Mickey
Rourke (Getty Images)Parade
Mickey Rourke has gone from the bottom to the top, scoring an Oscar nomination for his comeback role in the tiny-budgeted "The Wrestler." Now, he's got a juicy role in the summer blockbuster "Iron Man 2." So does that mean that the fiercely outspoken actor who once quit his failing showbiz career to become a boxer has mellowed out? You be the judge.
Mickey tells Parade.com, "I'd just as soon do a big-budget movie as an independent one. Sometimes the independent movies can get a little too arty-farty. You watch the IFC Channel and you want to throw up. You don't always have to take things so serious, you know."
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No wonder he didn't feel guilty about accepting a few perks.
"I'd just come off working on 'The Wrestler,' which had no budget and I didn't even have a chair to sit in. I remember the first day on 'Iron Man 2' I said, 'Can I have a cappuccino,' and they said, 'Which kind would you like?'"
While Mickey enjoyed receiving the royal treatment, he doesn't enjoy today's young Hollywood set.
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"You can be less than mediocre and be a movie star," he says. "I have respect for very few actors and actresses. Some of them get a lot of acclaim but just because their movie made $200 million at the box office; they still suck. I got no respect for them and I used to let them know it. It was important for me to put that aside and go, 'You know what? This is a business.' So, now, I just keep my mouth shut and pet my chihuahuas."