Hangin’ Tough

Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man (1991)

In 1991, Rourke decided that he was self-destructing and had lost all respect for himself as an actor His solution? He “had to go back to boxing.”

Though he had some success, the sport destroyed his face. ''Somebody said to me, “ Rourke later told EW. “‘You don't look like you used to.’ But who does?

“I mean, when I was boxing I had six nose operations, I had cartilage taken from behind my ear, I had short-term memory loss, I've got an equilibrium problem, I don't have as many teeth in my head as I used to.''

Harley Davidson was one of the last roles he took before he ditched the actor’s life.

He’s a brawling urban cowboy, sort of a bizarro world, older take on Motorcycle Boy from Rumble Fish.

It seemed to sum up his driving force before the desire to box took hold. But even he wasn’t pleased with the result: ''I'd do some piece of s***t for the money and then show up late and f**k everything up.

''More than half the movies I've made I didn't want to do. I bought a house that was way too expensive, cars, entourage, women and jewellery. If you ain't ever had it, once you get it, you spend it as quick as you can.”

Next: Mentally Lost