Sunday, 18 January 2009

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Mickey Rourke: I lived in a state of shame

Actor blames himself for years in movie wilderness

Mickey Rourke won a Golden Globe for The Wrestler and is hotly tipped for an Oscar

Mickey Rourke says he felt ashamed with himself when his movie career stalled in the 1990s.

The actor saw his A-list status disappear and film offers dry up after he took a break to try his hand at boxing.

And he's still struggling with his guilt.

‘When you used to be a somebody and you aren’t anybody any more, you live in what my doctor calls a state of shame,’ Mickey says.

‘It’s when you had a career, then you mess up and you don’t have a career any more – and it’s all your fault.

‘Hollywood is a very unforgiving place. And I was in LA, where you're reminded every day of it. You'll be buying cigarettes and there will be a line of people and some jerk is going: "Hey, didn't you used to be in the movies? What happened?"'

Mickey, 52, who has just won a Golden Globe for The Wrestler, says he’s now savouring his comeback.

‘Before I got to the top of the mountain I jumped off head first,’ he tells The Sun. ‘I had a lot of lessons to learn the hard way.

'I thought I’d get back in after a year or 2, but the struggle to come back has been longer than 15 years.

‘My grandmother always said: “God has a plan for all of us.” I should have went along with his, not mine. My plan sucked.’