Mickey Rourke claims Robert De Niro stopped him from getting role in The Irishman
The Wrestler and Iron Man 2 actor allegedly almost starred in Scorsese's gangster biopic
Actor Mickey Rourke has alleged that Robert De Niro prevented him from appearing in upcoming Martin Scorsese film The Irishman, following a long-standing feud between the two.
Rourke said he was "upset" that he had been unable to talk Scorsese ahead of casting for the film, after De Niro "refused" to work with the Iron Man 2 actor.
“Marty Scorsese wanted to meet me for a movie with Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro,” Rourke said in an interview with Italian TV show Live – Non è la D’Urso, in a reference to the Netflix film. “The casting person told my manager that Robert De Niro said he refused to work with me in a movie.”
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The Wrestler actor revealed that he had previously admired De Niro, but that animosity grew between them while on the set of Angel Heart in 1987, culminating with De Niro telling him: “I think it’s better if we don’t talk.”
“Now I don’t look up to him no more; I look through him,” Rourke continued. “I came up from the s**t. He doesn’t know that life. I lived that f**king life, so every time I look him in the face I look right through his a**hole.”
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Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, the upcoming gangster biopic centres on Frank 'The Irishman' Sheeran (played by De Niro) who, in his eighties, looks back to his younger days and recalls his involvement in the disappearance of his longtime friend, Jimmy Hoffa.
The Irishman will be released in cinemas on 8th November, and on Netflix from 27th November.
