MICKEY ROURKE ON HIS BAD BOY REPUTATION

Renewed Hollywood star Mickey Rourke is adamant his bad boy reputation is a thing of the past because he is finally able to deal with his problems without the use of violence, like he has used in the past. The Wrestler actor spent years in the Hollywood wilderness after countless run-ins with police and hot-headed fights with movie executives. But now he has returned to the limelight, Rourke claims that, while he will never be fully reformed, he now steers clear of confrontation and is a much more responsible individual in life. He says, "Not reformed, no, but I have come to understand why I self-destructed. It was to do with authority. I wouldn’t let any man look at me and give me the eye. I didn’t care if he was seven feet tall with muscles on top of muscles. It was on. Eye contact with them, on the street, it would be on, right there. "Well, I don’t carry myself that way any more, I don’t go looking for that. Any authority figure at all, any producer who told me something, and it was, get the f**k out of the room. I didn’t know that’s what happened to me. Now I’m accountable. I also understand I’m responsible for repercussions."
Photo By: Sara De Boer/Retna