Mickey Rourke sure has enjoyed a great comeback, what with his Oscar-nominated (he should have won) performance in The Wrestler, his casting as the villain Whiplash in the highly-anticipated Iron Man 2, and his joining forces with Sly Stallone for the all-out macho man action pic, The Expendables (he also has a handful of other projects in the works).
And it looks like Rourke is adding yet another project to his schedule, as he’s reportedly landed the role of the infamous real-life mafia assassin known as The Ice Man. NYPost reports that Rourke will play the titular role of The Ice Man, in a film based on a book written by Philip Carlo. The book chronicles the life of the now deceased Richard Kuklinski, who was a notorious murderer and mafia contract killer who claimed to have killed over 200 people in a career spanning 30 years.
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Sounds pretty dark, even for a badass like Rourke. Apparently, Rourke wasn’t first choice of Hollywood producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers, G.I. Joe); Bonaventura had the rights to The Ice Man bestseller back in 2006, but when his option expired in August (this year, I presume) Carlo wouldn’t extend their deal because Bonaventura apparently wanted Channing Tatum to star.
Urgh, really? Good call, Carlo!
Carlo met with Rourke and reports that “We hit it off beautifully. He’s [Rourke] really looking forward to being the Ice Man, and I think he’ll do a great job. He’s talking about it being his Raging Bull.” Wasn’t The Wrestler his Raging Bull?… Anyway, it sounds like Rourke is really passionate about this project, which may be a bit worrying, considering the dark nature of it.
NYPost also provided some… interesting facts about how many people The Ice Man supposedly killed, along with his brutal methods: He killed 50 vagrants before he was 18 years old; after “turning pro,” he went on to murder 150 people for the Gambino family, employing such methods as guns, knives, strangulation and even poisoning. One gruesome method involved using cobblestones – but Kuklinski cut that out of his repertoire, “because he was getting grey matter on his clothes.”
Strong stuff…
Mugshot of Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski
Rourke certainly has the look to pull off such a performance, but I imagine even HE will have to go to some dark places in order to get inside of the mind of Kuklinski. I applaud Rourke for taking on such a role and am looking forward to the project – not for the horrible murders, but for Rourke’s performance.
What do you think about Mickey Rourke playing a sadistic murderer and hit man like The Ice Man? Is Rourke right for the role? if not who should play Kuklinski instead?
Word is that The Ice Man will start shooting Spring, 2010 in New York, New Jersey and Florida. We’ll keep you posted on its status.
BONUS: If you have the stomach, meet the lovely man who is was Richard Kuklinski.
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Sources: NYPost (thanks to FirstShowing)
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9 Comments
I’m excited for this one
I actually just watched Confessions of a Mafia Hitman docs. They definitely weren’t as good as they could’ve been. Rourke is almost perfect for the role.
Awesome! This is another role that Rourke will knock out of the park like a Ryan Howard homerun!
Awesome! Another role that Rourke will knock out of the park like a Ryan Howard homerun!
Oops sorry double clicked!
I think that Mickey Rourke will do a fabulous job on this. He was robbed of an Oscar with The Wrestler and I feel that this will his next Oscar chance.
The interesting thing is, when I first heard about this movie I thought of him right away and I couldn’t believe that they were going to get Channing Tatum! He would be TOTALLY wrong for the part. On the other hand, Mickey will KILL it! ( no pun intended) You ROCK, Mickey!
Channing Tatum???!!! What is it with producers being mesmerized by this guy?! He would have been last on my list, if considered at all. Rourke, on the other hand, has shown that he can do intense roles. I just hope he doesn’t let the brutal mentality of this monster imbue him in any way (ala Heath Ledger).
Rourke was absolutely robbed at the Oscars- agreed.
It came down to politics and the whole thing started stinking weeks beforehand. The Academy is capable of getting things terribly wrong- that’s time-tested. Sure Penn was highly competent in an issue driven yet relatively snore-inducing movie, but it’s the Wrestler that will be ingrained in our memories for years to come.
So, will he nail the Kuklinski role? Hell, yeah. And while an Oscar on his shelf would a) stick it to the establishment who probably thought he was through and b) cement his place in the pantheon of old-school stars, let’s not jinx it by throwing it out there just yet. It is SO damned tempting to think in those terms though.
After all, he really did own Oscar night if we examine it, and he has the fire in him. Truly exciting potential here.
I always new that this mans story would be a GREAT film. Mickey Rourke will do great a job playing this role thou not my first choice. Jame Gandolfini already looks identical to the iceman and if he wasnt so scared of being type casted he would have KILLED IT. I hope this film is made correctly and iam looking fwd to it
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