Mickey Rourke has been on top. No doubt about it. He is a great actor, and his recent films further display that fact. He delves into any role he his given. About half a year ago he conveyed interest in portraying rugby player, Gareth Thomas, the first and only openly gay rugby player in a top flight sport. Rourke seems like he would be a great candidate for this type of role and seemed to really want to get production rolling.
Cinema Blend (via Bleeding Cool) reports that Mickey Rourke sat down on Alan Carr‘s Chatty Man the other night and the subject of Gareth Thomas arose. Mickey Rourke displayed his frustration for the flack that Thomas gets, being referred to as just a gay rugby player too often, and he seemed very excited about the project. So intrigued in fact, that he stated that he would be willing to learn Welsh for the role. We don’t know for sure if it will reach the point of total immersion into a character for Rourke just yet, but we all know that he has a desire to get involved and be a frontman.
The only thing standing in the way seems to be the challenge to get all the wheels fully rolling on the film, and we’re not sure why. It seems as if the biopic has not picked up enough interest so far to get production completely started. There could be many reasons as to why it hasn’t begun yet. Maybe, not enough Americans know Rugby, or maybe Gareth Thomas is against using his likeness for the film, or the producers could just be looking for good financing and the best studio to own the flick. We don’t know as of right now. But hopefully soon, we will. This type of movie would seem to have great potential, especially with Rourke at the helm. We’ll keep you in the loop as more details come about.
Do you believe Rourke would be a good candidate to portray Thomas in this film? Would you go to see the film when released?