# I can't look at Mickey Rourke **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2009, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548 "2009-02-05T10:25:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/21 "2009-02-05T23:34:57Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > But now, when the monkey has had his, he yet again appears as an great actor (which Brando never did). “Brando never did”!?!?!!?!?! Have you never seen _The Godfather_?!?!?!?! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/22 "2009-02-06T00:29:58Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Or it could be that the guy is 56 years old now. Christ. F’reel. Some people haven’t seen him in a film in over twenty years and then wonder why he looks different. It’s obvious he’s had plastic surgery but I don’t think he looks that strange. He was kinda odd looking when he was younger but in a younger, sexy way. ---
**Author:** ![mariposalabrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@mariposalabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mariposalabrown)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/23 "2009-02-06T00:43:51Z")
Even if his face looks like he’s been hit with a bag of hammers many times, there is something about him that I still found sexy in **The Wrestler** , especially when he had his glasses on and the ponytail. I’m 29 and just missed knowing the kind of guy he was back in his more typical handsome days (my parent’s weren’t exactly renting me **9 1/2 Weeks** ), but I don’t see anything wrong with the way he looks today. He has character and charisma, and I would honestly still rather go out to dinner with him than bland Brad Pitt. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/24 "2009-02-06T00:58:19Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > F’reel. Some people haven’t seen him in a film in over twenty years and then wonder why he looks different. It’s obvious he’s had plastic surgery but I don’t think he looks that strange. He was kinda odd looking when he was younger but in a younger, sexy way. I have to disagree with you there. I think his face looks like a really bad wax figurine. It’s bloated, his skin is a weird color and texture, his lips look like someone just punched him in the mouth, and his hair and eyebrows look fake (the hair must be, at least). The picture posted of him above kind of looks like what you’d get if [Michael Myer’s](http://www.yourprops.com/norm-47d750bc6419c-Halloween+6:+The+Curse+of+Michael+Myers+(1995).jpeg) Halloween mask was flesh colored. By comparison, Rourke was born the same year as Liam Neeson, who is a pretty good example of a man who looks his age but is aging well. Dying to see _The Wrestler_, though. I like Rourke a lot as an actor (thought admittedly I haven’t seen much). ---
**Author:** ![mariposalabrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@mariposalabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mariposalabrown)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/25 "2009-02-06T01:13:38Z")
Speaking of Michael Myer, and I’m sure this is known by everyone, but that was a William Shatner Halloween mask they painted white for the first **Halloween**. Good comparison, because William Shatner’s present face has that same bumpy texture that Rourke has. I think it’s called ageing badly (aging? neither of those look right). ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/26 "2009-02-06T01:18:57Z")
> [@mariposalabrown](#): > > I still found sexy in **The Wrestler** , especially when he had his glasses on and the ponytail. I know what you mean! While “sexy” didn’t actually enter my mind, I thought he looked really cool in those scenes. Those were the times he was Robin Razinsky (? or whatever it was) rather than Randy “The Ram” Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/27 "2009-02-06T01:45:24Z")
My problem is I can’t get over all the reports that circulated at his peak of employability, late eighties or whatever, that he never bathed and would go to restaurants and meetings smelling like New Jersey. I can’t look at him without reliving that in my mind’s nose. Also, he was so utterly ridiculous in \*Barfly \*(pronounced BARF-lee), wherein Faye Friggin Dunaway and Alice Goddammed Krige fought over his vomit-caked, urine-encrusted, scabby, gutter-dwelling self-absorbed “poet”–what an embarrassing, delusional macho-fantasy bullshit movie THAT was–I’ve never been able to take him seriously since. Although, we’ll see; I haven’t seen _The Wrestler_ yet. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/28 "2009-02-06T08:55:39Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Or it could be that the guy is 56 years old now. Christ. It has nothing to do with his age. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/29 "2009-02-06T09:11:07Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Am I the only one who can’t look at Mickey Rourke? I’m sure he is great in the new movie but I don’t think I’ll be able to watch it. Doesn’t matter if it was bad plastic surgery or the boxing, his face creeps me out. He no longer looks human and I have to turn away. Don’t forget the hair and clothes. It’s all a disaster. I think he’s mentioned in the current FEMA budget proposal. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/30 "2009-02-06T14:56:45Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Don’t forget the hair and clothes. It’s all a disaster. I think he’s mentioned in the current FEMA budget proposal. Don’t forget the Chihuahua. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/31 "2009-02-06T15:24:54Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > I have to disagree with you there. I think his face looks like a really bad wax figurine. It’s bloated, his skin is a weird color and texture, his lips look like someone just punched him in the mouth, and his hair and eyebrows look fake (the hair must be, at least). The picture posted of him above kind of looks like what you’d get if [Michael Myer’s](http://www.yourprops.com/norm-47d750bc6419c-Halloween+6:+The+Curse+of+Michael+Myers+(1995).jpeg) Halloween mask was flesh colored. > > By comparison, Rourke was born the same year as Liam Neeson, who is a pretty good example of a man who looks his age but is aging well. > > Dying to see _The Wrestler_, though. I like Rourke a lot as an actor (thought admittedly I haven’t seen much). But plastic surgery nearly always looks weird. I know he’s older but [Kenny Rogers](http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_03/KennyRogers_468x585.jpg) has a similar waxy weirdness. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/32 "2009-02-06T15:44:57Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > By comparison, Rourke was born the same year as Liam Neeson, who is a pretty good example of a man who looks his age but is aging well. Liam’s also a guy who boxed in his past, but still looks good. Rourke, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/33 "2009-02-06T16:07:12Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > But plastic surgery nearly always looks weird. I know he’s older but [Kenny Rogers](http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_03/KennyRogers_468x585.jpg) has a similar waxy weirdness. Ooh, that didn’t go well, did it? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/34 "2009-02-06T17:48:12Z")
I happened to catch Mickey Rourke on a recent episode of Graham Norton and although the interview started well enough, by the end of the show Rourke was an inconsiderate jerk. Although he is a good enough actor, I always considered him an asshole - looks like that hasn’t changed over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/35 "2009-02-06T19:15:45Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Oh, Jeez…yet another case of Hollywood Stars Without Mirrors… Have you seen any recent appearances by Philip Seymour Hoffman? Unshaven, unkempt, dressed in sweats, 50 pounds overweight. The guy either just doesn’t give a shit about what anybody thinks of him, or he’s on the pipe. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/36 "2009-02-06T19:56:40Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Don’t forget the Chihuahua. That has to be one embarrassed dog. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/37 "2009-02-06T19:59:22Z")
Now somebody tell me what the hell happened to [Val Kilmer](http://news.bostonherald.com/track/celebrity/view/2009_02_05_Val_Kilmer_ponders_run_for_New_Mexico_governor_in_2010/srvc=home&position=recent)? ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/38 "2009-02-06T20:40:32Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Now somebody tell me what the hell happened to [Val Kilmer](http://news.bostonherald.com/track/celebrity/view/2009_02_05_Val_Kilmer_ponders_run_for_New_Mexico_governor_in_2010/srvc=home&position=recent)? He ate Jon Voight? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/39 "2009-02-06T20:45:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Have you seen any recent appearances by Philip Seymour Hoffman? Unshaven, unkempt, dressed in sweats, 50 pounds overweight. The guy either just doesn’t give a shit about what anybody thinks of him, or he’s on the pipe. I thought he said something about gettin’ off the sauce when he was making the circuit after his Oscar win. Maybe he fell off the wagon. I’ll have to google some pics…I haven’t actually seen a picture of him in a while. I still love his slovenly self. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548/40 "2009-02-06T20:48:45Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Have you seen any recent appearances by Philip Seymour Hoffman? Unshaven, unkempt, dressed in sweats, 50 pounds overweight. The guy either just doesn’t give a shit about what anybody thinks of him, or he’s on the pipe. He says he went into rehab at 22. He must not give a shit. Pity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-look-at-mickey-rourke/484548.md?page=3)