Mickey Rourke (5 page)

A
T FIRST,
S
ANDRA DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF HIM.
H
E WAS FASCINATING IN HIS ECCENTRICITY BUT SEEMED SO WITHDRAWN AND LACKING IN LOGIC SHE EVEN WONDERED IF HE MIGHT BE A LITTLE RETARDED.
U
SING ALL HER EXPERIENCE IN BRINGING OUT TALENT, HOWEVER, SHE GRADUALLY BEGAN TO FIGURE OUT
M
ICKEY AND PUT HIM ON THE PATH TO ACTING GREATNESS.
S
HE FOUND A WAY TO CHANNEL ALL THE FRUSTRATION IN HIS LIFE INTO HIS PERFORMANCES.
T
HE BREAKTHROUGH CAME WHEN SHE GAVE HIM A “SENSORY” ACTING EXERCISE TO DO – PICTURING HIMSELF IN A PLACE WHERE HE WAS HAPPY.
M
ICKEY IMAGINED HIMSELF BACK AT THE
F
IFTH
S
TREET
G
YM, LACING UP HIS BOXING BOOTS AND REMEMBERING THE SOUNDS AND SMELLS OF THE PLACE.
T
HEN
S
ANDRA HAD HIM PERFORM AN ACTING SCENE.
I
T ALLOWED HIM TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAKE A PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH THE MATERIAL – AN ACTING TECHNIQUE HE STILL USES TO THIS DAY.

M
ICKEY LATER RECALLED, “
A
S
I
WAS ACTING THIS, SOMETHING JUST CLICKED.
A
LL THE THINGS THAT HAD BEEN HOLDING ME BACK FOR YEARS STARTED COMING OUT – THE DISAPPOINTMENT IN SPORTS, MY SADNESS ABOUT NEVER HAVING GOT TO KNOW MY FATHER, EVERYTHING FELL INTO PLACE.
F
ROM THAT DAY ON, IT WAS LIKE
I
’D FINALLY STOPPED POSING AND BECOME MYSELF, A REAL PERSON.”

M
ICKEY ADDED AT ONE OF OUR
Q
&
A
S, “
I
WANTED TO BE THE BEST ACTOR
I
POSSIBLY COULD BE.
W
ITH THE BOXING IT HAD NEVER BEEN 100 PER CENT BUT SUDDENLY ACTING WAS.
I
HAD NO SOCIAL LIFE.
I
STUDIED LIKE A MONK.
I
WOULD GRAB BUMS OFF THE STREET TO RUN LINES WITH ME AT NIGHT.”

S
EEING THAT LEVEL OF COMMITMENT, DRAMA COACH
S
ANDRA
S
EACAT FELT IT WAS TIME FOR
M
ICKEY TO AUDITION FOR A PLACE AT THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO.
I
T WAS PREPARING FOR THAT BIG TEST WHICH FORCED
M
ICKEY TO TAKE A JOURNEY HE MIGHT OTHERWISE NEVER HAVE – A VISIT TO HIS FATHER.

H
IS AUDITION SCENE FOR THE
S
TUDIO WAS FROM THE
T
ENNESSEE
W
ILLIAMS PLAY
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF,
THE ONE IN WHICH
B
RICK DISCUSSES HIS DRINKING PROBLEM WITH HIS FATHER,
B
IG
D
ADDY.
W
HILE REHEARSING IT,
M
ICKEY WASN’T ABLE TO MAKE THE FATHER-AND-SON RELATIONSHIP CONVINCING.
H
E TALKED IT OVER WITH
S
EACAT AND SHE SAID HE WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT SCENE, AND SIMILAR ONES IN THE FUTURE, UNLESS HE GOT TO KNOW HIS OWN FATHER.
S
HE ADVISED HER STUDENT TO GO AND FIND HIS DAD AND TALK TO HIM.

M
ICKEY WAS RELUCTANT.
H
E HADN’T HAD ANY CONTACT WITH
P
HIL SINCE HIS PARENTS PARTED ALL THOSE YEARS BEFORE.
B
UT HE WAS STILL HOLDING ON TO THAT TREASURED PHOTOGRAPH OF HIS FATHER IN BODYBUILDING POSE.
A
LTHOUGH
M
ICKEY WASN’T KEEN TO FIND OUT HOW TIME HAD CHANGED HIS DAD, HIS DETERMINATION TO IMPROVE HIS ACTING AND WIN A PLACE AT THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO WAS A POWERFUL motivator and provided him with the courage to get on a bus to Schenectady.

T
HE MOMENT HE ARRIVED IN TOWN,
M
ICKEY NOTICED THE
W
HITE
C
ASTLE DINER ON
S
TATE
S
TREET WHERE, AS A CHILD, HE HAD ENJOYED MILKSHAKES WITH HIS FATHER.
H
E DECIDED TO GO IN AND HAVE ONE FOR OLD TIME’S SAKE.
A
S HE STEPPED INSIDE, HIS ATTENTION WAS IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO A MIDDLE-AGED MAN, SITTING ALONE, WEARING GLASSES.
H
E CERTAINLY DIDN’T LOOK LIKE A BODYBUILDER, BUT IT WAS UNMISTAKABLY
P
HIL
R
OURKE.
M
ICKEY RECOGNIZED HIM BECAUSE OF HIS HANDS – WHICH LOOKED JUST LIKE HIS.
H
E ALSO HAD THE SAME FOREHEAD AND MOUTH.

M
ICKEY FROZE AND COULDN’T APPROACH HIM.
B
UT WHEN
P
HIL GOT UP AND WALKED OUT,
M
ICKEY FOLLOWED HIM OUTSIDE.
H
E WALKED UP TO HIM, TOOK A DEEP BREATH AND SAID, “
A
RE YOU
P
HIL?
I
’M
M
ICKEY.”
T
HE MAN FIXED HIS GLASSES HALFWAY DOWN HIS NOSE, LOOKED AT THE YOUNG MAN STANDING IN FRONT OF HIM, AND REPLIED, “
I
S YOUR MOTHER HERE?”
H
IS SON SHOOK HIS HEAD.
P
HIL LOOKED DISAPPOINTED FOR A SECOND, THEN HE STARED AT
M
ICKEY, PAUSED, AND SAID, “
I
ALWAYS KNEW YOU’D COME TO SEE ME ONE DAY.”

F
ATHER AND SON THEN WENT TO A PLACE NEARBY WHERE
P
HIL BOUGHT
M
ICKEY A DINNER OF PORK CHOPS, MASHED POTATOES, AND SAUERKRAUT AND NERVOUSLY DRANK MANY SCREWDRIVERS WHILE WATCHING HIM EAT.
G
RADUALLY, THE CONVERSATION STARTED TO FLOW.
M
ICKEY KEPT SAYING THINGS LIKE, “
D
AD, WOULD YOU PASS THE SALT?” AND “
D
AD, SHALL WE GET ANOTHER DRINK?” SO HIS FATHER WOULD KNOW HE STILL CALLED HIM “
D
AD.”

I
N ANOTHER EMOTIONAL MOMENT, HE TOUCHED HIS DAD’S UPPER ARM JUST LIKE HE USED TO DO WHEN HE WAS A KID – BUT THIS TIME THERE WAS NO MUSCLE THERE, THE SKIN WAS JUST SOFT.
M
ICKEY FELT HIS STOMACH LURCH.
H
E COULDN’T BELIEVE THIS WAS THE SAME POWERFULLY BUILT MAN WHOSE PICTURE HE HAD BEEN CARRYING AROUND FOR THE PAST SEVENTEEN YEARS.

H
E TOLD
P
HIL ABOUT THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO AND WAS SURPRISED TO FIND HIS FATHER ALSO HAD AN INTEREST IN THEATER.
P
HIL HAD ONCE REVIEWED PLAYS FOR AN ARMY NEWSPAPER WHEN HE WAS STATIONED IN
G
ERMANY AS A YOUNG MAN.
I
T UPSET
M
ICKEY THAT THEY HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHARE THIS PASSION AND HAD MISSED OUT ON SO MANY YEARS TOGETHER.
S
UDDENLY, HE FELT UNCOMFORTABLE AND GOT UP TO LEAVE, BUT
P
HIL PULLED HIM BACK FOR ONE LAST DRINK – AND DID THE SAME THING A COUPLE OF MORE TIMES.

E
VENTUALLY, IT WAS TIME FOR THE LAST BUS BACK TO
N
EW
Y
ORK AND, BEFORE
M
ICKEY GOT ON BOARD,
P
HIL THRUST $50 INTO HIS SON’S HAND AND SAID, “
T
AKE IT, YOU’LL BREAK MY HEART IF YOU DON’T.”
T
HEN HE SUDDENLY EMBRACED
M
ICKEY WITH A BEAR HUG AND STARTED TO CRY.

D
URING THE BUS JOURNEY BACK, YOUNG
M
ICKEY REALIZED HE FELT LESS DETACHED FROM HIS DAD.
B
UT HIS THOUGHTS DRIFTED AWAY FROM THEIR EMOTIONAL REUNION AND BACK TO THE
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
SCENE HE WOULD HAVE TO PERFORM FOR THE AUDITION PANEL THE NEXT MORNING.
D
URING THE LATE NIGHT BUS RIDE AND THE EVENTUAL WALK BACK TO HIS ROOM,
M
ICKEY WASN’T WEARING WARM ENOUGH CLOTHES.
H
E SHIVERED ALL THE WAY HOME AS HE TRIED TO RELATE WHAT HE HAD JUST EXPERIENCED IN
S
CHENECTADY TO THE ACTING TASK AHEAD.

T
HE NEXT DAY, AS HE NERVOUSLY PACED OUTSIDE THE AUDITION ROOM PREPARING FOR THE MAKE OR BREAK PERFORMANCE, HE COULDN’T SUMMON UP THOSE SAME FEELINGS OF AWKWARDNESS ABOUT HIS FATHER.
S
O, MOMENTS BEFORE HE WAS DUE ON STAGE, HE RUSHED OUTSIDE INTO the New York snow and took off his shirt to re-experience the bitter cold he had felt the previous night. It served to put him in the same state of mind he had been feeling then. Mickey was now ready to audition.

H
E BLEW AWAY THE PANEL WITH A PERFORMANCE OF STUNNING REALISM, PLAYING THE SCENE AS IF HE WERE TALKING TO HIS OWN BIG DADDY RATHER THAN THE CHARACTER.
O
N THE PANEL WAS
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO CO-FOUNDER
E
LIA
K
AZAN, THREE-TIME
O
SCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR OF SUCH CLASSIC FILMS AS
ON THE WATERFRONT
AND
EAST OF EDEN
, WHO SAID
M
ICKEY’S PIECE WAS THE BEST AUDITION HE HAD SEEN IN THIRTY YEARS.

I
T WAS A PROUD MOMENT FOR
S
ANDRA
S
EACAT, WHO CONTINUES TO BE A MENTOR TO EMERGING ACTORS AND RECENTLY DISCOVERED
S
TAR
T
REK’S NEW
C
APTAIN
K
IRK,
C
HRIS
P
INE.
T
HE AUDITION WAS A TRIUMPH FOR
M
ICKEY WHO WAS IMMEDIATELY OFFERED THAT COVETED PLACE AT THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO AND EAGERLY ACCEPTED.
T
HOUSANDS HAD APPLIED THAT YEAR.
R
OURKE WAS ONE OF ONLY FIVE WHO GOT IN.
J
ACK
N
ICHOLSON HAD NEEDED FIVE AUDITIONS BEFORE HE MADE IT INTO THE
S
TUDIO,
D
USTIN
H
OFFMAN, SIX.
I
T HAD TAKEN
H
ARVEY
K
EITEL ELEVEN TRIES.
M
ICKEY DID IT IN ONE.

B
UT THERE WAS NO HAPPY ENDING TO THE STORY OF HIM AND HIS FATHER.
T
HEY DID KEEP IN TOUCH AFTER THEIR REUNION AND
P
HIL WOULD WRITE HIM LETTERS EVERY SO OFTEN.
B
UT THEY NEVER MET AGAIN.
P
HIL PASSED AWAY JUST A FEW YEARS LATER, AGED JUST FORTY-NINE. “
H
E DRANK HIMSELF TO DEATH,” SAID
M
ICKEY.

G
ETTING INTO THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO, WHICH HE CALLS “A SACRED PLACE,” WAS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR
M
ICKEY, BUT YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IT FROM THE WAY HE BEHAVED.
H
E WAS SHY, NERVOUS, AND QUIET AROUND THE STUDENTS AND STAFF.
F
OR HIS FIRST TWO YEARS, HE WOULD JUST SIT IN A CORNER LISTENING, TOO TERRIFIED TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION IN CLASS.

M
ICKEY WOULD WATCH MESMERIZED AS THE LIKES OF
C
HRISTOPHER
W
ALKEN,
H
ARVEY
K
EITEL AND
A
L
P
ACINO – WHO WERE ALL MAKING THE STEP UP FROM STUDENTS TO STARS AT THE TIME – WOULD STOP BY THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO TO HONE THEIR CRAFT AND SEEMINGLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAP INTO DIFFERENT EMOTIONS AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE.
H
E REMEMBERS BEING STAR STRUCK THE FIRST TIME HE CAME FACE TO FACE THERE WITH
K
EITEL, WHOSE WORK HE HAD ADMIRED IN THE 1973 FILM
MEAN STREETS
.
K
EITEL SNAPPED HIS FINGERS AT
M
ICKEY TO GET HIM TO MOVE OUT OF HIS WAY.
M
ICKEY SAID OF THOSE STARS, “
T
HEY HAD SET THE BAR HIGH AND
I
WANTED TO BE LIKE THEM, TO BE THAT KIND OF ACTOR.”

B
UT IT WASN’T EASY.
A
LTHOUGH OPENING UP HIS EMOTIONS HAD LANDED HIM A PLACE, HE WAS TOO EMBARRASSED TO GET UP IN FRONT OF THE CLASS AND TALK IN PUBLIC ABOUT HIS FEELINGS.
Y
ET HE DID ENJOY THE IMPROVISATION EXERCISES AND GRADUALLY STARTED TO FLOURISH WHEN HIDING BEHIND CHARACTERS HE WOULD MAKE UP ON THE SPOT.

T
UITION DIDN’T COME CHEAP AND
M
ICKEY HAD TO TAKE ANOTHER SUCCESSION OF SHORT-LIVED JOBS SO HE COULD CONTINUE PAYING FOR HIS CLASSES.
H
E WAS OFTEN FIRED AND ALWAYS BROKE BUT FOREVER ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A SHOT AT THE BIG TIME.
U
NLIKE SO MANY OTHER ACTING STUDENTS, HE COULDN’T GET A JOB AS A WAITER BECAUSE HIS MATH SKILLS WEREN’T GOOD ENOUGH.
F
OR A TIME, HE MOVED FURNITURE IN THE SAME WAREHOUSE WHERE
G
ENE
H
ACKMAN,
S
TEVE
M
C
Q
UEEN AND
L
EE
M
ARVIN HAD ALL WORKED BEFORE GETTING THEIR BIG BREAKS.

O
NE JOB
M
ICKEY WAS ABLE TO HOLD DOWN FOR A WHILE WAS SELLING FOOD FROM A CART AT THE SIDE OF
C
ENTRAL
P
ARK CLOSE TO THE BIG CASTING AGENCIES.
H
E WOULD SELL PRETZELS AND CHESTNUTS IN THE WINTER AND ice cream in the summer but, whatever the time of year, he always kept a pair of sunglasses in his pocket ready to whip out whenever someone who looked like a casting director walked past.

T
HE TACTIC DIDN’T LEAD TO HIM GETTING ANY ACTING WORK.
I
N FACT,
M
ICKEY TOOK FIVE YEARS OF CLASSES BEFORE HE ACTIVELY WENT LOOKING FOR ACTING JOBS.
I
T WAS HIS MENTOR
S
ANDRA
S
EACAT, WHO WOULD CONTINUE TO BE A GREAT SUPPORT TO HIM AS HE BUILT A FILM CAREER, WHO FINALLY PERSUADED HIM TO LEAVE.
S
HE FELT HE WAS BECOMING PART OF THE FURNITURE AT THE
A
CTORS’
S
TUDIO AND TOLD HIM SO IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS.
S
ANDRA YELLED AT HIM OUT IN THE STREET, “
D
O YOU WANT TO TAKE CLASSES FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?
G
ET OUT THERE AND WORK.”