Mickey Rourke, up for a Best Actor Oscar that he richly deserves at this year’s 2009 Academy Awards ceremony, is not your usual, play-it-safe kind of actor. (To enter our Oscar prediction contest, go here!) Just today, the Huffington Post put a up a slide show of recent promotional appearances Rourke has made in the last month during his run for gold with Darren Aronofsky’s stellar film “The Wrestler.” They are calling it a Hand-In-Pants Retrospective. I think you’ll enjoy it; here’s a taste:
So, the question is: Will Oscar voters want to give this guy a chance to get up onstage on February 22 during an internationally televised event and be himself?
Sunday night at the BAFTA Awards, Rourke won Best Actor and dropped the f-bomb repeatedly as nonchalantly as ever. The British crowd didn’t seem to mind. Here’s his speech:
[youtube ecQ-8HtyVaw nolink]
And after his win at the Golden Globes, he looked as rough as ever, thanking both his dogs and his director. When the camera cut to Aronofsky, he gave Rourke an aptly timed middle finger which the network was not quick enough to edit. (Don’t think they could have CGI-ed over it fast enough– maybe cut to Brad Pitt instead?) Here’s that infamous Golden Globe moment:
[youtube UM7AtZK_Ajk nolink]
Finally, before the SAG Awards (which he lost out to Sean Penn for), Rourke let slip to an interviewer that he would be wrestling at the upcoming WWE Wrestlemania event. A publicist has since retracted the comment, but you know as soon as the Oscars are over, Rourke will probably buff up and go right back in the ring. How surreal is that? Here he is not heeding the advice of a publicist:
[youtube 1GDeGpVawrg nolink]
So, as Oscar night rolls around, all I can say is, “Let the best man win!” In my opnion, that’s Rourke, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I can’t wait to see what he’s going to say.
(For the record, I predict Penn will win.)
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of Scene-Stealers.com, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and contributor for The Pitch. He’s former President of the KCFCC, and drummer for The Dead Girls, Ultimate Fakebook, and Truck Stop Love . He is also the 2013 Air Guitar World Champion Mean Melin, ranked 4th best of all-time. Eric goes to 11. Follow him at:
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I hope Rourke wins as well. Yet, I think Penn possibly deserves the win as much as Rourke does. He’s been one of the most entertaining celebrities to watch for a while and I really can’t find anything to not like about the guy!
I hope Rourke wins as well. Yet, I think Penn possibly deserves the win as much as Rourke does. He’s been one of the most entertaining celebrities to watch for a while and I really can’t find anything to not like about the guy!
Due to the history I would like to say that my bet is Mickey Rourke. Since Sean Penn won an Oscar for Mystic River so recently it would be more fair to acknowledge one of the better ‘underdog’ actors of our time for ‘THE’ most outstanding role. Sean Penn is fantastic in ‘Milk’ but, still it shouldn’t only require a Sean Penn in a odd personality to give him an Oscar, we now he’s terrific and he’ll probably win but I still want to believe in Rourke.
Due to the history I would like to say that my bet is Mickey Rourke. Since Sean Penn won an Oscar for Mystic River so recently it would be more fair to acknowledge one of the better ‘underdog’ actors of our time for ‘THE’ most outstanding role. Sean Penn is fantastic in ‘Milk’ but, still it shouldn’t only require a Sean Penn in a odd personality to give him an Oscar, we now he’s terrific and he’ll probably win but I still want to believe in Rourke.
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