actor and his pup is a heartfelt Hollywood story, as Rourke is famed as an avid dog enthusiast.
After winning the Golden Globe for best actor, Rourke thanked all his dogs “the ones who are here and the ones who aren’t here anymore,” and said “sometimes when a man’s alone, all you got is your dog.” Hollywood rumor has is that Rourke is considering adopting another dog, and naming it Oscar in honor of his recent nomination. Rourke has spent much of his life honoring and respecting canines, he shared a poignant moment with his audiences and fans everywhere, “Loki is deeply missed but with me in spirit. I feel very blessed that she fell asleep peacefully in my arms.”
Loki sat by Rourke’s side throughout much of his roller coaster career moves. Before becoming an actor, Rourke was originally trained as a boxer and seemed to show a great deal of promise, passionately attributing to his stellar performance as a fighter in The Wrestler. But somewhere along the line his fire for acting was ignited and he moved to New York City for lessons. His first official film role was in Steven Spielberg’s 1941, although it was the steaming movie Body Heat that really brought him his first taste of international recognition. For several years he acted mostly in TV movies. But after the 1986 release of Nine 1/2 Weeks, Rourke ascended to American sex icon status, ogled from afar by millions of women for his rebellious demeanor and good looks.
In the late 1980s, Rourke dabbled in music, performing with David Bowie on his album Never Let Me Down, and then wrote his own screenplay, Homeboy, which foreshadowed his upcoming pro-fighting career with its boxer-tale plotline. After this, his career experienced many ups and downs, with box-office flops like Harley Davidson The Marlboro Man (which Rourke later determined was a creative sell-out on his part) and critic favorites like Wild Orchid (which earned him a Razzie Award nomination along with the film Desperate Hours).
From this point on the lows overshadowed the highs, with Rourke apparently turning down several high-profile roles and eventually leaving the acting scene altogether. With a rediscovered love for boxing, he left the silver screen for the ropes.
Although he was undefeated in eight fights, with six wins and two draws (four of his wins being knockouts) and appeared on the cover of World Boxing Magazine in June 1994, the boxing world never really took notice. The world title fight he sought was a goal that constantly eluded him. This didn’t negate or protect him from various injuries, including a broken nose, ribs, toe, cheekbones, and a split tongue. Several of these injuries required cosmetic surgery, which Rourke expressed he was never completely satisfied with.
This was the roughest time or Rourke, and he recently said, “The dogs were there when no one else was there.” He attributes his recovery to the love he had for his dogs.
In 1995 Rourke did a turnabout and decided to return to acting and retire from boxing. After his revisit he accepted some leading roles in several films and even wrote a few of his own under the name of ‘Sir’ Eddie Cook. Beginning in 2000 his career was scattered, with TV movies, films, and music videos. Then he landed a lead role in the unexpectedly successful film Sin City as Marv, and his career revival was in motion.
Rourke’s Oscar “Leading Actor” nomination for his performance in The Wrestler, is a story about a professional wrestler named Randy “The Ram” Robinson, who is basically washed-up but still lamenting for final glory. Funnily enough, “The Ram” experienced a comeback mirroring Rourke’s own. It was a new breakout role for him, giving the American public a chance to reacquaint themselves with the talented actor. Rourke prepared for the part by training under a former WWE wrestler, and delivered such a powerful punch of a performance that everyone is wondering what’s next.
So if history does repeat itself, we can certainly expect more surprises from Mickey Rourke in the future. Perhaps even adopting a new dog to join his brood, but that really wouldn’t be a big surprise, now would it?
By Wendy Diamond
Outdoor Photography By Steve Fenn/ABC