The famous American actor Mickey Rourke will celebrate his 69^th birthday on September 6. In the 1980s his name was known all over the world. He became one of the brightest stars in Hollywood after the films “Rumble Fish” and “Nine and a Half Weeks”. And today, few remember him, and even the most devoted fans hardly recognize him – after numerous plastic surgeries, the actor has changed beyond recognition.

In fact, his name was the same as his father’s – Philip André. And “Mickey” was his childhood nickname. He joked that his mother called him that so as not to confuse him with his father. His father, who was an ardent fan of baseball and Mickey Mantle, gave his son this nickname in honor of his favorite athlete.

When the boy was 6 years old, his parents divorced, his mother soon married a policeman. The stepfather disliked the stepchildren, often raised his hand to his wife and children, and Mickey tried to be at home less often.

Mickey dreamed of growing up and taking revenge on his stepfather for his cruel treatment. There was a welfare center next to their house where children could play sports. Mickey liked sports and he became interested in boxing.

For him, this was not only an opportunity to get rid of negative emotions, but also a ticket to adulthood. Soon he began to participate in the fights under the nickname Mickey Mouse.

The acquired skills allowed him to rebuff his stepfather – he knocked out two of his teeth.

Theatre was another hobby for Mickey. After high school, he decided to move to New York and get an acting education. The young man worked wherever he could to earn money for education: he was a bouncer in a club, a street seller of chips, a pool cleaner, etc.

He chose one of the best educational institutions, the famous Lee Strasberg Acting School. Mickey prepared a scene from the Tennessee Williams drama and went to audition. The examiners were impressed by his acting skills. So he became one of the 5 lucky ones who beat several thousand competitors and became studio students.

Having become a talented actor he starred in the melodrama “Nine and a Half Weeks”, which was nominated three times for “the Golden Raspberry award. In the post-Soviet space, this film was incredibly popular. Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger proclaimed the brightest and most attractive Hollywood stars.

After that, Mickey Rourke received several more leading roles – in the films “Year of the Dragon”, “Departure Prayer”, “Angel Heart”, “Home Boy”, “Handsome Johnny”, “Francis” and, of course, “Wild Orchid”.

Kim Basinger did not awaken any tender feelings in him, but his partner in the film “Wild Orchid” became his companion behind the scenes.

Even during the casting, the actor drew attention to the model Carrie Otis and said that he would star only with her. After the film’s release, the actors got married.

After some time, they both abused alcohol and illegal drugs, and their quarrels ended in assault.

When they broke up, Mickey Rourke wanted commit a suicide, but he was kept from this step by a priest and a psychotherapist, whom the actor had been visiting for 10 years.

Mickey Rourke decided to return to the ring, to professional boxing, although he was already over 40. The boxing hobby for the actor had fatal consequences: due to frequent injuries, he had to turn to plastic surgeons again and again.

The media constantly published photographs of the actor in his youth and today. It was not a secret that the cause of dramatic changes was not only a highly traumatic sport, but also the actor’s passion for illegal drugs.

Despite all these problems, Mickey Rourke restarted his acting career. His character in “Sin City”, the thug Marv with a disfigured face, became the pinnacle of the actor’s self-irony, and the film “The Wrestler”, where he played the main role, was nominated for an Oscar and the actor received several prestigious film awards.

Today, he continues to act in films and remains in demand, despite his advanced age.

After breaking up with Carrie Otis, the actor never married, although he had some love affairs with Russian models.