The actor who made an enemy of Robert De Niro
Most people avoid getting on Robert De Niro's bad side, but one co-star has turned it into a career-defining personality trait. Read more here.
(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Stills)
Film Ā» Cutting Room Floor
Wed 22 January 2025 20:15, UK
If youāre an actor in Hollywood trying to make your way to the A-list, the first rule of ascending the pyramid is not to piss off the people at the top. Even if youĀ alreadyĀ are a household name, itās best not to get on the bad side of anyone of equal or greater fame.Ā Itās just not a good look and could hurt your long-term prospects.Ā Consequently, ifĀ Robert De NiroĀ has enemies, mostĀ of themĀ arenāt foolish enough to make their animosity public.Ā
It is quite possible that there are co-stars with horror stories about the Oscar winner. As a noted method actor, he is famous for taking his profession very seriously (at least until the mid-2000s), and his techniques for getting into character could conceivably irritate co-stars. He had a rocky first encounter with Joaquin Phoenix during the production of Todd Phillipsā Joker, but that had more to do with Phoenixās reluctance to do a table read than De Niroās eccentric behaviour.
However, there is one actor who despises De Niro and has made it one of the defining traits of his public persona. In 1987, Mickey Rourke starred opposite the Oscar winner in the neo-noir Angel Heart and took an immediate dislike to him. The problem was that the Raging Bull star didnāt want Rourke to talk to him. He wanted to put aside all the collegial chit-chat so that he could stay in character.
Rourke was hurt by this andĀ saidĀ that he believed De Niro wasĀ actuallyĀ retaliating against him for giving acting advice. āI took him to school,ā theĀ 9Ā½Ā Weeks actor claimed. āBefore that, no other actor took him to schoolā.Ā
Ultimately, Rourke acknowledged that being rebuffed by De Niro was just painful. āIt hurt my feelings a little bit ācause I looked up to him,ā he said. āI donāt look up to him no more; I look through him. I came up from the shit. He doesnāt know that life. I lived that fucking life, so every time I look him in the face, I look right through his asshole.ā
Itās unclear how often Rourke has had the opportunity to look at (or through) De Niro lately though, because he was also quick to accuse his one-time co-star of blocking his involvement in Martin Scorseseās 2019 film, The Irishman, more than three decades after their fractious encounter in Angel Heart.
Claiming that Scorsese wanted him to be in the film, Rourke asserted, āThe casting person told my manager that Robert De Niro said he refused to work with me in a movie.āĀ
ThisĀ seemed to comeĀ as a surprise to everyone involved in the film. De Niroās representative issued a statement saying that, according to TheĀ IrishmanĀ producers and the filmās casting director, āMickey RourkeĀ was never askedĀ to be inĀ The IrishmanĀ nor was he ever even thought of, discussed or considered to be in the movie.ā
The fact that this statement essentially invalidated Rourkeās David and Goliath tale of a decades-long feud with one of Hollywoodās biggest stars must have been even more painful than learning that Scorsese hadnāt actually been considering him for a role.
Related Topics
Mickey RourkeRobert De Niro