Like a lot of people, I grew up reading comic books. I was into Marvel, but by the mid-90s, I was super into Image Comics (Oh, and rest in peace, Sam Kieth, creator of The Maxx–are we ever getting that movie, by the way?).

There were a select few names in the business that pretty much every comic book fan knew, such as Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, and, of course, Frank Miller. Now, when it comes to Miller, you might know him from his work on stuff like Batman or Daredevil. But for me, Miller will always be the guy who created Sin City.

And, when it comes to the 2005 movie adaptation from the legend, Robert Rodriguez, I'm always shocked that more people don't talk about it, given that it's one of the best comic book adaptations ever, so I aim to fix that.

The Inventive Plot Structure Keeps The Story Intriguing Throughout

Do you want to know my favorite comic book movie? Dredd, starring Karl Urban. Do you want to know my second favorite? The third Punisher movie (You know, the one starring Ray Stevenson). Here’s the thing about those movies. They both took massive creative liberties with the source material. I enjoyed them as films, sure, but not so much as direct adaptations from the comics.

Sin City, on the other hand, is probably the most faithful adaptation of a comic book series EVER (and definitely one of the best non-superhero comic book movies of all time). I bet this is because Frank Miller is actually a co-director of the movie (as well as a frequent Robert Rodriguez collaborator, Quentin Tarantino). What makes this movie special is that it doesn’t just cover one book in the series, but rather, MULTIPLE books, those being Books 1, 2, and 4 (with Book 3, A Dame to Kill For, being the primary basis for the second movie, which is fine, but not nearly as engaging as this one).

In this way, 2005’s Sin City is an anthology movie, which makes it feel super unique and different from any other comic book film. The various stories - those being “The Customer Is Always Right” (Parts I and II), “That Yellow Bastard” (Parts I and II), “The Hard Goodbye” (which is my favorite), and “The Big Fat Kill” - are all exceptional, and there isn’t a weak link throughout the entire film.

It all just works, and it’s never boring, as the inventive, anthology plot structure just doesn’t allow it to be.

Mickey Rourke Honestly Should Have Been Nominated For An Oscar For His Portrayal As Marv

The whole shtick of Sin City is that it's basically a modern take on film noir, and it somehow ended up being one of the best film noirs ever. I think a large part of this is because of two particular actors, those being Bruce Willis, who plays the hardboiled detective, John Hartigan, and then a massive man named Marv, played by Mickey Rourke.

Now, Willis' character is great as a vehicle for the overall narrative, as what noir film doesn’t have some kind of detective? However, I think the true star of this film is Mickey Rourke, as his portrayal of Marv just hits all of the right buttons for me. It’s just everything about him: The way he looks, the way he sounds, the way he calls his hands his “mitts,” and just the overall way he carries himself truly makes me think that he deserved an Oscar nomination for this performance.

His story, in particular, “The Hard Goodbye,” fits nicely toward the middle of the movie. In the chapter, he’s being framed for a murder that he didn’t commit, and it feels all sorts of film noirish. However, Rourke’s intimidating size is larger than life here, and we see the full range of emotions from his character all the way up to his ultimate demise in the electric chair.

It’s one of the best performances in a comic book movie ever, and I’m surprised that more people don’t bring it up. In fact, I’m surprised that people don’t bring up the other performances in this movie as well.

All Of The Acting Is Top Notch

Sin City probably has one of the most stacked casts for a comic book movie I’ve ever seen. Sure, we would get The Avengers films later, which were just chock full of movie stars, but who doesn’t want to play Captain America, Spider-Man, or Black Widow? Of course those films are going to get big names in Hollywood. However, it's a whole other matter entirely that we’d get somebody like Clive Owen to play a general unknown like Dwight McCarthy, Rosario Dawson to play the leader of a band of prostitutes, or Nick Stahl playing a brightly yellow character referred to as…that yellow bastard.

The beautiful thing is that every actor commits to playing the denizens of this corrupt and dirty city. In fact, much like Baltimore itself is the main character of The Wire, Sin City itself is the main character of this film, with each character playing a role in its many chapters. But, even if you’ve never read Sin City, the film does an excellent job of feeling like a film noir, and it’s because all of the actors are spectacular in it.

I especially love Rutger Hauer as Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark, or Benicio del Toro as “Jackie Boy”. They don’t have the biggest parts in the world, but they definitely stand out. Or, what about Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan, who is the grown-up version of a younger character we meet earlier in the story? She might just seem like eye candy, but she really commits to selling the idea that she’s come from a hard upbringing.

The point is, all of the acting is great, and it makes this movie stand out.

I Like How The Film Still Looks Like No Other

Another thing that I’m surprised more people don’t talk about is the overall look of this film. I mean, what other comic book movie looks like Sin City? Yes, I know Miller tried to replicate the style when he directed The Spirit, but for some reason, that movie just felt too clean in its appearance. It wasn’t grungy enough.

And, I think that’s important. It’s not just that Sin City is black and white, with moments of bright colors, just like the comic series. It’s also that the color palette paints the overall bleakness of this world, and it wouldn’t be nearly as effective if it were fully in color. In fact, I think the overall design does a lot of the legwork when it comes to getting this world across, making it feel literally ripped right off the pages.

For example, I’m a big fan of Ang Lee’s Hulk movie, and I especially like how some of the film utilized panels. But, what I especially love about Sin City is that the whole movie feels like it came right off the page, with some shots almost direct replicas of scenes from Frank Miller’s original stories.

It’s yet another reason why this film is so faithful to the source material - it looks just like it!

In The End, Sin City Still Holds Up Incredibly Well

I know the movie came out over 20 years ago, but it still holds up!

The stories still work, it’s still incredibly pulpy, and the visuals all still hold up. Roger Ebert originally gave the movie four stars, and it deserved it.

In fact, it still deserves it. Sin City is a four-star film, never mind it being “a comic book movie”.

So, watch it again if you haven’t in a while. It deserves your love.

Fundraising platforms like GoFundMe have done a lot of good to raise money to help people chase ideas or assist those who need it. We’ll often hear about some of the most successful campaigns, but the plan to raise money to help out actor Mickey Rourke made headlines for different reasons. Not only because the target was famous, but also because he didn’t want the money. Now, he's called out the situation, while also urging fans to ask for their money back and support Eric Dane.

In early January, a GoFundMe campaign was launched in Mickey Rourke’s name. The actor was reportedly behind on several of his bills and was in danger of being evicted. The GoFundMe asked people to help raise nearly $60,000, but ultimately raised nearly double that.

While it was initially reported that Rourke had signed off on the campaign, he came out shortly after it launched to claim he had never, and would never, agree to such a thing. Yesterday, he took to Instagram and (in all capital letters) called the campaign a scam and said he is working to return the money to those who donated. He explained…

It remains unclear exactly what led to these differing perspectives on the situation. Rourke’s manager, Kimberly Hines, claimed that Rourke did agree to the GoFundMe, but perhaps wasn’t fully aware of what it was he was agreeing to at the time. However, ten days after he initially blasted the campaign, he’s still calling it a scam.

Mickey Rourke’s post is essentially a call-out to anyone who donated, asking them to get in touch so their money can be returned. He clearly doesn’t want anybody worrying about him. If any actor needs support right now, Rourke believes it's Eric Dane, who announced he’s been diagnosed with ALS last year. Rourke said…

There are still a lot of unanswered questions here, including Mickey Rourke’s current situation, as the initial stated reasons for the GoFundMe have never been disputed. Mickey Rourke has led a famously wild life, which he has fully admitted has put him in a difficult position later in his life, though he says he has worked through those problems.

That wild life has led the actor to have a fairly uneven career. His Oscar-nominated turn in The Wrestler was something of a comeback for him after years out of the spotlight. That role in turn led to high-profile opportunities like playing the villain in Iron Man 2, though Rourke has had little good to say about Marvel in recent years.

On the plus side, Rourke's manager said the publicity from the GoFundMe has led to some offers of movie roles, so hopefully Rourke will find himself in a better place soon. However, with so much money left to give back, it's unlikely we've heard the last of this situation.

Anytime Mickey Rourke is making headlines, one can be sure that it isn’t for anything rote or predictable. The Oscar-nominated actor has apparently fallen on harder times career-wise, and reportedly faced the threat of eviction over the weekend, with his manager setting him up in an L.A. hotel last minute. That same manager, Kimberly Hines, also started a GoFundMe campaign that implored fans to help him out during a time of need, with the notion that Rourke himself had signed off on it. But not so fast…

The Iron Man 2 vet posted a video to Instagram, complete with a signature cowboy hat atop his head, where he addressed the GoFundMe efforts by claiming he had nothing to do with getting it started. Not only does he have zero interest in taking money from fans, but he’d rather defile himself with a weapon than go that route. Here’s how he put it:

It's pretty clear from the video, which features a dog barking throughout the background of the entire shebang, that Mickey Rourke is not so acutely aware of the ins and outs of crowdfunding websites. Although he does have a pretty firm grasp on how he feels about them, which is to say that they're not for him. At least not when he's meant to be the recipient of the donations.

Saying he "wouldn't take a fucking nickel from charity," Rourke urged his followers to get their money back from GoFundMe (amusingly suggesting that people sent checks), and claimed that he wouldn't be taking a single cent from it, despite having reached its $100,000 goal in less than two days.

He went on to take some responsibility for where things are now, saying he mismanaged things himself, without putting any onus on his current manager.

Beyond the fact that he doesn't want handouts, Rourke's core point in this video is that he claims to have no idea how the GoFundMe campaign came about, and doesn't know who started it. Which stands in total opposition to what his manager has said.

Mickey Rourke's Manager Claims He Approved The GoFundMe Plan

Despite her client claiming total ignorance, Kimberly Hines told THR that she and her assistant had the idea to reach out to the public for help, and says that Rourke gave the thumbs up, though she cops to the idea that he may not have realized what he was agreeing to. As she put it:

Saying that she was essentially paying to move the actor and his things from his eviction-troubled home and to a hotel, Hines says the intentions for the GoFundMe were completely in good faith and were meant to help the actor out at a point when job offers became stagnant. She says it's unfortunate that he went off about it in such a way, but that "Nobody's trying to grift Mickey."

Even with his negative response, though, Hines pointed out the huge silver lining, saying:

Rourke is an actor whose career has been saved by a big role, several times in fact, so it’s not outside the realm of reason to think that it could happen again. All it would take is for Taylor Sheridan to cast him in Landman Season 3, or for his Marvel villain Whiplash to pop up in the upcoming blockbuster Avengers: Doomsday or a similarly lucrative gig, and he’d be right back on top. (Maybe another season with Rourke's MacGruber villain, perhaps?)

Of course, his time on Celebrity Big Brother UK ended prematurely in early 2025 after he was booted from the show by producers for making insulting and homophobic comments to JoJo Siwa, which he said at the time was just his way of trying to be friendly.

Rourke's Instagram post received a lot of love from his fans and followers, with several celebrities also commenting, as noted below:

• FRANK GRILLO: brotha man you look good and sound better. you’re loved all over the world. happy new year and let this bullshit pass. ❤️🙏🥊
• LIKA O: Mickey, I love you!! One of the most amazing people I’ve met!!! Happy New year ❤️ thank you for staying real! 🙏
• NORMAN REEDUS: ❤️

Here’s hoping everything is heading in the right direction for Mickey Rourke, and that we'll see him on the 2026 movie schedule and beyond!

For decades, Mickey Rourke has been one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable figures. From leading-man status in the ’80s, to a self-imposed exile from acting, to a remarkable career comeback with The Wrestler, Rourke’s life has rarely followed a straight line. Now, the actor is back in the headlines for a very different reason: a GoFundMe campaign that has raised eyebrows and sparked renewed conversation about his finances and lifestyle.

Mickey Rourke’s Team Launches GoFundMe

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the man who played the villain in Iron Man 2 signed off on a GoFundMe campaign created to help him avoid eviction from his Los Angeles rental home. The fundraiser, titled “Support Mickey to Prevent Eviction,” was launched with the actor's “full permission” and claims he’s fallen behind $59,100 in rent. It frames the situation as urgent, telling fans he’s “at risk of being evicted” and that donations would help cover “immediate housing-related expenses” and provide stability while he tries to “get back on his feet.”

Reportedly, the GoFundMe is being run by Liya-Joelle Jones, who is described as a friend and a member of Rourke’s management team. Per the outlet, the veteran character actor reportedly received a three-day eviction notice on Dec. 18, after signing the lease in March 2025. The rent was initially $5,200 per month, then raised to $7,000.

The campaign itself doesn’t go into granular detail about his finances, but its existence has reignited long-standing conversations about Rourke’s controversial career choices, health issues and the lasting consequences of a famously turbulent life in and out of Hollywood.

Insider Claims Mickey Rourke Is Living “Paycheck-to-Paycheck”

A separate report from Daily Mail paints a far less surprising picture of how Mickey Rourke may have ended up in this position. According to the outlet, an insider described the actor’s current financial reality as unstable, arguing that it’s the long-term result of decades of excess rather than a sudden collapse. The source close to the situation put it:

When it comes to money, the insider suggested that Rourke’s earning power no longer aligns with how he lives. While he continues to book work, the paychecks reportedly don’t stretch far enough to sustain the lifestyle he’s used to. The source continued:

The insider summed up the Angel Heart actor’s situation, describing him as “rich poor.” Allegedly, as soon as the money comes in, it's already spent. The source added:

Despite the mounting financial pressure, the source claims Rourke remains confident he’ll be able to work something out to keep his home. Still, the picture that emerges is one of a Hollywood icon caught in a familiar cycle.

On the professional side, Celebrity Big Brother recently put Mickey Rourke back in the headlines after he was asked to leave the show amid accusations of homophobic remarks directed at fellow housemate JoJo Siwa. Despite that controversy, Rourke still appears to have a busy road ahead, with a fairly packed 2026 movie calendar that includes several upcoming action movies.

Many of the biggest action stars of all time, in the best action movies, got their start in the 1980s and 1990s when action movies really started to dominate Hollywood. Stars like Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, and Keanu Reeves all started making their mark in those seminal decades in film. This gallery is a tribute to all the action stars who are still making movies today, but began their careers decades ago.

Keanu Reeves

While he broke out in comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, it wasn't long before Keanu Reeves was starring in big action flicks like Point Blank and Speed. Reeves isn't just an action star, but with the lead in two now-iconic franchises, The Matrix and John Wick, he definitely belongs near the top of any list like this.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's career started early. She was just 6 years old when she appeared in her first movie in 1982 alongside her dad, Jon Voight. By the late '90s, she was on her way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. She got into action movies with films like Gone In 60 Seconds and her biggest franchise, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and while she has always kept one foot in more indie-type movies (including as a director), she's been a steady action star for decades.

Nicolas Cage

It's hard to come up with a Hollywood star with a more diverse acting career than Nicolas Cage. His rage is actually pretty amazing, and that certainly includes starring in some great action movies, like the iconic Con Air and the National Treasure movies.

Scarlett Johansson

Like a lot of actors on this list, Scarlett Johansson can't be pigeon-holed as simply an action star. She is, however, one of the major players in the MCU as Black Widow, and has starred in other action flicks like Jurassic World Rebirth and Lucy.

Wesley Snipes

Most of the biggest box office successes of Wesley Snipes' early career were comedies like Major League, Wildcats, and White Men Can't Jump. In the early '90s he transistioned into action movies with leading roles in the likes of New Jack City, Passenger 57, and Rising Son. He also starred in Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, and, of course, as Blade in three movies.

Halle Berry

You might not think of Halle Berry as an action star... until you remember how many superhero movies she's starred in. Not only was she an important part of the X-Men franchise, but she was also Batwoman in 2004 and has also starred in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and others.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

This one is a little tricky. Technically, action movie legend Arnold Schwarzenegger had his first role way back in 1970 with Hercules in New York, but that was really a one-off B-movie that was soon forgotten. After he spent the 1970s winning every bodybuilding trophy on Earth, he entered Hollywood properly in 1982 when he starred in Conan the Barbarian. Everything since is action history.

Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't jump off the page as an action star. The Oscar winner has proven he can star in any genre, but as the anchor of the MCU movies for more than a decade, he definitely belongs on this list.

Tom Cruise

There's nothing to be said about Tom Cruise that hasn't already been written, right? One of the biggest stars in Hollywood history, Cruise has starred in action movies like Top Gun and its sequel, a couple of Jack Reacher movies, the Mission: Impossible franchise, and great one-offs like Edge of Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, and Minority Report, to name just a few. Plus, he famously does a ton of his own stunts, which shows just how much he belongs on any list of big action stars.

Milla Jovovich

Milla Jovovich started as a model, but transitioned to movies with films like Return to the Blue Lagoon and Dazed and Confused. Soo,n though, she started popping up in legendary action movies like The Fifth Element and, most notably, as Alice in six Resident Evil movies.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

In the '80s, a whole slew of action-first stars emerged, and one of the most popular was Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme first gained fame in No Retreat, No Surrender, and followed that with hits like Bloodsport and Cyborg.

Linda Hamilton

Director James Cameron can be divisive, but you can't argue that he knows how to create female action star leads with great parts and great casting. Linda Hamilton is a legend from her appearances in the Terminator movies over the years.

Kurt Russell

Okay, we have to acknowledge that Kurt Russell's career started when he was a child star with Disney way back in the 1960s. In the '80s, he fully dove into action flicks in a big way with movies like Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China, all directed by one of the decade's best directors, John Carpenter. He's since been in a slew of action movies.

Mel Gibson

With the Mad Max franchise and the Lethal Weapon movies, Mel Gibson would be on this list even if those were his only movies. Of course, he has so much more, like Braveheart, Ransom, and many of the other best action movies of the '90s.

Thandiwe Newton

Thandiwe Newton debuted in 1991's comedy Flirting, and in the '90s and beyond, she's starred in action movies like Mission: Impossible 2, The Chronicles of Riddick, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and 2012. She's also starred in TV shows like Westworld that fit in this genre, too.

Dolph Lundgren

One of the pillars of cheesy (and awesome) '80s action is the great Dolph Lundgren. From fantasy heroes like He-Man in 1987's Masters of the Universe to communist boxers like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, he's been a staple for decades in lots of action movies, including part of the O.G. cast in The Expendables franchise.

Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu kicked off her career in the early '90s, and before too long, she started doing some awesome action movies. Probably the most notable are the Charlie's Angels movies and the Kill Bill movies, but she's also got some less-well-known ones like The Man with the Iron Fists, directed by RZA, and even superhero movies, like Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Jason Statham

Like other actors on this list, Jason Statham didn't start in true action flicks. His first roles were in the Guy Ritchie films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but within a couple of years, he became a full-blown action hero in The Transporter and The Italian Job. Now it seems like he's in all the biggest action franchises, like The Expendables and the Fast & Furious movies.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood. She won an Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the terrifying true story Monster. She's also been in acclaimed dramas like The Road, Cider House Rules, and Bombshell. Of course, she's starred in a whole slew of great action movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, Æon Flux, and a few of the Fast & Furious movies.

Jet Li

Jet Li started out in movies in Hong Kong in the early 1980s, where he quickly established himself as one of the great martial arts stars in Chinese-language films. After a decade and a half in Hong Kong, he moved to Hollywood in the late '90s, starring first as the villain in Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998. He became such a big action star that he was included in the first three Expendables movies.

Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner might not seem like the typical action star, but he definitely is. Movies like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Postman, and the incredibly underrated Waterworld prove that when he wants to be, he can be a great action hero.

Michelle Yeoh

Like some other actors on this list, Michelle Yeoh starred in martial arts movies in Hong Kong in the '90s. Her breakout film in the West was as Wai Lin in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, where she showed the whole world her stage fighting and stunt skills. Since then, she's been in hits like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and, of course, Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Bruce Willis

There's no way this list would be complete without the great Bruce Willis! Die Hard will always be one of the best action movies of all time and in many ways helps define what a action movie in the 1980s looked and felt like. Only Willis could have pulled off the the wit and charm of John McClane. He's been in a ton of action movies since, of course. He is now retired, due to his health, but he worked right up until he no longer could.

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz took a long hiatus from acting, finally returning in the 2025 Netflix release, appropriately called Back in Action. While she may be best known for her roles in romcoms like There's Something About Mary and The Mask and dramas like Gangs of New York and Vanilla Sky, she's had her fair share of action hits too, like Charlie's Angels and Knight and Day.

Steven Seagal

It's easy to forget just how huge an action star Steven Seagal was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He actually sort of dominated the box office with movies like Hard To Kill, Above The Law, Mark For Death, and Out For Justice. He reached the artistic pinnacle of his career with 1992's Under Siege. It's not just a great movie for teenage boys like his first four movies; it's legitimately a great movie, with great performances from Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey. Sure, he's not making movies on that level anymore, but he's still been churning out straight-to-video-type releases for decades.

Peter Weller

Peter Weller's breakout came in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension in 1984, but he really hit the big time with 1987's classic RoboCop. Sure, it was insanely violent, but RoboCop had a unique political message, too. Weller's been going strong ever since.

Robert Patrick

The iconic T-1000 in Terminator 2 became one of the great action villains of the 1990s. Robert Patrick played the role of the callous, cold robot killer perfectly. It established him as a legit action star, and he's been busy ever since.

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke isn't only an action star. In fact, most of his roles have been in serious dramas, starting with movies like The Pope of Greenwich Village and 9½ Weeks in the 1980s, but he's definitely proven his action bona fides with roles in Iron Man 2, Sin City, and The Expendables.

Matt Damon

Anyone who has starred as Jason Bourne in four films deserves to be on this list. Sure, Matt Damon might not be the first actor you think of as an action hero, but come on! You can't deny that he belongs on this list for those films alone. Throw in movies like The Martian and Elysium, and he definitely should be here.

Dwayne Johnson

We're making a slight exception here. Technically, Dwayne Johnson's first movie credit came in 2001 in The Mummy Returns, but he had been quite famous for years for his work in the WWE throughout the 1990s. So while he didn't get his start in movies until later, he was a well-established star years before that. Of course, in the two and a half decades since his first movie role, he's become one of the biggest action heroes of all time.

Zoe Bell

This is another interesting case. Zoe Bell's first acting role in a movie was in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof in 2007. However, she had already built a legendary career as a stunt woman going back to the 1990s. With the Academy Awards (finally) adding a trophy for best stunts, we're going to include Bell here, because she's been performing in movies for decades.

Will Smith

He started as a rapper, then got into acting with comedy, and in the '90s, Will Smith became a big action star with movies like Independence Day, Bad Boys, and Men in Black. He's proven to be a very versatile actor over the years, starring in every genre of film you can think of.

Iron Man 2 seems to consistently be at the bottom whenever I see a ranking of Marvel movies, including CinemaBlend’s list. I just don’t think that is fair. I recently rewatched the 2010 release with my Disney+ subscription, and I truly don’t believe it gets enough respect. There are a bunch of reasons why, too.

Iron Man 2 is really the first time we, as an audience, are introduced to the MCU. It was the first time we saw two Avengers in the same place, at the same time. While the villain, Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke), isn’t perfect, he is a great comic book villain. The cast is great, and there are some fun cameos. Finally, the movie does everything I want in a superhero movie, including things the MCU has lost since. So, let’s get into why I think the third MCU movie shouldn’t be shunned like it is.

Creating The Most Successful Movie Franchise Of All Time

The idea of the MCU and the Avengers obviously goes back all the way to the first MCU movie, Iron Man, when Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) meets Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in the first post-credits scene in the franchise. It really wasn’t until the third movie, Iron Man 2, that we got our first real taste of what was to come. Not only do we get more of the late, great Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Nick Fury, but the first interaction between two future Avengers, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson.

To be sure, James Rhodey, played by Don Cheadle here, was introduced in the first Iron Man (then played by Terrence Howard), but he wasn’t one of the original Avengers in the first team-up movie in 2012. Romanoff was, and so the seeds of the team were truly born in that diner where Tony meets with her and Fury.

Not The Best Villain, But A Really Fun One

Whiplash is a really fun villain, and it’s true that Mickey Rourke’s accent is a little dicey, but it’s a fantastic performance otherwise. Based on the third comic version of the villain, Ivan Vanko, Whiplash is one of Iron Man’s oldest foes and a great addition to the MCU. Iron Man and Whiplash first doing battle on the streets of Monaco during the legendary Monaco Grand Prix is one of my favorite fight scenes in the franchise. The special effects hold up well, and as a fan of Formula One, it’s a really fun setting for the fight.

Of course, I can’t leave out Vanko’s benefactor, Justin Hammer. He has also been a long-time rival of Tony Stark in the comics, and Sam Rockwell brings such a classic, snarky villain vibe to the character that I wish we had seen more of him in other MCU movies. Who knows, maybe Rockwell will be a surprise member of the Avengers: Doomsday cast, but I sadly doubt it.

Great Cast With Some Fun Cameos

Speaking of casts, Iron Man 2 has a great one. In addition to Johannson appearing in the MCU for the first time, alongside Downey, Jackson, Cheadle, and Gregg, we get Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau (who also directed the movie), reprising their roles as Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, respectively. Mad Men’s John Slattery plays Howard Stark, and the late Garry Shandling stars as a senator out to take down Tony. Paul Bettany returns as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S., and Leslie Bibb returns as a reporter, this time interviewing Hammer in the movie.

Then there are also the super fun cameos. Naturally Stan Lee gets his moment, though he is mistaken in the movie for Larry King. Tech entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Larry Ellison pop in for quick shots. Kate Mara plays a U.S. Marshal serving Tony a subpoena to appear in front of the Senate, and the late DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) spins some bangers at Tony’s birthday party. The MCU was growing quickly, and this cast reflects that.

The Biggest Reason Why Iron Man 2 Is Great Is That It’s Human-Sized

Finally, we come to why I really like Iron Man 2 and not only why I think it’s underrated, but why I think the MCU could learn from it. I’ve written about this before, but I think the MCU has gotten too big and too out of control. This film looks quaint in comparison to what the franchise looks like today, with aliens who have the power to wipe out planets and galaxies, and endless timelines and universes. That worked really well through Avengers: Endgame as the franchise steadily grew, but since then, it’s just continued to grow and grow.

The MCU should’ve taken it down a notch or 12 after Endgame. Bringing it back to a human scale (by superhero standards) would have gone a long way towards rebuilding the franchise after the massive success of Endgame. Instead, it’s just gotten bigger, both in terms of plots and the sheer amount of content. Keeping up with the MCU often feels more like homework than entertainment, but Iron Man 2 has everything that makes the early MCU great and fits right into that initial idea of creating a universe one superhero at a time.

Iron Man 2 Isn’t The Best Movie In The Canon, But It’s In The Top Half

I’m not going to try to sell anyone on the idea that this is the best MCU movie in the series. It’s not even the best Iron Man movie (that goes to the original), but it doesn’t belong anywhere near the bottom alongside Black Widow, Thor: The Dark World, or Eternals. The latter is an especially rocky entry, and it is nowhere near as fun as any of the early movies. Next time you sit down and can’t decide which Marvel movie to watch on Disney+, consider Iron Man 2, especially if you haven’t seen it in a while. And seriously, let’s bring back Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer!

Celebrity Big Brother UK has only just started on the 2025 TV schedule, and there's already some controversy about an incident involving two of its American Houseguests. Not long after CinemaBlend wrote about JoJo Siwa and Mickey Rourke appearing on the program, the latter received a formal warning for homophobic remarks made to the young pop star.

American Big Brother fans are no strangers to controversial moments in the CBS series, and it's the same case with other versions of the show. In this situation, it all began in the backyard when Mickey Rourke was learning about the rules of the game and issued a strange warning to JoJo Siwa if he wasn't evicted:

Siwa tried to laugh off the remark and refute it, and others tried to step in and assist in defusing the situation. Rourke continued to laugh after making the comments, but he eventually was diverted into another conversation.

It didn't take long before he was at it again. In a conversation with other Houseguests, he mentioned his intention to target JoJo Siwa when it comes time for eviction. He then capped it off by using a slur, under the guise he was asking for the British slang term for a cigarette:

After that, Celebrity Big Brother UK stepped in, asked Mickey Rourke to come to the diary room, and talked to him about his violation of the rules.

JoJo Siwa broke down into tears and was consoled by others, understanding she was frustrated and upset about what happened. The whole incident played out over five minutes, all of which was posted publicly by the show below:

Some time later, Mickey Rourke did find JoJo Siwa and apologized for his comments. Siwa accepted his apology but later used her Killer Nomination power to put him up for eviction. Siwa called the choice "pretty easy," and we'll have to see how the rest of the week plays out for the actor.

Big Brother in the United States instituted a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech, which it had to enact in Season 25. Luke Valentine was ejected from the game after using a racial slur, and as fans wait to watch Season 27's live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription, we'll see if that's an effective deterrent to preventing incidents like this from happening again.

As for Mickey Rourke, this wouldn't be the first time he's broken the rules in a game he participated in. The actor made headlines on The Masked Singer after voluntarily disqualifying himself by removing his mask onstage. It remains to be seen what the actor will say about the latest incident should he leave the game soon and what other comments he may make about it.

Celebrity Big Brother UK is airing overseas on ITV, and if you're in the U.S.A., you can only catch up via its social media accounts. As for the American series, it's set to return for Season 27 this summer on CBS.

The 2025 TV schedule has blessed us in the United States with some real quality shows, especially in reality television. That said, I couldn't help but be disappointed that CBS passed on doing a new version of Celebrity Big Brother this season, and now that I'm seeing JoJo Siwa and Mickey Rourke on the UK iteration, I'm having serious FOMO.

While the previous season of Celebrity Big Brother in the United States had some trouble kicking off its live feeds, the UK version wasted no time getting its celebs on camera in front of a captive audience. This led to a great moment when Mickey Rourke entered the house and was immediately forced into a conga line by JoJo Siwa:

It's a thing of beauty to witness, and it makes me upset that those in the United States have no legal means of watching the ITV program. I've watched Mickey Rourke unmask himself on The Masked Singer, and I've seen JoJo Siwa compete on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, but I'm not going to see either compete for the Head of Household.

For those feeling as bummed as I am that we aren't currently watching our a batch of celebs on live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription, there's a reason for that. Series EP Alison Grodner stated in December that Celebrity Big Brother traditionally returns in the United States as a counter-program to the Winter Olympics, so it's possible CBS will bring it back in 2026.

The Big Brother spinoff could use a redemption season after a tense finale full of awkward moments where everyone was upset with one of the two finalists, Todrick Hall. While a regular season of the series might've seen him win handedly, the celebrity Houseguests were not sequestered and saw each and every time he spoke ill of them behind their backs. Tate ended up winning the season in a landslide, and there were a lot of hurt feelings after.

It's not like that in every season, and it looks like the vibes are off to a positive start with JoJo Siwa leading the charge in Celebrity Big Brother UK. The starlet is known as a shining beacon of positivity, so it's no surprise she's leading the charge this season and even getting Mickey Rourke in on the fun. We'll see if that positivity holds after being stuck in close proximity with a bunch of other people for days on end and with the cameras rolling at all times.

As mentioned, Celebrity Big Brother UK is airing on ITV overseas, but we can't watch it in the United States. The good news is that summer isn't too far away, which means Big Brother Season 27 is coming to CBS soon!

Even the greatest actors have ups and downs in their careers. For some, it's more dramatic than others. John Travolta was virtually forgotten about before Quentin Tarantino cast him in Pulp Fiction, for example. Then there was "The McConaissance," when Matthew McConaughey roared back to prominence. Those two are hardly alone in finding roles that brought them back. Here is our list of 32 roles that saved actors' careers. 

Pulp Fiction - John Travolta

This was a big one. In the late '70s, there wasn't a bigger star than John Travolta. On the strength of a hit TV show (Welcome Back, Kotter), and two huge hits at the box office with Saturday Night Fever and Grease, Travolta was on top of the world. Then, almost all of a sudden, poof, he was gone. In the 16 years between Grease in 1978 and 1994, he appeared in only 11 movies, and three of those were Look Who's Talking movies and most of them bombed. Then Tarantino came along and cast him as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction and once again, Travolta was on top of the business and he's never looked back. 

Dallas Buyers Club - Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey exploded onto the scene in the early '90s in Dazed And Confused, where he delivered some of the most iconic quotes. In the mid-90s he started playing more dramatic roles in movies like A Time To Kill, Contact, and Amistad. By the early 2000s, he established himself as a popular lead in rom-coms. Then, after a few of his movies struggled to make an impact in the late 2000s, his star faded a little. That all changed in 2013 when he starred in, and won a Best Actor Oscar, for Dallas Buyers Club and The McConaissance was born. 

Stranger Things - Winona Ryder

With movies like Beetlejuice, Heathers,  The Age of Innocence, and Little Women, Winona Ryder was a superstar in the late '80s and early '90s. But in the early '00s, after some bad press for her shoplifting conviction, Ryder's star had fallen quite a bit and she even took a short break from acting. Though she never fell off the map completely, it wasn't until she starred in Stranger Things starting in 2016, that Ryder returned to the top. 

Judy - Renée Zellweger

Between Jerry McGuire in 1996 and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2005, Renée Zellweger was one of the most popular and successful actors in Hollywood. With a slew of hits and awards,  Zellweger could do no wrong. Then, after a few less-than-successful movies, the industry showed how fickle it could be and she fell off the A-list. That all changed in 2019 with Judy, followed up with the TV series The Thing About Pam.

The Whale - Brendan Fraser

the 1990s were Brendan Fraser's decade. He had some massive hits, most notably The Mummy in 1999, but soon after, it's like everything dried up. He worked still, but barely and it left the world asking what had become of the heartthrob. He answered every one with his amazing performance in The Whale, winning the Best Actor Oscar and roaring back to the top. 

Birdman - Michael Keaton

In the 1980s, Michael Keaton delivered some of the funniest lines in some of the funniest movies. In the mid-90s and early 00s, his career slowed a bit. He was still working but wasn't the big star he'd been when he got the role in Tim Burton's Batman. That is, of course, until he starred as an actor much like himself in Birdman and brought the great actor back to the top of the A-list. 

House Of Cards - Robin Wright

When she burst onto the scene in The Princess Bride, the sky was the limit for Robin Wright. She reached new heights with her role as Jenny in Forrest Gump but found herself a tabloid regular with her marriage to Sean Penn. Ultimately, she found perhaps her greatest fame when she landed the role of Claire Underwood in Netflix's House Of Cards. 

Everything Everywhere All at Once - Ke Huy Quan

Has there ever been a feel-good story in Hollywood like Ke Huy Quan's return to fame after winning an Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once? After decades of virtually not working in the industry, having found fame as a kid, Quan was once again the toast of the town. 

Halloween (2018) - Jamie Lee Curtis

She's been called the original slasher film "final girl" for her role in the original Halloween, and Jamie Lee Curtis rode that fame to the top of Hollywood. You might not remember, but in 2006 she actually announced her retirement from acting. Though she didn't give it up completely, she was very selective about roles, mostly playing supporting characters. That changed with 2018 Halloween when she roared back into the business head first. 

Sin City - Mickey Rourke

People forget just how huge Mickey Rourke was in the 80s. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him, as they say. Then, he decided he'd put acting on the back burner and become a boxer. After a somewhat successful run, he returned to acting, and with Sin City and The Wrestler, Rouke was back on top in Hollywood

Scream - Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore became a huge star as a kid in the 1980s with movies like E.T. and Firestarter. In her teens, some personal problems derailed things a little, but when she starred in Scream, it brought her completely back and she's never looked back. 

Wild - Reese Witherspoon

When Reese Witherspoon won the Academy Award for her performance in 2005's Walk The Line, she was on top of the world. Just a few years later though, after a string of poorly performing romance movies Witherspoon dubbed her "love triangle period," her career hit a valley. Then came Wild which marked not only her resurgence as an actor but her transition to big-time producer as well. 

Iron Man - Robert Downey, Jr

There probably isn't a more famous comeback story than Robert Downey, Jr. After years of personal problems and addiction, his career looked like it was going to be completely wasted. Then Downey sobered up and landed the role of a lifetime as Tony Stark/Iron Man and the rest is history. 

Arrested Development - Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman has had quite a few ups and downs in his career. In the '80s, he was a teen star on the verge of big things, but then his career hit a serious lull. It really wasn't until the cult success of Arrested Development that Bateman once again commanded must-see TV. 

Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

With big roles in 90s TV shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Two Guys And A Girl, Ryan Reynolds was poised for huge success. At first, that's what he found, but it started to fizzle out with a string of forgettable movies in the late '00s and early teens, including the disaster that was The Green Lantern. Then came another superhero movie in 2015 called Deadpool and now he will be doing that until he's 90. 

Yellowjackets - Christina Ricci

By no fault of her own, Christina Ricci's career hit a string of bad luck with projects that she shined in, but for one reason or another didn't capture the attention of audiences. That changed, obviously, with Yellowjackets starting in 2021. 

The Godfather - Marlon Brando

People forget that when Francis Ford Coppola cast Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, Brando was on the outs in Hollywood. It's well-known lore at this point that Coppola had to fight to get the legend in the movie, but we're all grateful he did. 

24 - Kiefer Sutherland

With roles in Stand By Me, The Lost Boys,  and the two Young Guns movies, the late '80s and early '90s were big for Kiefer Sutherland. The mid and late '90s saw a bit of a lull with some box office disappointments. In 2001, Sutherland took on the role of Jack Bauer in 24, which quickly became one of the most popular shows on TV and Sutherland rode it to a new level of fame. 

 Orange Is The New Black - Natasha Lyonne

Legal and personal problems almost completely derailed Natasha Lyonne's promising career in the '00s. Thankfully, she got the help she needed and cleaned up, she scored a role on the Netflix hit Orange Is The New Black and she's continued to crush in a number of roles since. 

This Is Us - Mandy Moore

Around the turn of the century, Mandy Moore was unstoppable, starring in hit movies and charting on the Top 40. It was in 2016, however, when she was cast as the matriarch in This Is Us that her fame shot to an entirely new level. 

The Town - Ben Affleck

After a big decade in the '90s, Ben Affleck's fame in the '00s was more about the tabloids than it was about his filmography. It took a few years, but eventually, he proved to everyone how great a filmmaker he was with The Town in 2010, and ever since, he's been crushing it. 

Monster-in-Law - Jane Fonda

There weren't many bigger stars in Hollywood than Jane Fonda in the '70s and '80s. Then, in 1991, she announced she was retiring from acting, coinciding with her marriage to Ted Turner. She returned, to everyone's delight, in 2005's Monster-In-Law alongside Jennifer Lopez and has scoring hits ever since. 

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle - Neil Patrick Harris

Like his character on Doogie Howser, MD, Neil Patrick Harris was a prodigy. However after the hit show ended, he struggled to move into more adult roles. Surprisingly, it was playing a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle that landed him back on audiences' radar screens, and then he landed his most famous gig on How I Met Your Mother

Bohemian Rhapsody - Mike Myers

Mike Myers was everywhere in the 1990s. From SNL to Wayne's World (one of the best movies based on an SNL character) to Shrek to Austin Powers, he was on top of the world. In 2010, after a string of box office misses, he retreated from the scene, only to emerge with a glorious role in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody. 

John Wick - Keanu Reeves

After proving to be box office gold for a couple of decades, Keanu Reeves had a string of misses in the late '00s, but when he teamed up with director Chad Stahelski for John Wick in 2014, he helped launch a whole new franchise that continues to pump out hits. 

Unfaithful - Diane Lane

Diane Lane has always been selective about her roles, going back to her early days in Hollywood in the '80s. This has led to multiple career "revivals" but the most notable has to be her turn in the hit Unfaithful in 2002 which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars in 2003. 

Airplane! - Leslie Nielsen

For a generation of audiences, Leslie Nielson will forever be known for his roles in some of the best parody movies like Airplane! and The Naked Gun. But before Nielson was delivering hilarious lines in those movies, he was known for his dramatic acting., though his career had slowed before he reinvented himself in the first Airplane!  

Striptease - Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the '70s, but a few poorly received movies in the '80s knocked him off that lofty perch. While many might point to his role in Boogie Nights in 1997 as reviving his career, it was really his hilarious performance in Striptease from a year earlier that put him back on the map.

No Country For Old Men - Josh Brolin

After finding success as a young star in the 1980s in movies like The Goonies, Josh Brolin hit a career drought that lasted more than a decade and left him wondering if he'd ever regain his earlier success. He did so and more after his amazing turn in No Country For Old Men in 2007 and has been one of Hollywood's best ever since. 

Trading Places - Don Ameche

With an amazing career that had started in the 1930s, Don Ameche's bookings dried up in the 1970s. Luckily for all of his, he landed a role as one of the Duke Brothers in Trading Places and he once again was a huge star, this time with a whole new, younger, generation of fans. 

Sea of Love - Al Pacino

It is easy to forget that even the greatest sometimes find themselves in slumps. Such was the case with Al Pacino in the mid 1980s. After all the incredible success of the '70s, he learned how fickle Hollywood can be and it wasn't until 1989's Sea Of Love that Pacino regained his rightful spot among the elite. 

Rocky Balboa - Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone is responsible for some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history, but even the great ones stumble. Stallone had a pretty rough run of bad movies in the late '90s and early '00s, but when he returned to his roots in 2006's Rocky Balboa, he once again found his footing and not only starring in Rambo, reviving his other monster franchise, but he launched a new one with The Expendables.

How many times have you watched an incredible acting performance and looked up to see how many awards it won only to find out that the Oscar went to someone else that year? It’s shocking how many times this has happened over the years for some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time. Here are 32 times an incredible performance didn’t win an Academy Award for one reason or another.

Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

Though he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson’s name wasn’t called at the 67th Academy Awards. This is nothing against Martin Landau’s performance from Ed Wood, but Jackson’s foul-mouthed and righteous hitman is an all-time great character that should have been recognized.

Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver)

Robert De Niro received an Oscar nomination for his career-defining portrayal of Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese’s 1977 psychological thriller, Taxi Driver, but the unhinged and memorable performance wasn’t enough to win Best Actor. It’s hard to be mad, as Peter Finch’s Academy Award-winning turn in Network is the stuff of legend.

Harrison Ford (Witness)

One of the best actors without an Oscar, Harrison Ford has only one Academy Award nomination to his name, the 1985 crime thriller, Witness. Though not Ford’s most iconic character, his take on Philadelphia detective John Book as he goes to great lengths to protect a young boy is nothing short of amazing.

Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)

Morgan Freeman gave the performance of a lifetime as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding in The Shawshank Redemption. If the movie would have come out any other time besides 1994, a year dominated by Forrest Gump, there’s a good chance the aging prisoner and accomplished smuggler would have earned Freeman an Oscar.

Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)

Bill Murray’s portrayal of cynical, washed-up actor Bob Harris in Lost in Translation will forever be one of the comedian’s most beloved roles. While Sean Penn’s performance in Mystic River is more than deserving of an Oscar, it’s a shame the iconic comedian didn’t get properly recognized for a once-in-a-decade showing.

Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

Whoopi Goldberg showed off a more dramatic side with her lauded portrayal of Celie Harris-Johnson in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of The Color Purple. It’s absurd that the emotional, dynamic, and powerful performance didn’t win Goldberg a much-deserved Oscar, which went to Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful, instead.

Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)

Schindler’s List features one of the best Ralph Fiennes performances with his portrayal of Nazi work camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s 1993-defining film. And while the movie won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Fiennes’ unforgettable turn was not among them. Instead, he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones from The Fugitive.

Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie)

If you’re looking for one of the best New York City movies, Tootsie has you covered. If you’re looking for a movie featuring an acting performance that should have won an Oscar but didn’t, Sydney Pollack’s 1982 comedy has you covered there as well. Seriously, how Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Michael Dorsey wasn't awarded is something we just don’t get.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm X)

Denzel Washington eventually won a Best Actor Oscar for his unforgettable turn in Training Day, but the actor was robbed nearly a decade earlier after not winning the big prize for his take on the titular Civil Rights leader in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X.

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Florence Pugh was already a rising star at the time of Little Women’s release, but her portrayal of Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age drama took her to new heights. Though she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, Pugh lost out to Laura Dern from Marriage Story.

Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained)

Here’s something wild to think about – Jamie Foxx not only didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in Django Unchained, he wasn’t even nominated for Best Actor. Admittedly, it was a stacked list of actors – Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Denzel Washington – but not even being named is just something.

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

The Wrestler felt like Mickey Rourke’s big redemption arc, more so than the character he portrayed in Darren Aronofsky’s great wrestling movie. Despite pushing himself to the breaking point from both a physical and emotional standpoint, Rourke lost out to Sean Penn’s take on Harvey Milk in Milk.

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Michael Keaton gave the performance of a lifetime in the 2014 mind-bending drama film, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), one that seemed to channel the actor’s past in such a way it felt like an autobiography. However, stealing the show as Riggan Thomson, a.k.a., Birdman, wasn’t enough, as the prize went to The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne instead.

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Saoirse Ronan has been nominated for an Oscar on four separate occasions, but not a single win, which is something. One of the performances that deserved an Academy Award the most was that of Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. The portrayal of a confused high school senior on the verge of entering the next stage in her life lost out to Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Tim Curry (Clue)

Tim Curry’s portrayal of Wadsworth in Clue, a butler or undercover FBI agent depending on which ending you watch, is a role that is beloved by fans of the classic murder mystery comedy. However, it wasn’t recognized at the Academy Awards or other ceremonies, which is the real crime.

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Rosamund Pike’s take on Amy Elliott-Dunne earned the sole Academy Award nomination for David Fincher’s Gone Girl, a nod that was more than deserved. However, the incredibly nuanced and dynamic performance failed to win the Best Actress Oscar, which went to Still Alice’s Julianne Moore instead.

Jimmy Stewart (Rear Window)

Jimmy Stewart is one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors of all time and his portrayal of L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is one of the his top-tier performances. However, his take on an injured photographer who uncovers a murder mystery didn’t even get a nod at the Academy Awards.

Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)

Kate Winslet gave one of her most powerful and unique performances in the 2004 sci-fi dramedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her take on Clementine Kruczynski, a woman who had all memories of her ex-boyfriend wiped from her brain, was rich, beautiful, and iconic, but just wasn’t enough to win Best Actress.

Al Pacino (The Godfather)

Al Pacino put himself on the map with his portrayal of reluctant crime boss Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The gradual evolution of the character over the course of the film’s three-hour runtime should have been enough for an Oscar, but like co-stars James Caan and Robert Duvall, who were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, he didn’t get the win.

Gloria Swanson (Sunset Boulevard)

Gloria Swanson’s "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." line from Sunset Boulevard is one of the most iconic quotes in all of Hollywood and part of an Oscar-worthy performance. While Swanson was nominated for her take on aging film star Norma Desmond, she didn’t take home the top prize.

Jack Nicholson (The Shining)

Though considered one of Jack Nicholson’s best roles, his portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining didn’t result in an Oscar win. In fact, Nicholson wasn’t even nominated for the unforgettable performance. 

John Cazale (The Godfather Part II)

John Cazale’s Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II is one of cinema’s great tragic figures as well as one of the late actor’s best characters. What’s even more of a travesty is the fact that the late actor didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Tragically, Cazale would never receive an Academy Award nomination prior to his shocking death in 1978.

Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It?)

Angela Bassett received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Go to Do with It?, but the miraculous turn as one of American music’s most famous and influential figures didn’t earn her a Best Actress win. 

Edward Norton (American History X)

Reformed neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard is one of Edward Norton’s most controversial and complex characters of his career, and the American History X performance earned him a Best Actor nod at the 71st Academy Awards. However, Roberto Benigni from Life Is Beautiful ran away with the top acting prize.

Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca)

Somehow, Ingrid Bergman, who was astonishing as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca, not only didn’t win Best Actress at the 16th Academy Awards, she wasn’t even nominated for her iconic portrayal of a woman caught between two men and two different lives in the 1943 black-and-white classic.

Paul Giamatti (Sideways)

In a perfect world, Paul Giamatti would have won the Oscar for Best Actor in Alexander Payne’s Sideways, but alas, that is not the reality in which we live. Miles Raymond is one of Giamiatti’s best characters and carried the movie about two friends on a wine trip they’ll never forget.

Henry Fonda (12 Angry Men)

An amazing courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men is still arguably one of the best movies of all time. While its star, Henry Fonda, received a Best Picture nomination as a producer, his dynamic and rich portrayal of a juror who insisted on getting things right didn’t earn him an acting nod, which is a real miscarriage of justice.

John Goodman (The Big Lebowski)

You can add John Goodman to the list of great actors who have never received an Oscar nomination, which just doesn’t make sense. It’s especially maddening when you consider his legendary portrayal of Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, a character loosely based on John Milius, per Far Out Magazine.

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line)

Joaquin Phoenix has since won an Oscar, but his portrayal of Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s 2005 biographical drama, Walk the Line, was more than deserving of the top acting prize at the Academy Awards. What’s interesting is the fact that Phoenix was beat by his future The Master co-star, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won for his take on Truman Capote in Bennett Miller’s Capote.

Ellen Burstyn (Requiem For A Dream)

A little more 25 years after winning an Academy Award for Best Actress thanks to her outstanding performance in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Ellen Burstyn had another shot at capturing an Oscar with her turn as Sara Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream. Her take on a woman battling unchecked depression, anxiety, and a diet of weight loss pills gave audiences one of the most incredible and sympathetic characters of the early 21st century. Unfortunately, this also happened to be the same year Erin Brockovich was released. 

Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)

There Will Be Blood is remembered more than a half-decade after its release because of the Academy Award-winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, but one of the three-time Oscar winner’s castmates was also deserving of recognition. Paul Dano’s Eli Sunday (he also played the smaller part of Eli’s twin brother, Paul) is one of the more fascinating characters of modern cinema, and he should have received an Oscar for his troubles. Dynamic is an understatement for this overzealous, petty, and temperamental preacher.

Robert Shaw (Jaws)

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 summer blockbuster, Jaws, won three Academy Awards – Best Filming Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound – but Robert Shaw, who acted his tail off as the boat captain, Quint, wasn’t recognized. This shameful act by the Academy, especially after watching the USS Indianapolis monologue, still stings nearly 50 years after the fact. That scene alone deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination and win.

Many of these actors won an Academy Award either before or after these movies and performances we just covered, but it’s just wild to think about how some of these roles didn’t take home the big prize at the Oscars.

Fame is a tricky thing, and sometimes the biggest stars in the world can lose it all. Personal problems, changing times, and other factors can lead to a once-promising career disappearing almost over night. These stars, however, reversed their trajectories and came out on top after enduring rough times, in this list of actors who made remarkable career comebacks. 

Robert Downey, Jr.

Robert Downey, Jr was one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood in the 1980s, starring in films like Less Than Zero, Chaplin, and Natural Born Killers. In the mid-90s his life went infamously went off the rails with substance abuse problems. When it looked like he'd thrown it all away, he cleaned up and his fame exploded as he became one of the highest-paid actors in the MCU.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda has had a few ups and downs in her career. After breaking out as a star in the '60s, she was later shunned by many for her notorious trip to North Vietnam during the war. She rebounded and starred in hits like 9 to 5 and On Golden Pond. In 1991, Fonda married Ted Turner and completely stepped back from acting. She didn't appear in anything at all until after their divorce in 2001, but roared back to prominence in the 21st Century. 

Rob Lowe

As a member of the "Brat Pack" in the 1980s, Rob Lowe was on top of the world. That all came crashing down when a videotape of Lowe in a compromising situation was leaked. His hard partying had caught up to him, and though he got sober in 1992, he would spend much of the decade playing smaller roles or in direct-to-video movies. In 1999 he landed the role of Sam Seaborn in The West Wing and was once again on top, where he's stayed ever since. 

John Travolta

In the late '70s, there was no bigger star than John Travolta. From Welcome Back, Kotter to Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Travolta was in some of the biggest pop culture touchstones of all time. Then the '80s came and his career hit a serious lull. While he was in the hit Look Who's Talking and its sequels, it was 1994's Pulp Fiction that vaulted Travolta back to the top. 

Natasha Lyonne

In the late '90s, Natasha Lyonne was one of a group of budding stars in American Pie and other movies like Slums Of Beverly Hills before health and addiction problems derailed her career. Thankfully for all of us she came out of those those stronger and has since starred in fantastic shows like Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll. 

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser winning the Oscar for 2022 The Whale capped off one of the greatest comeback stories in Hollywood history. His work had all but completely dried up in the late '00s and 2010s, but his career has had the most incredible resurgence in the 2020s. 

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder defined "movie star" for late Gen Xers in the '90s, but after her infamous arrest for shoplifting in 2001, her career nosedived and she didn't appear in a movie for about three years after. For the next decade or so, she worked steadily but didn't regain her star power from early in her career. That changed when she starred in Stranger Things, starting in 2016, and she once again became a huge star. 

Dave Chappelle

In 2003 Dave Chappelle debuted Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central and it became a massive hit. Despite the network throwing tens of millions of dollars at the comedian to keep the show going, he turned it down and walked away. Chappelle stayed away for most of the next decade before reviving his standup career, and while Chappelle continues to garner controversy, it's safe to say he's as big as ever. 

Betty White

When Betty White died in 2021 she was mourned by millions. The beloved actress had been a television star since the 1940s, but not all of those years were in the spotlight. After early success in the '50s in Life with Elizabeth and other sitcoms, White's career hit a lull for more than a decade. She returned to the big time with her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the '70s, The Golden Girls in the '80s, and then later with Hot in Cleveland in the 2010s.

Ke Huy Quan

There is no more heartwarming story than that of Ke Huy Quan's resurgence. the actor, who first found fame as a child in The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, completely disappeared from Hollywood. For twenty years, he appeared in not one TV show or movie, before returning in 2021 with a role in Finding ʻOhana, and then winning an Oscar for his performance in 2022's Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton was a controversial choice when he was cast as Batman in Tim Burton's Batman in 1989, but it shows just how famous he was at that time. After Batman Returns, Keaton's star faded and he starred in a run of films to mixed reviews. In 2014 Keaton starred in the very meta Birdman, as a former superhero star looking to regain his fame. It worked, at least for Keaton. 

Katharine Hepburn

Anyone with a career as long as Katharine Hepburn's is bound to have some slow periods. The most amazing fact of the legendary actress' career was the 34-year span between Best Actress Oscars. She won in 1934 for Morning Glory and then again in 1968 and 1969 for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter, respectively. She would win her fourth 13 years later in 1982 for On Golden Pond. 

Mickey Rourke

In the 1980s Mickey Rourke starred in a string of hits. Eventually, though, his reputation as being difficult to work with overshadowed his performances and he was left in the Hollywood wilderness until triumphantly returning to his past glory in 2008 with The Wrestler.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier was one of the biggest stars of the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Then came the '80s, when he stepped away from acting and concentrated on directing, to mixed reviews. In 1988 he turned back to acting and had a wonderful late career resurgence with films like Shoot To Kill and Sneakers. 

Jason Bateman

In the 1980s it looked like Jason Bateman was a surefire bet to be a huge star. Then the '90s came and his career pretty much dried up. He had some guest spots on TV shows, but little else. He was all but forgotten. In 2003, Fox debut a show you may have heard of, Arrested Development, with Bateman as the star, and he's been huge ever since. 

Keanu Reeves

It's hard to remember a time when Keanu Reeves wasn't one of the biggest stars in the world, but after his success in the '90s and early '00s with The Matrix and Speed and more, he starred in a slew of commercial and critical failures. Thankfully for Reeves fans everywhere, John Wick came along and Reeves was back on top of the mountain, where he still is. 

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore almost became a Hollywood child star casualty after her string of hits as a kid in the 1980s. She had a rough childhood that led to substance abuse problems as a teenager. Against the odds, she got through it all and became an even bigger star on the other end. 

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris first got famous as a child prodigy playing a prodigy on Doogie Howser, MD. After the sitcom ended in 1993, he struggled to regain that popularity. That is, until he played a fictionalized version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle in 2004. Soon after he landed the role he's best known for, Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. 

Matthew McConaughey

Most of Matthew McConaughey's early career was made up of starring roles in rom-coms. In 2009 the Lincoln Lawyer star took a two-year acting hiatus to re-evaluate his career. He emerged in 2011 by taking on more serious roles and leaving his rom-com leading man reputation behind. Since the so-called "McConaissance," McConaughey's become on of the most acclaimed actors of the 21st century. 

Nicolas Cage

By 2009 Cage was one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood, and one of the highest-paid actors in the business, but it seems he couldn't curb his spending and ended up in debt to the IRS and other creditors. As a result, Cage seemingly took every job offered to him, and he put out an immense catalog of straight-to-video movies that few people have ever watched. Finally, in 2022, Cage revealed he was finally debt-free and started being more selective with his roles. this led to acclaimed roles in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and 2023's Dream Scenario.

Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore's career started like a comet as a singer in the late '90s which she parlayed into an acting career. That career slowed way down in the early 2010s, only to be revived in a massive way with her starring role on the NBC hit This Is Us. 

Christian Slater

With starring roles in Heathers, Pump Up The Volume, and Gleaming The Cube, Christian Slater became a Gen X icon. He scored a number of high-profile roles in big-budget movies in the '90s, before work started drying up in the early 2000s. He returned to Hollywood prominence with his award-winning role in Mr. Robot and has maintained it ever since. 

Luke Perry

Luke Perry was one of the biggest television stars of the 1990s as part of the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210. After the show ended though, his star faded some. That is, until he was cast in the CW's Riverdale and he was discovered by a whole new generation of fans. Tragically, Perry died in 2019 at age 52. 

Christina Ricci

Childhood success for Christina Ricci didn't immediately translate to success as an adult. She's always worked steadily, but her fame never quite reached the heights of her early career in The Addams Family. That changed in 2021 with Showtime's Yellowjackets. 

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh first found international fame with her roles in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She maintained a level of success, but she exploded to new heights with her Oscar-winning turn in 2022's Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. 

Neve Campbell

Neve Campbell was huge in the '90s with her starring role in the show Party Of Five and movies like The Craft and Wild Things. In the early 2000s, she starred in the Scream franchise, but hit a lull after that. Recently, she's been back on top with roles in The Lincoln Lawyer and Twisted Metal. 

Channing Tatum

Fans might not think that Channing Tatum has never had a career lull, but he has actually had a couple. He's always had to fight the idea that he's all looks and little substance (which is far from accurate), and that has affected his career at different points. He's always rebounded with strong performances like the one in Foxcatcher, however. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence's career hasn't really had a financial downturn, her lull was completely her choice. After a couple of poorly reviewed films and becoming the most famous victim of the iPhone hacking scandal, Lawrence stepped away from acting for two years in 2019. She triumphantly returned in the great movie Don't Look Up in 2021. 

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey was first famous for starring in teen comedies like Loverboy and Can't Buy Me Love. He bounced around for a few years after that, working steadily but hardly a star. That changed in a big way when he landed the role of Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in 2005 on Grey's Anatomy. 

Marlon Brando

The 1960s weren't kind to Marlon Brando. After establishing himself as a bonafide star and one of the finest actors of the 20th century in the '50s, his mercurial nature earned him a reputation as difficult to work with. A string of box office failures didn't help. Famously, he pushed hard to get the role of Vito Corleone in The Godfather, and wow, was that the right move! He won an Academy Award and reminded everyone how great an actor he was. 

David Carradine

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to help revive a star's career like he did with John Travolta. David Carradine was huge in the 1970s as the star of Kung Fu, and while he always found work, it took until Kill Bill in 2003 that he found that same level of fame again. 

Kiefer Sutherland

After becoming one of the biggest teen idols of the '80s, Kiefer Sutherland spent most of the '90s in smaller, supporting roles. In 2001, however, he landed the role of Jack Bauer in 24 and it became the part he's most known for, becoming a television icon over the run of the show. 

Fame, as they say, is fleeting, and these actors prove there can always be a second act in Hollywood. 

You know what all of the best sports movies have in common? Well, besides featuring stories centered around football, baseball, and even roller derby? They all include tremendous performances by actors that are believable and help the audience suspend disbelief, if only for a couple of hours. However, there are also movies where the actors, despite trying their best, are a little bit outside. 

Here are 32 times actors played professional athletes and whether or not they were believable.

Burt Reynolds (The Longest Yard)

Considered to be one of the best football movies of all time, The Longest Yard (the 1974 version) features a tremendous performance by the late Burt Reynolds as Paul Crewe, a former pro quarterback who ends up in prison and leads a group of prisoners against the guards in the annual football game. At the top of his game, Reynolds is a lights-out QB and play-caller in this iconic comedy.

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Margot Robbie is to die for in the 2017 sports biopic, I, Tonya, which sees her take on the role of Tonya Harding, the talented and raw figure skater who made a mark on the sport before being tied up in its most notorious controversy. While Robbie’s off-the-ice scenes are superb, her figure skating was just as impressive, which should come as no surprise.

Jamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday)

Oliver Stone’s 1999 satirical sports dramedy, Any Given Sunday, sees Jamie Foxx portray Willie "Steamin" Beamen, the third-string quarterback for the fictional Miami Sharks football team. Foxx is outstanding in his take on the young QB and does a wonderful job of showcasing the character’s on-field talents and off-the-field escapades.

Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald in Best Picture winner, Million Dollar Baby, and rightfully so. The talented actress told CBS News she spent three months training at a Brooklyn boxing gym before filming Clint Eastwood’s 2004 sports drama, and it shows.

Sylvester Stallone (Rocky)

Rocky is without a doubt the most well-known boxing movie of all time, and that’s mostly due to Sylvester Stallone’s commitment to the role of Rocky Balboa. Though not as bulked up as he was in later films in the franchise, Stallone has a great physical presence and ring awareness in his breakout role.

Kevin Costner (Tin Cup)

If Kevin Costner isn’t believable as a down-on-his-luck and washed-up golf pro looking for a shot at redemption and to settle an old score in Tin Cup, then I don’t know what will sell it to you. Sure, Costner seems more comfortable in baseball movies like Bull Durham and For Love of the Game, but his take on Roy McAvoy is top-notch. 

Emma Stone (Battle Of The Sexes) 

Emma Stone played tennis trailblazer Bille Jean King in the 2017 sports biopic, Battle of the Sexes, which saw her take on Steve Carell’s Bobby Riggs in the famous 1973 match of the same name. The Oscar winner does a great job when it comes to every aspect of the role, including those tense tennis scenes.

Geena Davis (A League Of Their Own)

Geena Davis looks, feels, and acts like a professional baseball player in A League of Their Own. There’s no need to suspend your disbelief when watching Davis’ Dottie Hinson lead the Rockford Peaches to one victory after another. The physicality, the presence, the believability are all there.

Chadwick Boseman (42)

Chadwick Boseman became a massive star in 2013 thanks to his celebrated portrayal of Jackie Robinson, the Professional Baseball Hall of Famer who broke the color barrier more than a half-century earlier. Boseman, who died in August 2020, was phenomenal in his performance and made the film’s various baseball sequences incredibly realistic.

Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire)

Okay, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s take on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire is killer, even when you take out the classic “Show me the money” scene. He’s cocky, brash, and hard to deal with, but he can back it up and makes the big catch to earn his team a playoff berth. We’ll let the off-field antics slide…

Tim Robbins (Bull Durham)

Bull Durham, one of the best baseball movies of all time, sees Tim Robbins play Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh, a hot-shot young pitcher with a “million-dollar arm, but a five-cent head.” And the six-foot-five-inch Robbins very much looked and acted like a talented yet undisciplined ball player. 

Wesley Snipes (Major League)

Wesley Snipes’ Wille Mays Hayes, who could run like Hayes but not hit like Mays in Major League, was a convincing ball player in the 1989 sports classic. Yeah, he had trouble hitting the ball (part of his character), but he had unmatched speed. The scene where he runs in his pajamas in spring training is still the stuff of legend.

Charlie Sheen (Major League)

If you were to build the ultimate baseball movie team, Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League would have a permanent spot as the closer. To pull off the dominant pitcher’s fastball, Sheen took it to the extreme and tried out steroids, as he later told Sports Illustrated. 

Damon Wayans (The Last Boy Scout)

Tony Scott’s The Last Boy Scout is an all-time great buddy action movie, one that also features a former professional football player, or at least an actor playing one. Though we don’t see his character in action on the field, Damon Wayans just gives off the energy of a pro quarterback who lost it all. 

Carl Weathers (Rocky)

Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed was one of the linchpins of the Rocky franchise and served as one of Sylvester Stallone’s best on-screen opponents. Weathers not only looked like a boxer with that ridiculous physique of his (especially in the later movies), but he also had that “it” factor needed to play such a flashy character.

Tom Berenger (Major League)

It’s hard to imagine anyone besides Tom Berenger playing Jake Taylor, the veteran catcher with bad knees and just enough gas left in the tank, in Major League. Throughout the movie, it feels like the Cleveland Indians’ senior slugger has been through the wringer multiple times, and that’s thanks to the incredible work of Berenger.

Chris Hemsworth (Rush)

Ron Howard’s 2013 sports biopic, Rush, features top-notch performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl as James Hunt and Niki Lauda, respectively. While Brühl is great with his cool and collected demeanor, it’s Hemsworth who steals the show with his take on the self-confident and talented Formula One driver, thanks in part to the actor’s electric personality and physicality.

Paul Newman (Slap Shot)

There was no way we weren’t going to talk about Paul Newman in Slap Shot. Seriously, try to think about this beloved hockey movie with anyone else taking on Charlestown Chiefs player/coach Reggie Dunlop. Is he the most talented skater on the ice? No. But is believable in his portrayal of good, old-fashioned hockey? You bet! 

James Caan (Brian's Song)

Though James Caan was mostly recognized for his work in the latter half of Brian’s Song, this shouldn’t discount his portrayal of Brian Piccolo before he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. His take on the Chicago Bears halfback, along with Billie Dee Williams’ Gale Sayers, is phenomenal, to say the least.

Denzel Washington (The Hurricane)

Denzel Washington gave a commanding performance in the 1999 sports biopic, The Hurricane, which saw him take on the role of middleweight boxer Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder. Washington, once again proving he’s one of the greatest to do it, excels in the ring.

Keanu Reeves (The Replacements)

Audiences never got to see Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Utah throw a pass in Point Break, but we did get to watch the actor play another left-handed quarterback from Ohio State with his portrayal of Shane Falco in The Replacements. This is a "whatever" movie if there’s ever been one, but Reeves looks at home leading the Washington Sentinels after the regular players go on strike.

John Goodman (The Babe)

John Goodman looks like Babe Ruth in the 1992 sports biopic, The Babe, but he doesn’t really play like the Great Bambino. This isn’t a knock on Goodman’s talents as an actor, it’s just that it’s impossible to accurately imitate the unmatched talents of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore)

Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore will probably always be considered one of the best sports comedies of all time. The movie is heavy on both humor and sports (especially if you include the hockey scenes), and Sandler pulls off both things really well. 

Raquel Welch (Kansas City Bomber)

In the 1972 sports drama, Kansas City Bomber, the late Raquel Welch played K.C. Carr, a recently retired roller games star who returns to sport to settle an old score. No surprise, Welch was great in the movie and was a dominant physical force on skates.

Robert De Niro (Raging Bull)

One of Robert De Niro’s best movies, Raging Bull, sees the Oscar winner take on the role of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta at various stages in his life and career. De Niro, who went through a physical transformation for the part, could hold his own in the movie’s various boxing sequences and never looked out of place.

Robert Redford (The Natural)

Would saying Robert Redford looked natural in his take on Roy Hobbs in The Natural be too on the nose? Who cares! Redford’s boyish charm and remarkable swing of his trusty bat, “Wonderboy,” helped make Barry Levinson’s 1972 sports drama an all-time classic. 

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Not only was Mickey Rourke outstanding in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, but the actor’s portrayal of a washed-up Randy Robinson was also incredibly realistic. Whether he was in the ring or trying to fix the broken pieces of his life in the real world, Rourke bled, cried, and sweated like someone who had been in the squared circle for decades, not months.  

Tom Selleck (Mr. Baseball)

Mr. Baseball is one of those movies that feels like it should have been a much bigger deal, but here we are 30-plus years later with a baseball comedy that never really gets talked about anywhere besides the MLB Network. Despite this, Tom Selleck’s take on Jack Elliot, a New York Yankee who joins the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, is both fun and believable. Come on, the Blood Bloods star even took an at-bat in an MLB spring training game a year before the film’s release.

Dwayne Johnson (The Tooth Fairy)

Dwayne Johnson, one of the greatest WWE Champions of all time, and a former college football player for the Miami Hurricanes, played a hockey player in the 2010 Disney movie, The Tooth Fairy. The Rock is great in just about anything, but not so much on the ice.

Will Smith (Ali)

Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann’s 2001 epic sports biopic, Ali, and he did a decent enough job. The major problem with Smith’s performance doesn’t really have much to do with the actor, but instead, the man he was playing. Smith is great in the boxing sequences, but it’s hard to believe that he’s the greatest of all time and not an actor playing the iconic sports figure.

Dennis Quaid (The Rookie)

Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Jim Morris in The Rookie is nothing short of magical. The way Quaid plays the high school chemistry teacher who becomes a major league pitcher more than a decade after his baseball dreams died is a lot of fun and believable. He has the heart and determination of the real-life Tamp Bay Devil Rays pitcher, which really carries the film.

Steve McQueen (Le Mans)

If there was a movie where Steve McQueen drives a car at a high rate of speed, you can guarantee the legendary actor looked natural doing so. That’s the case with the 1971 film, Le Mans, in which McQueen played Michael Delaney, a racer with a guilty conscience following a tragic accident. McQueen, who had experience as a race driver, looked like a natural.

Playing a professional sport is no easy task and takes years of training and dedication, but these actors did a fine job of playing athletes on the big screen. While some were better than others, each gave all they had.

Over the years, WrestleMania has given us some of the electrifying matches of all time, iconic moments that we’re still talking about years (and decades) later, and more pageantry than anyone could ever imagine. But the one thing that separates the “Granddaddy of Them All” from your normal wrestling show is the event’s history with celebrity guests, who do everything from make brief appearances or participate in unforgettable matches.

Below is a list of the 35 celebrities who have appeared at WrestleMania, which dates back to WWE’s first pop culture event in 1985 and going all the way to its most recent running in April 2023. From WWE Hall of Famers to guests you may have forgotten, this is quite a list… 

Mr. T (WrestleMania)

We couldn’t kick off our list of WrestleMania celebrity guests with anyone but Mr. T., the star of The A-Team and Rocky III who sided with Hulk Hogan in the main event of the first “Showcase of the Immortals” back in 1985. His tag match with the Hulkster vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff wasn’t a wrestling clinic, but the spectacle of the headlining bout helped make WrestleMania the success story we know today.

Mike Tyson (WrestleMania XIV)

Mike Tyson may have had the quickest three-count in WWE history when he served as the guest enforcer in the WrestleMania XIV match that saw “Stone Cold” Steve Austin dethrone Shawn Michaels for the championship, but it’s still an outstanding moment 25 years later. The controversial boxing figure certainly made the 1998 event one to remember, even before he turned on his D-Generation X ally.

Cyndi Lauper (WrestleMania)

Cyndi Lauper, who was instrumental in the Rock 'n' Wrestling boom of the mid 1980s, also played a key role in the inaugural WrestleMania event. From her great backstage promo with the late “Mean” Gene Okerlund to standing in the corner of Wendi Richter when she defeated Leilani Kai to win the WWE Women’s Championship, the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer was everywhere that night.

Snoop Dogg (WrestleMania 39)

Snoop Dogg has played a role in four different WrestleMania events over the years, but his most recent appearance at the 2023 “Super Bowl of Wrestling” has to be his best. There’s a case to be made for WrestleMania 39 being the best of all time, and the prolific West Coast rapper was key to that success. After Shane McMahon injured himself entering the ring, Snoop saved the segment when he pulled an audible and hit the Miz with a ridiculous “People’s Elbow.”

Muhammad Ali (WrestleMania)

Mike Tyson wasn’t the first boxer to make his presence felt at WrestleMania. That honor falls on the late, great Muhammad Ali, who served as the guest referee in the event’s first headlining bout. There’s even a moment where the boxing legend was standing in the ring with Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, and Liberace. Wrestling is wild sometimes.

Ozzy Osbourne (WrestleMania 2)

WrestleMania 2, which was the only edition in the event’s history to take place in three separate cities, saw a great number of celebrity guests throughout the night. One of the best definitely has to be Ozzy Osbourne, who served as the British Bulldogs’ manager when the team of Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid captured the gold in the Chicago’s Rosemont Horizon.

Pete Rose (WrestleMania XV)

One of the best running WrestleMania gags of the late 1990s and early 2000s was Pete Rose getting tombstoned by Kane. The controversial Cincinnati Reds legend, who was barred from MLB after a gambling scandal, showed up as the San Diego Chicken at WrestleMania XV in 1999 and was once again confronted by the “Big Red Machine,” who quickly put him in his place to the roar of the Philadelphia crowd.

Johnny Knoxville (WrestleMania 38)

The Jackass crew has a long history with WWE, and one of the genuinely best chapters in that story is Johnny Knoxville’s bout against Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 38. The “Anything Goes” match, which was one of the most memorable contests on the two-day card, had no business being so good. Combining old school wrestling storytelling with Jackass gags (like a giant hand and a mouse trap), the showdown became an instant classic.

Ray Charles (WrestleMania 2)

Some of the greatest singers of all time have lent their voices to WWE over the years, including Ray Charles. The beloved singer known for hits like “Georgia on My Mind,” “Hit the Road Jack,” and “I Got a Woman” performed “America the Beautiful” to kick off WrestleMania 2.

Bob Uecker (WrestleMania IV)

Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcaster (and Major League star) Bob Uecker has quite the history at WrestleMania, as he has popped up three times in the event’s history. It all started with WrestleMania III when “Mr. Baseball” helped out on commentary, but the next year's event saw one of the most classic moments in WWE history when Andre the Giant gave Uecker an interview he'll never forget.

Aretha Franklin (WrestleMania III)

In addition to all her hit songs, iconic movie moments, and other achievements, Aretha Franklin appeared at two WrestleMania events throughout her life, both of which were held in or near her hometown of Detroit, Michigan. The late singer performed “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome and then again 20 years later at Ford Field.

Bad Bunny (WrestleMania 37)

Rapper-turned-wrestler-turned-actor Bad Bunny made his in-ring wrestling debut at WrestleMania 37 where he teamed with Damian Priest to take on the Miz and John Morrison in a winning effort. He has since returned to the ring on multiple occasions and continues to improve as a performer.

Gladys Knight (WrestleMania IV) 

Seven-time Grammy winner Gladys Knight is another legendary singer who has been a part of the WrestleMania festivities over the years. Knight showed up at WrestleMania IV in 1988 to perform the customary “America the Beautiful” to nearly 20,000 fans in attendance at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.

Run-D.M.C. (WrestleMania V)

A few years before WWE superstars performed the “WrestleMania” song, hip hop legends Run-D.M.C. hit the ring with a rap of their own at WrestleMania V in April 1989. The “WrestleMania Rap” was created for the event and was performed by the group in the middle of the ring in front of thousands of screaming fans. 

Pat McAfee (WrestleMania 38)

Former Indianapolis Colts punter and current sports talk legend Pat McAfee has had quite the history in WWE the past few years, including some pretty stellar in-ring moments. Perhaps the biggest came at WrestleMania 38 when he challenged Vince McMahon to a match after defeating Austin Theory. Though Mr. McMahon won the bout (due to some shenanigans), McAfee, with the help of Steve Austin, got the last laugh.

Shaquille O'Neal (WrestleMania 32)

Shaquille O’Neal and professional wrestling was a match made in heaven, and WWE fans got to see that become a reality when the Pro Basketball Hall of Famer entered the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. Was it a display of in-ring talent? No, but it was an unforgettable moment seeing him stand face-to-face with Big Show in the middle of the 20-man match.

Regis Philbin (WrestleMania VII)

WrestleMania VII is best remembered for being the beginning of the Undertaker’s historic streak as well as the main event championship match between WWE Champion Sgt. Slaughter and Hulk Hogan. The night also included an appearance by Regis Philbin, who stepped in and helped provide commentary in the high-profile headlining bout. 

Alex Trebek (WrestleMania VII)

Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy, was another major celebrity guest for WrestleMania VII where he served as the ring announcer during the main event match. The beloved TV figure, who passed away in 2020, also conducted multiple backstage interviews throughout the event.

Rob Gronkowski (WrestleMania 36)

Four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski has had two appearances at the “Granddaddy of Them All” over the years, including WrestleMania 36 where he served as the host of the event taped behind closed doors at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The former tight end for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers previously took part in WrestleMania 33 where he helped friend Mojo Rawley win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Al Roker (WrestleMania 33)

WrestleMania 33 is best remembered for John Cena proposing to Nikki Bella in the middle of the ring after defeating the Miz and Maryse in a mixed-gender tag team match. But who was the ring with Cena and his former girlfriend? None other than Al Roker, the longtime weatherman and personality on NBC’s Today show.

Reba McEntire (WrestleMania VIII)

Reba McEntire made an appearance at WrestleMania VIII in April 1992. The celebrated country singer and actress took to the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana, to perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” in front of a massive 60,000-strong crowd of screaming wrestling fans.

Burt Reynolds (WrestleMania X)

WWE returned to Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania X in March 1994, an event that featured multiple celebrity guests like Donnie Wahlberg, Rhonda Shear, and Jennie Garth. The biggest actor to appear, and the man who served as ring announcer in the main event match involving Bret Hart and Yokozuna, was none other than Burt Reynolds.

Little Richard (WrestleMania X)

Another celebrity guest featured at WrestleMania X was legendary R&B trailblazer, Little Richard, who was on hand to perform “America the Beautiful” to kick off the historic event.

Pamela Anderson (WrestleMania XI)

Pamela Anderson, who was all the rage at the time thanks to her role on Baywatch, was one of the multiple celebrity guests on hand at WrestleMania XI in April 1995. The pop culture sensation served as Diesel’s, aka Kevin Nash, valet in his bout against Shawn Michaels.

Lawrence Taylor (WrestleManina XI)

WWE has a long history of bringing in big-named athletes for marquee events, and that includes Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who took on Bam Bam Bigelow in the WrestleMania XI main event. The two-time Super Bowl champion was joined by a half-dozen other NFLers in a winning effort.

Floyd Mayweather (WrestleMania XXIV)

Boxer Floyd Mayweather is another big-name celebrity who has appeared at the “Showcase of the Immortals.” The decorated boxer, who took home a big paycheck for a 2021 fight with Logan Paul, entered the squared circle to take on Big Show in no DQ match at WrestleMania XXIV back in 2008.

Donald Trump (WrestleMania 23)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has made many appearances over the years, including a “Battle of the Billionaires” match at WrestleMania 23. Trump’s night ended after taking a Stunner from Steve Austin.

Ice-T (WrestleMania 2000)

Rapper-turned-actor Ice-T showed up at WrestleMania 2000 where he performed “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy” for the Godfather’s entrance.

Limp Bizkit (WrestleMania XIX)

Limp Bizkit, still one of the bigger nu-metal bands at the time, performed a pair of tracks at WrestleMania XIX in March 2003: that year’s official song, “Crack Addict,” and their own hit track, “Rollin,” for the Undertaker’s entrance.

Mickey Rourke (WrestleMania XXV)

After appearing in The Wrestler, one of the best movies of the 2000s, Mickey Rourke entered the ring for real when he confronted Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXV. Though he didn’t participate in a match, he did give Y2J a knockout punch.

Paul Reubens As Pee-Wee Herman (WrestleMania XXVII)

The Rock may have been the biggest name in the house when he hosted WrestleMania XXVII in April 2011, but he wasn’t the only celebrity on hand that night. The late Paul Reubens, as his famous Pee-Wee Herman character, showed up throughout the night in one of his numerous WWE appearances over the years.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs (WrestleMania 29) 

Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared at WrestleMania 29 where he performed “Coming Home,” one of the event’s official theme songs.

Kid Rock (WrestleMania XXV) 

Kid Rock performed not one, not two, but a whole medley of tracks at WrestleMania XXV back in 2009, including smash hit songs “Bawitdaba” and “Cowboy.”

Colin Jost And Michael Che (WrestleMania 35)

After teasing it in the leadup to the event, Saturday Night Live stars Colin Jost and Michael Che showed up at WrestleMania 35 where they participated in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. They weren’t successful or anything, but they did look extra ridiculous, especially when Braun Strowman got involved.

Machine Gun Kelly (WrestleMania XXVIII) 

About a decade before Machine Gun Kelly started his whirlwind romance with Megan Fox, the rapper showed up at WrestleMania XXVIII to perform “Invincible,” that year’s official theme song.

You can go back and watch these celebrity appearances and other great WrestleMania moments with a Peacock subscription. And with WrestleMania XL, as well as other upcoming WWE events on the way, there’s a chance we’ll see even more names on this list in the coming months. 

While 2023 may not have exactly been Jamie Foxx’s year following the actor being hospitalized in April for some sort of medical complication that he recently called an “unexpected dark journey,” he can’t stop, won’t stop starring in movies thanks to the grind he was on before the incident and Hollywood strikes. We’ve just learned that the next of 2023 new movie releases Foxx is expected to be in is Not Another Church Movie, where he will play the role of God himself. 

Is there any role higher? Not Another Church Movie is an upcoming comedy about a young man named Taylor Pherry (played by Kevin Daniels) who is tasked by God to tell his family’s stories and inspire his community. Mickey Rourke will play the role of The Devil, and actors including Vivica A. Fox, Lamorne Morris, Jasmine Guy and Tisha Campbell are also part of the cast. Per the Deadline report, the movie was shot prior to the SAG-AFTRA actors strike, which has had actors on picket lines rather than movie and TV sets since July 14. 

Not Another Church Movie is expected to come out sometime this fall, but an official release date has yet to be officially set. One of the film’s producers, James Michael Cummings, shared these words with the news that Foxx is part of the upcoming comedy: 

Reports came out that Jamie Foxx was hospitalized for an undisclosed “medical complication” back in April, according to his family. Ever since then, the actor has been putting a pause on his projects like Back In Action with Cameron Diaz and his musical game show Beat Shazam to focus on his recovery. While the actor has yet to share what exactly he’s been dealing with, last week he shared on social media that he’s “finally startin to feel like myself,” along with thanked the public for the “well wishes and prayers.” Proof of that came the week before, when the Oscar winner was spotted playing pickleball with an Olympic athlete. 

If Not Another Church Movie does indeed come out this year, it will be added to a stack of recent Jamie Foxx movies including They Cloned Tyrone, God Is A Bullet and leading the Strays voice cast alongside Will Ferrell. As the SAG-AFTRA strike continues, it’s great to get excited for another Jamie Foxx movie with Not Another Church Movie. 

George Clooney as Ferris Bueller? Eddie Murphy in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Sammy Davis, Jr as… Beetlejuice? These are just a few actors who almost starred in classic ‘80s movies and could’ve changed film history. They aren’t the only ones either. Here is our list of 20 actors who almost starred in classic ‘80s movies.

Tom Selleck (The Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

In one of the more infamous casting decisions of all time, Tom Selleck was offered the part of one of the most iconic characters in film history, Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. It’s often falsely reported that Selleck turned the offer down, but as he explained to Rachel Ray, he didn’t say no to director Steven Spielberg, CBS did. The network decided to pick up the pilot he shot for Magnum PI and they wouldn’t let him take the time to shoot Raiders. Harrison Ford is very grateful for it.

George Clooney (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

Yep, that’s right, everyone’s favorite truant, Ferris Bueller, was almost played by George Clooney, instead of Matthew Broderick, in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. According to casting director Janet Hirshenson, she had Clooney read for the part but thought he was too mature for the role and would’ve been "the college student version of Ferris Bueller."

Ethan Hawke (Stand By Me)

River Phoenix had his breakout role as Chris Chambers in Stand By Me, but director Rob Reiner also thought another up-and-coming actor at the time would have been great for the part. In an interview with The Guardian, Ethan Hawke explained that Reiner told him, "You’re really good, but I just gave the part to another kid with a bird name." 

Nicolas Cage (Fast Times At Ridgemont High)

Nicolas Cage did make his big screen debut in a small part in one of the best high school movies of all time, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, but he almost had a much more significant role. According to Judge Reinhold, who played the lead, Brad Hamilton, the producers were going to cast Cage (then known by his given name, Nic Coppola) in the Brad role. The part ended up going to Reinhold because Cage was under 18 at the time and that would’ve required working fewer hours due to child labor laws.

Yaphet Kotto (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

In one of the coolest and most interesting “what could have been” moments, the now legendary role of Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back wouldn’t have been played by Billy Dee Williams. Alien star Yaphet Kotto was the first person offered the part of the former smuggler-turned-Empire bureaucrat, as Kotto was asked by Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner to star as the character. According to the actor, he turned it down because after having just starred in Alien, he was worried about staying "up there," saying,  

You can't blame a guy for worrying about being type-cast, but missing out on Star Wars must have stung! 

Eric Stoltz (Back To The Future)

In another of the more famous “almost-was” casting decisions, it was almost Eric Stoltz, not Michael J. Fox, as Marty McFly in Back To The Future. For six weeks, they filmed Stoltz in the lead role before deciding he wasn’t right for the humor. They went back to their first choice, Fox, who found a way to cram the film into his busy schedule shooting Family Ties, and the rest is history. 

Dustin Hoffman (Dead Poet’s Society)

Of all the roles on this list, the one that would’ve dramatically changed its film most (pun intended) is Dustin Hoffman as John Keating in Dead Poets Society. Hoffman was cast in the part early on and according to writer Tom Schulman, the movie would’ve been very different. In the original script, Keating was dying of leukemia, something Hoffman was ready to embrace in the character, per Schulman:

A dying John Keating played by a dour Hoffman sounds intriguing, but the tone Robin Williams struck makes for much better movie. 

Dustin Hoffman (Blade Runner)

Speaking of another movie that would have been quite different if it had starred Dustin Hoffman, the Rain Man actor was director Ridley Scott’s first choice to play Deckard in Blade Runner. According to the Mirror and production executive Katy Haber, the producers weren’t thrilled with Hoffman, and for the second time in his career, Harrison Ford caught a break and was cast in a film that would become a franchise. 

Matthew Modine (Top Gun)

It’s impossible to image anyone other than Tom Cruise in the role of Maverick in Top Gun, or its sequel Top Gun: Maverick, but it almost happened. The part was originally offered to Matthew Modine, but the Stranger Things star turned down the film because of his personal politics, telling Salon, 

You have to admire Modine for sticking to his personal morals, even if the role he turned down made Tom Cruise one of the biggest stars of all time, to the point where the 2022 sequel hit some major milestones at the box office. 

Mickey Rourke (Beverly Hills Cop)

Well, this one is just bizarre. Before Beverly Hill Cop helped establish Eddie Murphy as one the most bankable stars of the 1980s, it was a very different movie. So different, in fact, that the actor originally attached to play the Axel Foley character was Micky Rourke. The idea was for it to be an action flick, not a comedy, and, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained, they contracted Rourke to star for a whopping $400,000. Eventually, Bruckheimer changed his mind and we’re all grateful for it. 

Eddie Murphy (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

Eddie Murphy isn’t immune from making the wrong call, either. While visiting with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Murphy talked about how he was offered the role of Jimmy Valient in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. According to the Shrek star,

At least it sounds like Murphy is pretty good at not turning down hits on a regular basis!

John Belushi (Ghostbusters)

Sadly, this isn’t a case of an actor or a producer making the wrong (or correct) call by casting someone else in a role, this happened because the actor tragically died. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were close friends and often castmates. As such, when Aykroyd wrote Ghostbusters, he wrote the role of Peter Venkman with Belushi in mind. Luckily for us, Bill Murray stepped into the part and the film still became a classic. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger (RoboCop)

The part of the titular RoboCop is a little different than most others. This time, a big star was very interested in the role but lost out. According to The Movies That Made Us on Netflix, Fubar cast member Arnold Schwarzenegger was very keen to play the role and was riding a wave of success. It all makes sense, right? Well, no, and somewhat ironically, it was Schwarzenegger’s legendary physique that might have lost him the job. While his bulging biceps helped make him a star, the producers of RoboCop were worried he wouldn’t fit into the suit, so the gig went to Peter Weller. 

Kris Kristofferson (The Shining)

This one is almost too hard to even contemplate. There is no one that could be Jack Torrance in The Shining other than Jack Nicholson, right? Well, it almost didn’t happen that way. While Nicholson was director Stanley Kubrick’s first choice to play the writer-gone-psycho Jack Torrance, there was a backup plan in case a deal couldn’t be made for the star. Kris Kristofferson was that plan, according to Kubrick historian Lee Unkrich. 

Billy Zane (Dirty Dancing)

There has rarely been on-screen chemistry like that between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing. Would you believe it almost never happened? According to writer Eleanor Bergstein in The Movies That Made Us, it was almost Billy Zane in the legendary role of Johnny Castle. Unfortunately for Zane, but fortunately for the rest of us, Bergstein said he danced, "like someone who looked like he had learned to dance beautifully for his bar mitzvah."

Frank Sinatra (Die Hard)

In what must have been the most ridiculous casting pitch of all time, the producers of Die Hard were contractually obligated to offer the role of John McLean to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. You see, Die Hard was adapted from a book called Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. That book was a sequel to his 1966 novel The Detective, and that was adapted in 1968 into a movie of the same name starring Sinatra. Because of all this, the legendary singer/actor had the first right of refusal to play the role in future films. Of course, a 70-year-old Sinatra turned down the role and fans rejoice every Christmas when we get to watch Bruce Willis as McLean taking out the terrorists. 

What If…

Finally, a few “what ifs” that were never particularly close to being cast, but directors were interested in filling some iconic roles with some really out-there choices. Take, for example, Tim Burton’s desire to cast Sammy Davis, Jr. as Beetlejuice, instead of Michael Keaton. It’s got to make you giggle at least a little bit to picture Davis trying to drive the Deetzes out of their home by crooning “The Candyman Can.”

How about instead of Sly Stallone as the grizzled Vietnam vet John Rambo, audiences got 1970s superstar, Burt Reynolds? The Smokey & The Bandit star was one of many big-name actors the producers contacted in hopes of landing them for the role. In an interview with Empire, Stallone once mentioned a few names that the part was offered to, including Reynolds, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino. Frankly, the movie might have worked with any of them, but we’re lucky it “fell” to Stallone. 

Burton also had an out-of-the-box thought for the Joker in his Batman. Instead of Jack Nicholson owning that role, just imagine, for a second, David Bowie as the Clown Prince of Crime. Ziggy Stardust was the director’s dream pick, but it’s pretty safe to say that “settling” on Nicholson is a win for audiences, like almost every casting call on this list.

Somewhere in an alternate universe, all these parts were played by different actors and you have to wonder how the butterfly effect could have changed the course of careers and, indeed the film industry if these casts were different. We all believe the right choices were made, but were they? We'll never know. 

The fate of Alec Baldwin’s career has been hanging in a balance ever since a prop gun misfired on the set of Rust, leaving one crew member dead. While Baldwin was initially facing criminal charges with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, the charges regarding Rust have been dropped. Now with the criminal charges gone, it was announced that Baldwin would be making a movie with Nick Cannon and Mickey Rourke.

More than a year after the fatal shooting, filming for Rust resumed forward on the same day that Baldwin was cleared of the charges. One day after filming started again, it was announced by Deadline that the 30 Rock star landed his next film, Mike Hatton’s directorial debut Hollywood Heist. This comedy crime movie will have a star-studded cast featuring Nick Cannon, Mickey Rourke, Tara Reid, and more alongside Baldwin. 

Hollywood Heist will have these three leading men playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Cannon will be playing a Hollywood agent hoping to woo an actor, played by Baldwin, by telling his story of the trouble he's tried to fix after his latest production’s budget has been stolen by a thief. Filming wrapped up last week in Las Vegas as well as Majorica, Spain with principal photography being finished in Los Angeles. With fictionalized-version-of-actor movies like Being John Malkovich and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent being huge hits, I have a hunch Hollywood Heist will get the same treatment.

This wouldn’t be the first film role that Alec Baldwin has signed onto since the Rust shooting tragedy. Baldwin returned to acting for two Christmas-themed projects along with his brother, William, with Billie’s Magic World and Kid Santa where the 30 Rock actor will be playing Kris Kringle himself both filmed in Italy. It’s clear that the Beetlejuice actor is continuing on his family-friendly film path as he had a voiceover role in 2021’s Boss Baby sequel The Boss Baby: Back in Business as well as a voice role in Arctic Dogs the year before. 

The charges against Alec Baldwin may be dropped, but he might not yet be out of the woods. The official statement from the special prosecutor said that charges have only been dropped in order to organize further investigations into the matter. It was also stated that Baldwin was not discharged of “criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.” So, this investigation is not over as more goes into what happened on that unfortunate day.   

Alec Baldwin’s Hollywood Heist movie with Nick Cannon and Mickey Rourke was announced the day after his criminal charges were dropped. Follow up with our 2023 movie releases so you’ll be the first to know when Rust and Hollywood Heist hit theaters.

Mickey Rourke seems to have some hot Hollywood takes to share these days. The actor, who rarely ever minces words, recently made headlines for sharing some not-so-nice thoughts on Tom Cruise. When asked about the actor’s recent success with Top Gun: Maverick, Rourke said that it “doesn’t mean shit” to him and accused Cruise of playing “the same effing part for 35 years.”  Now, it seems that he also has thoughts on the ongoing legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, and he didn’t hold back on that discussion, either. 

The 69-year-old actor shared his sentiments on Tom Cruise as well as his two cents on Amber Heard and Johnny Depp during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored. When talk turned to the former couple’s heated defamation case, Mickey Rourke showed empathy for Depp, who he knows. This apparent support seems to stem from a past career setback that Rourke experienced years ago: 

The situation that the Oscar-nominated actor may be referring to is an incident that occurred in 1994, when he was arrested on suspicion of spouse abuse. The charges against him were ultimately dropped after prosecutors were unable to get his then-wife, model Carré Otis, to testify in court. It was during that decade that the actor experienced a bit of a professional dry spell. 

Though Mickey Rourke and Johnny Depp apparently don’t know each other “intimately,” they have been acquainted for some time now. The two worked together one Robert Rodriguez’s 2003 action flick Once Upon a Time in Mexico. This isn’t the first time that Rourke has spoken out on Depp’s professional/and or personal relationship with Amber Heard. He spoke to TMZ about it in 2016 and cast doubt on the idea of Depp committing the abuse Heard accused him of. Rourke remained diplomatic at the time when it came to Heard’s character but, during this latest interview, he gave a blunt response when asked if he thinks she’s truly a gold digger:

Following the six-week defamation trial, the jury reached a verdict that awarded Johnny Depp a compensatory $10 million and $5 million in punitive damages. Amber Heard was also awarded $2 million in her countersuit and, as it stands, she must pay her former hubby $8.3 million (due to the punitive charges being lowered). Heard’s legal team has claimed that she can’t pay her ex the millions of dollars. Though shortly after that assertion was made, Heard was spotted using a private plane. 

The Aquaman actress is currently looking to get the verdict thrown out due to an alleged issue with Juror 15, who she and her team claimed is not the person who was summoned. Johnny Depp’s legal team responded, saying that the star is no longer within her right to take issue with the accuracy of the jury panel. There’s sure to be more to come in regard to that situation and, in the meantime, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mickey Rourke drops more honest thoughts on them, Tom Cruise and other Hollywood A-listers.

Top Gun: Maverick has blown away all expectations by not simply being a box office success but an absolute smash. The movie has grossed over $1 billion at the global box office and put Tom Cruise back on top as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. However, one former Academy Award nominee is far from impressed and Mickey Rourke isn’t hiding how he feels.

Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Mickey Rourke was asked what he thought of Top Gun: Maverick’s current success and the Iron Man 2 star, who has previously been critical of Marvel movies for what he also perceives as a lack of acting, made it clear that he’s not a Tom Cruise fan. He called the actor “irrelevant” and said that Cruise isn’t the sort of actor he would aspire to be. Rourke said…

It’s a criticism that has been said about a lot of actors, not just Tom Cruise, that they don’t really act in their movies, but play themselves, or slightly different versions of an on screen persona. It’s not exactly a stretch to say that Tom Cruise often plays characters that are similar. One can be critical of Cruise for that. There are other actors, like Daniel Day Lewis or Gary Oldman, who are known for transforming into very different characters for very different movies,

One can also be critical of the audience, who clearly likes to see him playing those sorts of characters. When Cruise does branch out and play more diverse sorts of roles, and he certainly has done that, they don’t always get the recognition of the audience. Studios are less likely to spend money on movies that have Tom Cruise playing roles outside of the action hero if those roles don’t make money.

Certainly, we’ll be see Tom Cruise play the “same role” again in the coming months, as he has a pair of Mission: Impossible movies on the way, so he’ll be playing literally the same role he has played a half dozen times before. After that, we’ll have to see. One assumes that the action movie roles will start to slow down at some point, Cruise is 60-years-old after all, but it doesn’t seem likely Tom Cruise will retire from acting when that happens, so maybe we will start to see a more diverse set of performances from him. Maybe it will be enough to impress the doubters. 

There are some actor/director combos that audiences have come to expect on seeing. Sam Raimi has Bruce Campbell, Rian Johnson has both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Noah Segan, and for Robert Rodriguez one of his frequent collaborators is the great, real-life badass Danny Trejo. However, these collaborators don’t have a perfect track record, and in the case of Rodriguez, Trejo, and Sin City, the actor's potential role in the comic book movie apparently went to Mickey Rourke for a rather hilarious reason. 

While speaking with Danny Trejo in advance of his upcoming movie Minions: The Rise of Gru, I had one Robert Rodriguez question I was burning to ask him. Funny enough, it wasn’t about his absence in Sin City, but rather Trejo’s omission from the cast of 2019’s Alita: Battle Angel. While he’s still not sure why he was left out of the anime adaptation’s roster, Danny Trejo off-handedly mentioned that he was up for the role of Marv in the Frank Miller co-directed hardboiled noir.

It wasn’t meant to be, however, as the actor apparently didn’t meet a very special requirement Robert Rodriguez had for the role. Addressing both his absence in Alita and Sin City, Danny Trejo said, 

To be fair, the character of Marv is supposed to be so hideous that most women are repulsed by him. We see this factor come into play during Sin City’s segment “The Hard Goodbye,” where Mickey Rourke’s character somehow finds himself entwined with the beautiful Goldie (Jaime King) just before her untimely death. 

Though there were prosthetics involved to make Rourke look closer to his graphic novel counterpart, his “appalling disfigured” face admittedly made him a natural fit as one of Sin City’s most dogged protectors. With a litany of pro-boxing injuries and reconstructive surgeries that followed, Mickey Rourke’s physical attributes (as well as his career’s resurgence after appearing in the Academy Award nominated The Wrestler) made him the right fit for the part.

It’s not like Danny Trejo wouldn’t go on to work with Robert Rodriguez again. In fact, it was only two years after Sin City’s 2005 release that the two men teamed up on one of their greatest projects: the short that would spawn Machete (which was featured in the theatrical release of the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse). It's a role that the actor would love to reprise, either in the upcoming Netflix Spy Kids reboot, or in the previously promised Machete Kills In Space. 

This story does circle back all the way to talking about Alita: Battle Angel: a film with a fanbase that’s extremely motivated to see a sequel, and that has Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, and Rosa Salazar pushing for the project. Were the Alita Army fandom to push for Trejo to appear in this hypothetical sequel, his reaction to his potential casting is as positive as you’d expect: 

There you have it, folks. While it seems very unlikely we’ll be able to bring Danny Trejo into the world of Sin City (he's also not in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), there’s still some prime opportunities to see the actor work with his longtime collaborator Robert Rodriguez. Who knows? Maybe there’s some room for Mickey Rourke to join in on some of these worlds too.

In the meantime, you can hear Danny Trejo bring Stronghold, one of the members of the Vicious 6, to life in Minions: The Rise of Gru, which opens this weekend (starting with early showings on Thursday). 

Usually, the job of comic book movie actors is to smoothly transcend their character away from the pulpy graphics and bring them into the real world. However, that was not quite the case for Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Alexis Bledel, and the rest of the Sin City cast, because Frank Miller and co-director Robert Rodriguez did more than just adapt his series of gritty, noir-inspired graphic novels into a film. They brought them to life.

The critically acclaimed 2005 hit stays remarkably faithful to the source material - not just to the stories and character motivations, but also (and most importantly) the minimalistic, grayscale aesthetic that results in one of most refreshingly original and visually stunning films of its time. Many Sin City cast members would later appear in more straightforward superhero movies, including Rosario Dawson and Benicio del Toro, to name a few. To see what else the star-studded ensemble has been up to, read on.

Jessica Alba (Nancy Callahan)

After rising to fame with the 1999 horror-comedy Idle Hands and the sci-fi series Dark Angel, Jessica Alba played Nancy - a club dancer with a disturbing past - in Sin City the same year she starred in the first of two Fantastic Four movies as Invisible Woman. She would re-team with Robert Rodriguez for 2010’s Machete, the fourth installment of the Spy Kids movies in 2011, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, in which she returned as Nancy. 

The mother of three and founder of The Honest Company more recently partnered with Gabrielle Union on the Bad Boys movies spin-off series, L.A.’s Finest, and is currently starring in and producing the upcoming thriller Trigger Warning.

Bruce Willis (Det. John Hartigan)

Also appearing in the Sin City sequel, once again as Det. John Hartigan, was Bruce Willis, who seems to be busier now than ever. He already released six titles in 2021 alone (such as Midnight in the Switchgrass with Megan Fox), with three coming out later in the year (including Fortress, which already has a sequel in the works). 

The Die Hard movies star also had a busy and successful 2019, reprising David Dunn in Glass, playing Edward Norton’s mentor in Motherless Brooklyn, and playing himself in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and Between Two Ferns: The Movie. Willis has five 2022 movie releases scheduled, including A Good Day to Die (not to be confused with A Good Day to Die Hard) which also features his Cosmic Sin co-star, Frank Grillo.

Devon Aoki (Miho) 

“Deadly little Miho” was recast in the sequel with Jamie Chung, but was portrayed in the original Sin City cast by Devon Aoki. She broke through two years earlier as Suki in 2 Fast 2 Furious before playing one of the four main teen heroes of D.E.B.S. in 2004. 

In 2006, she played another samurai-sword wielding warrior in the video game movie D.O.A.: Dead or Alive, had a small role in the lighter comic book movie, Zoom, appeared alongside Jason Statham and Jet Li for War in 2007, and entered a future war in Mutant Chronicles the following year. After 2009’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead, the model and mother retired from acting, but has appeared in a few music videos - most recently one for her half-brother, Steve Aoki.

Benicio Del Toro (Lt. Det. Jack “Jackie Boy” Rafferty)

Miho’s most memorable kill in Sin City would have to be the crooked cop known as “Jackie Boy,” played by Academy Award winner Benicio del Toro in his comic book movie debut. Years later, he appeared in the Marvel movies as “The Collector,” whom he reprised most recently on Disney+’s What If…? in 2021. 

That same year, he re-teamed with Traffic director Steven Soderbergh for HBO Max’s No Sudden Move, and worked with Wes Anderson for the first time in The French Dispatch. Del Toro has a couple of dramas in the works (including White Lies from Oliver Stone), a comedy from writer and director Jamie Foxx called All-Star Weekend, and a Cuban Mafia biopic called The Corporation.

Rosario Dawson (Gail)

Also part of the MCU (if Netflix’s Marvel TV shows still count) is Rosario Dawson. She actually made her comic book movie debut with Josie and the Pussycats four years before playing Old Town’s Gail in Sin City. 

The “Geek Goddess” has since become especially prolific for comic book character roles, including Wonder Woman in several DC animated movies, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in The LEGO Batman Movie, Catwoman in HBO Max’s Batman: The Audio Adventures podcast, and Ava DuVernay’s upcoming DMZ series adaptation. The Dopesick cast member is is re-teaming with Kevin Smith for Clerks III and will soon lead her own Ashoka Tano TV show - a miniseries spun-off from The Mandalorian - on Disney+.

Clive Owen (Dwight McCarthy)

Gail’s lover - the mysterious, hard-nosed Dwight McCarthy - was first played in the original Sin City by Academy Award nominee Clive Owen. He has probably never played a more badass character, even though his earlier role in The Bourne Identity and later performance in Inside Man offer worthy options. 

After returning to comic book adaptations with 2017's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and playing the enemy of two Will Smiths in 2019’s Gemini Man, the British actor reunited with his Children of Men co-star Julianne Moore for Apple TV+’s Stephen King-inspired miniseries Lisey’s Story in 2021 and, that same year, joined the Impeachment: American Crime Story cast as Bill Clinton. Owen is reportedly planning to head to France to shoot a new TV series called Monsieur Spade, on which he will play Humphrey Bogart’s famous detective character from The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade.

Alexis Bledel (Becky)

One of the more notably younger Old Town girls is Becky, played by Alexis Bledel - who was best known at the time as Rory from the Gilmore Girls cast, and from her debut film Tuck Everlasting in 2002. This past year, she reprised her Emmy Award-winning role as Emily Malek in The Handmaid’s Tale cast for Season 4 and will reportedly reprise her character from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies in a third installment.

Jaime King (Wendy/Goldie)

The twin sisters who led Old Town in Sin City, Wendy and Goldie, were both played by Jaime King, who would also star in another visually unique comic book movie from director Frank Miller called The Spirit. A year later, 2009’s 3-D My Bloody Valentine remake made her a bit of scream queen (further proven by her lead role on the Netflix original zombie show Black Summer). 

Of course, the model and actress is also known for lighter roles, such as Lemon Breeland in the Hart of Dixie cast or in 2018’s Ocean’s Eight as herself. King recently reunited with Bruce Willis for the 2021 action movie Out of Death and will play the title role in the upcoming assassin thriller Banshee. 

Mickey Rourke (Marv)

Moments before her untimely death at the beginning of Sin City’s first segment, Goldie captured the heart of an extremely tough, but compassionate, criminal named Marv. I would personally rank this character right underneath Mickey Rourke’s Academy Award nominated role in director Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler on a list of his strongest performances. 

After returning to comic book movies with 2010’s Iron Man 2 and the Sin City sequel in 2014, the Angel Heart star would also return to horror movies, such as the Shudder original anthology Nightmare Cinema in 2015 and upcoming titles like The Seeding and She’s Still Here alongside Dexter: New Blood cast member Jennifer Carpenter. Of course, his biggest role in recent memory would have to be on The Masked Singer Season 4 as Gremlin. 

Carla Gugino (Lucille)

Marv’s parole officer, Lucille, is played by Carla Gugino in her fourth collaboration with Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez. She also did several comic book adaptations directed by Zack Snyder, including Watchmen as Sally Jupiter and all of his DCEU installments as the voice of the Kryptonian ship. 

The Jett star is best known lately for appearing in several projects from Mike Flanagan, including Gerald’s Game, his Haunting Collection on Netflix, and a brief cameo in the Midnight Mass cast as a judge. The Gunpowder Milkshake cast member’s next project, a TV series thriller called Leopard Skin, is now in post-production.

Elijah Wood (Kevin) 

Giving one of Sin City’s creepiest performances (without saying a word) as the cannibalistic Kevin is Elijah Wood. The former child actor became an icon as Frodo in the Lord of the Rings movies, a sitcom star with FX’s surreal American remake of Wilfred, and a horror movie actor (i.e. his inventive 2012 remake of Maniac) and producer (i.e. the brutal revenge tale Mandy from 2018 starring Nicolas Cage). 

In 2021, he played the FBI analyst to whom Ted Bundy revealed the details of his crimes in No Man of God and leant his voice to the video game Psychonauts 2. Speaking of video games, he has a movie about the dark side of video game programming called L.A. Rush in the works, along with his upcoming Toxic Avenger remake.

Nick Stahl (Yellow Bastard)

Perhaps the creepiest and undeniably grossest character in Sin City, however, is Roark Jr., otherwise known as “Yellow Bastard” due to his unique complexion, who is played by Nick Stahl. Also a former child actor who made his film debut in 1991 with Mel Gibson’s The Man Without a Face, he is best known as John Connor in 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines or as the lead of HBO’s Carnivale cast. 

In 2021, he joined the Fear the Walking Dead cast in a recurring role and made a guest appearance among the ruthless Animal Kingdom characters on the TNT drama. He is currently filming a live action adaptation of the hit anime, Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, expected for 2023.

Josh Hartnett (The Salesman)

The first character we meet and the one who first refers to the film’s setting as “Sin City” is the mysterious, deadly “Salesman.” He is played by The Faculty cast member Josh Hartnett, who would star alongside Bruce Willis in Lucky Number Slevin in 2006. 

The following year, he appeared in a more brutal comic adaptation called 30 Days of Night and then, after an acting break, became the lead of the Penny Dreadful cast. After playing himself on Quibi’s Die Hart in 2020, Hartnett appeared in two cool 2021 thrillers (Wrath of Man and Ida Red), and is now working on the TV series The Fear Index.

There are many Sin City cast members who have, unfortunately, passed away in the years since the film was released - including Powers Boothe (Senator Roark), Michael Clarke Duncan (Manute), Rutger Hauer (Cardinal Roark), and Brittany Murphy (Shellie). However, they will forever be seen as a bright, delightful memory from an otherwise beautifully bleak and deliciously dismal masterpiece. 

During his time on SNL and beyond, Will Forte evolved his MacGruber character from a one-note MacGyver parody into a spinoff machine that somehow hasn't ever overstayed its welcome. The true test is coming via the in-development TV adaptation for NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service, and the producers just boosted the new series' credibility by casting a stellar trio of actors, with MCU and Sin City vet Mickey Rourke tapped to play MacGruber's new arch nemesis.

Let's break down each of these MacGruber casting additions and see what fans can expect from the new stars joining the previously revealed Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe.

Mickey Rourke - Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth

One of 2020's strangest TV moments involved Mickey Rourke's voluntary Masked Singer unmasking, and I can almost already guarantee that he'll be at the center of more baffling small screen moments on MacGruber. In the action comedy romp, Rourke will take on the role of Enos Queeth, one of MacGruber's most notorious enemies. Though Queeth was long believed to be dead, he reemerged in the world with a deadly plot to bring the Earth to its knees, all while declaring revenge on MacGruber himself.

The foibles of Iron Man 2 aside, Mickey Rourke has long proven himself to be an intimidating presence on screen, and he's usually best either when playing things completely straight, as it went with The Wrestler, or when he's in full self-aware mode, as it went with The Expendables. Can't wait to see what kind of madness he brings to the role of Enos Queeth.

Sam Elliott - Perry

Having cemented his streaming TV star power on Netflix's Grace and Frankie and The Ranch, the legendary Sam Elliott is heading to a far zanier comedy by taking on a fatherly role in MacGruber. That's right, Will Forte's bumbling hero was somehow sired by Elliott's character Perry. Though the two characters are no longer as close as they once were, Perry is a guiding beacon in MacGruber's life, and it sounds like he'll serve as a pillar of inspirational advice as his son attempts to save the world. No pressure, no pressure.

I love the idea of giving the manic MacGruber a classic westernly parental figure in Sam Elliott. His Southern drawl is instantly recognizable, from truck commercials to The Big Lebowski to Family Guy, so I'm guessing everyone will be hanging onto every word he says in the TV show.

Laurence Fishburne - General Barrett Fasoose

This excellent casting update is rounded out by the addition of black-ish star Laurence Fishburne, who will bring his comedy-friendly professional demeanor to MacGruber in a big way. Not only is Fishburne's Barrett Fasoose a highly decorated general who has earned the respect of the entire U.S. military, but he's also the current husband of MacGruber's ex-wife Vicki St. Elmo, as played by Kristen Wiig. Expect some ludicrous sparks to fly between Fasoose and MacGruber over just about everything.

Laurence Fishburne has played the upper-patriarch on the ABC comedy black-ish for seven seasons now, and with Season 8 having already been announced as the show's final one, it's awesome that the actor has already landed a follow-up comedy to dive into in the meantime. (We're also still pumped to hear him in the upcoming Marvel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.)

The eight-episode initial season of MacGruber will debut on Peacock at some point later in 2021 or in early 2022, depending on how complicated the filming gets. While waiting to hear more updates, be sure to keep up with everything coming to TV soon with our 2021 Summer TV schedule.

As one of the longest-running scripted series on the air right now, Law & Order: SVU has surpassed the footsteps of its 20-season predecessor Law & Order, but just because the Mariska Hargitay-starring spinoff has been around for the better part of two decades doesn't mean everyone has watched it. For instance, there's Iron Man 2 and The Wrestler vet Mickey Rourke, who apparently spent half of the pandemic binge-watching the bejesus out of SVU's 22 seasons. And in true Rourke form, he couldn't get through his entire social media post about the crime drama without taking a big swipe at Marvel films.

To say that Mickey Rourke's Instagram post about Law & Order: SVU is a wild rave is to say that the oceans are mildly wet. The notorious Masked Singer Season 4 contestant clocked around 330 words in his praise-oozing post, with those final 20 words taking aim at the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (More on those below.) He explained that he'd never watched SVU in the 20+ years it was on the air. but once he had his gym equipment set up in his living room during the pandemic, Rourke found himself going from episode to episode until he'd seen "about 1000 of them." (There are currently just over 500 produced episodes.) The majority of his praise went to the talented ensemble cast, as he claimed he'd never seen such "terrific acting on TV." Here are his thoughts on the OG dynamic duo of Benson and Stabler, presented in unedited form:

By all means, those are quite kind words from Mickey Rourke, who isn't exactly known as a compliment vending machine around Hollywood. He holds Mariska Hargitay's work as Olivia Benson on par with much of what one would see from theatrical performances, and Christopher Meloni clearly taps into a similar energy for Rourke, who famously has it in for Robert De Niro. As well as for millions of viewers around the world whose fandom played a big part in convincing franchise creator and expander Dick Wolf to bring Meloni back in for the spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime. We can only assume Rourke is a fan of that show, too, assuming he's one of the many tuning in.

After showering praise on Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, Mickey Rourke also had kind words for SVU's other stars, saying Ice-T's sincerity and swag was "tremendously" impressive, and also noting the talented efforts of Stephanie March and BD Wong. And when all the good vibes were through, that's when Rourke slapped on his Whiplash suit and awkwardly bodyslammed Marvel on his way out.

I don't know that I ever pictured the Law & Order franchise's fandom being on the opposing end of the battlefield from the Marvel fandom, in part because it would be fairly easy to picture many stars from the crime drama taking on roles within any number of big-budget superhero tales. Perhaps someone in the comic book world could bring an SVU vs. MCU storyline to life, since Mickey Rourke probably can't rail on the acting skills of an illustrated character. Okay, yeah, he probably would anyway.

Check out Mickey Rourke's entire post below!

Law & Order: SVU still has quite a bit left to deliver for fans and Mickey Rourke, with Season 22 airing Thursday nights on NBC at 9:00 p.m. ET, following by Christopher Meloni's standalone spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime.

The Masked Singer is back for its fourth season on Fox despite circumstances that have kept other big TV shows off the fall schedule, and the show wasted no time in getting wild. Between the costumes that have somehow gotten even more elaborate in Season 4, the measures taken to give the impression of a packed audience, and the identities of the unmasked celebrities so far, there's no saying what will happen each week.

Now that several celebrities have been unmasked in Season 4 (and the ratings prove that The Masked Singer came back as strong as ever), let's take a look at all the Season 4 reveals so far!

Warning: spoilers ahead for The Masked Singer Season 4 through the November 18 episode, "The Group A Play Offs."

The Dragon

The Masked Singer kicked off Season 4 with a strong crop of competitors, including The Sun, The Dragon, Popcorn, Giraffe, and the Snow Owls as the show's first-ever duet act. Despite a performance of LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," the Dragon didn't leave as strong of an impression on voters as the other masked singers, and he lost his mask to reveal none other than rap legend Busta Rhymes! Losing a music legend so early came as a bit of a surprise, but his elimination is a sign of just how strong the competition is in Group A.

The Gremlin

The Gremlin was the second masked celebrity to go from The Masked Singer Season 4 and the first of Group B, also comprised of Crocodile, Baby Alien, Seahorse, Whatchamacallit, and Serpent, and his unmasking as Mickey Rourke made history. He went for a shaky performance of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" that wasn't the strongest of the night, but he didn't wait around to find out if voters wanted him out. Shortly after singing his final note, Gremlin went right ahead and removed his own mask, resulting in The Masked Singer's very first self-elimination. The mask was seemingly so uncomfortable that he wanted it off, so maybe The Masked Singer needs to do something about those masks!

Giraffe

Giraffe marks the first elimination of Season 4 who had to lose the mask after not one but two performances. After an energetic performance of "Let's Get It Started" by Black Eyed Peas in the Season 4 premiere that was enough to keep him in the mix over Dragon, his version of Kool & the Gang's "Get Down On It" turned out to be his downfall, and he was unmasked as Beverly Hills,90210 alum (and close personal friend of judge Robin Thicke) Brian Austin Green. He leaves behind some strong singers in Popcorn, Snow Owls, and Sun, but I'll miss his him for his costume more than anything. A giraffe dressed up like an 18th century aristocrat? I don't 100% get it, but I loved it!

Baby Alien

Another Group B singer bit the dust, and Baby Alien was voted out despite a catchy rendition of Imagine Dragons’ “It’s Time.” The judges were conflicted in their guesses, with Jenny McCarthy going for Nick Kroll, Nicole Scherzinger suggesting puppet expert Jeff Dunham, Ken Jeong citing Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Friends connections to guess Freddie Prinze Jr., Robin Thicke going in an Orange Is the New Black direction for Jason Biggs, and guest judge Joel McHale pitching Eric Bana. They were all wrong in the end, and Baby Alien was revealed to be retired NFL quarterback and sports commentator Mark Sanchez! He might not have won, but he fooled the judges, and that’s its own kind of victory.

The Lips

The first night of Group C singers was packed with some entertaining performers, but Squiggly Monster, Mushroom, Jellyfish, Broccoli, and Lips couldn’t all stay in the running for the top prize. Despite a rendition of Odyssey’s “Native New Yorker” and flirty exchanges with Nick Cannon, Lips was voted out and unmasked to be revealed as none other than talk show host Wendy Williams. Both Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger were correct with their first impressions that Wendy Williams was Lips, but Ken Jeong’s first impression of Mariah Carey was wildly (but hilariously) off.

Squiggly Monster

The remaining secret celebrity singers of Group C were back on November 4, and it was down to Squiggly Monster, Mushroom, Jellyfish, and Broccoli. Despite Squiggly Monster hitting the stage with all his extra arms for a satisfying rendition of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," he didn't get enough votes to stay, and he was unmasked as none other than Bob Saget. His voice was distinctive enough that Jenny McCarthy and Robin Thicke both had him figured out from their first impressions, and all the judges (including guest judge and former Masked Singer Fox Wayne Brady) guessed that Squiggly Monster was Saget, other than Nicole Scherzinger.

Snow Owls

The Masked Singer made history in Season 4 with the first-ever duet act. The Snow Owls impressed the judges and voters enough to last through to the Group A Finals, but their journey would end there. Despite joining voices with Sun and Popcorn for a group performance of Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” and an emotional rendition of Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion’s “The Prayer,” they wound up in the bottom two with Popcorn. The Snow Owls vs. Popcorn smackdown saw Popcorn come out on top with her performance of Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” and the Snow Owls were revealed as none other than Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black after their version of Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” wasn’t enough to send them to the finals.

Whatchamacallit

The Group B Finals were also the first double elimination of the season, meaning that only two of Crocodile, Whatchamacallit, Serpent, and Seahorse would make it to the final six. Whatchamacallit successfully performed despite his especially wild costume, with an energetic rendition of "Lean Back" by Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe and Remy, but he didn't have enough votes to beat Crocodile and Seahorse. He was unmasked as none other than basketball player Lonzo Ball, making Ken Jeong correct with his final guess (after definitely not nailing to first impression).

Serpent

The second singer of the Group B final four to be cut was none other than Serpent. He channeled his inner Jonas Brother for a performance of "Cool," which had the judges guessing everybody from Jamie Foxx to Scrubs veteran Donald Faison to Dr. Elvis. Serpent was unmasked to reveal that Nicole Scherzinger was on the money with her final guess, having performed with Dr. Elvis in the past. She was the only one (including guest judge Cheryl Hines) to correctly guess Serpent's identity.

These are the Masked Singer Season 4 eliminations so far, but many more are yet to come, so be sure to check back with CinemaBlend each week for the latest updates. New episodes of The Masked Singer air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, usually ahead of Ken Jeong's bonkers new musical competition series. For some more of what you can watch now and in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule!

If you didn’t already know, Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro have supposedly had a 30-year-long feud with each other. It first started on the set of 1987’s Angel Heart. Allegedly, Robert De Niro said to Mickey Rourke, “I think it’s better if we don’t talk.” The feud hasn’t stopped since and now things between the two seem to be heating up.

Mickey Rourke recently took to social media from a now-deleted Instagram post to call out Robert De Niro for saying Rourke was a liar. If you want to see how scathing the feud has become, here’s Mickey Rourke’s own words:

These are some very strong words from Mickey Rourke. It’s easy to see how a long-time feud could boil over into something like this. However, this isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere, and had recently been reignited by The Irishman.

The Expendables actor claimed that he was considered for a role in The Irishman, but said his chances for the role were foiled by Robert De Niro. Mickey Rourke said Robert De Niro refused to work with him. According to Independent, Rourke later said that getting the role on The Irishman would have helped him since he "needed the money."

However, things get a bit more complicated with Mickey Rourke’s story. In response to his claims, The Irishman producers Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, as well as casting director Ellen Lewis, all denied them, saying (via Indiewire):

There’s no doubt this is a difficult situation. Regardless of who is right, it’s unlikely to settle the bad blood between Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke. And, for Mickey Rourke’s part, it’s not the only time he’s had a feud.

In the past, Mickey Rourke, who played villain Ivan Vanko in Iron Man 2, voiced his frustration with Marvel, saying, in part, “I’m not a Marvel fan.” At the time, he wanted to add dimension to his character in Iron Man 2, but when push came to shove, Marvel decided to cut most of his scenes. So, it makes some sense why he might be upset.

Perhaps one day Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro can find a way to bury the hatchet and move on from their feud. As always, stay tuned to Cinema Blend for the latest movie news, including if this particular hatchet ever finds its way underground.

A lot of projects that were supposed to shoot, wrap or even be released in 2020 unfortunately haven’t had the chance to cross the finish line, as current events shut down sets for TV and movie projects alike around the world. And yet, somehow, Iron Man 2 star Mickey Rourke’s latest film, Warhunt, found a way. It was a very restrictive way, but those involved still got the job done.

According to Variety, the Mickey Rourke-starring film concluded its scheduled shoot in Latvia, in compliance with the Latvian government’s strict guidelines for operating its set. In addition to the common sense measure of wearing masks and gloves, everyone on Warhunt’s set were subject twice a day to temperature checks, as well as had to engage in rigorous disinfecting, and, of course, social distancing behaviors.

This was on top of rearranging the shooting schedule for Warhunt so that Mickey Rourke could film his part before the eventual closure of Latvia’s borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It eventually led to director Mauro Borrelli completing his film, which sounds like a wild ride and a half for the audiences who are looking for something exciting to debut on the horizon.

Warhunt's story sounds very similar to that of the film Overlord, as Mickey Rourke's character is part of a team of US soldiers trapped in World War II Germany, only to discover that witches are real and gunning for them. While it’s not an exact match for Overlord’s tale of secret experiments and science gone wrong, it’s pretty close with the usage of magic replacing science as the cause of the US Army’s woes.

It’s pretty amazing to read about how Warhunt actually finished its production, both with a ticking clock of border closure and intense adaptation to the routine of all on the set. With a lot of major films having to shut down in the middle of production, and full seasons of television needing to be delayed due to un-filmed episodes being stuck in the queue, the fact that Mickey Rourke and his co-workers could seal the deal is pretty impressive.

Which poses another pretty big question: if Warhunt could finish its shooting schedule on time, even in the face of the coronavirus, could it be one of the few films that still gets released in 2020? While theater closures will make any sort of theatrical exhibition questionable, a streaming debut could make Warhunt into an unexpected hit with viewers who are tired of renting or streaming the same movies on a loop.

No release date for Warhunt has been specified, but it could be assumed that the picture will find its way to audiences whenever it sees fit, as it’s an example of the spirit of independent film that’s thrived in this new and unpredictable climate.

Did you know Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke have had an over 30-year feud? Rourke has no issue spilling all the details, citing its beginnings on the set of 1987’s Angel Heart. Back then, De Niro allegedly told him “I think it’s better if we don’t talk” on the set of the thriller. The so-called beef has carried over into their current careers, and Rourke now claims De Niro barred him from a chance to work with Martin Scorsese on his upcoming big-budget Netflix film, The Irishman. In Rourke’s words:

Mickey Rourke told all on Italian television show, Live – Non è la D’Urso (via Independent), sharing his disappointment in the missed oppurtunity. He said he was “upset” about it, especially since he “needed the money” and a gig on The Irishman would have been a good break for him. However, when producers Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and casting director Ellen Lewis, of the upcoming Scorsese film were contacted on the matter, here’s how they replied (via IndieWire):

So either Mickey Rourke is flaming fake fire or three members of Scorsese’s The Irishman have their facts wrong. On Live – Non è la D’Urso, the Iron Man 2 actor also talked about how he used to look up to Robert De Niro in the ‘80s on a pedestal the likes of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino are on before their bad blood. Now, he thinks differently. Here’s what he said:

Those are bold words from Mickey Rourke! If he really did have a shot at The Irishman, he has reason to be disappointed. The exciting release is Martin Scorsese’s first film in three years, and will star Robert De Niro as hitman Frank Sheeran, Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa, Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino and an all-star supporting cast including Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale and Anna Paquin.

The Irishman will center on De Niro’s mob hitman from the ages of 24 to 80 (thanks to some incredible de-aging technology). It’s reportedly the most expensive Scorsese film to date and the longest, running at 3 hours and 30 minutes.

The Irishman will premiere in theaters on November 1 before heading to Netflix on November 27.

Drugs are bad, mmkay? Having said that, in quite a number of movies, drugs are necessary. You can’t have Cocaine Bear without the cocaine and how would you even know a movie was set sometime in the 1980’s if it didn’t include a white-collar businessman snorting the white stuff? So, how do you make a movie that includes people doing drugs without having your actors doing drugs? Just like actors need stand-ins on occasion, the prop master brings in stand-ins for the drugs and the stand-in for cocaine has changed in recent years.

In the past, powdered milk and baking soda have been your standard replacements for 1980’s nose candy but recently that has changed. According to the Independent, a powder called inositol is what you see these days when you see actors snorting coke. It makes sense, as the white powder is often used as a cutting agent for actual cocaine. Inositol is a vitamin B powder, and as it turns out, being a vitamin can actually give you a "slight energy lift." This isn’t too surprising. Vitamin B is the primary ingredient in most of your "energy shot" drinks for just this reason. At the same time, it’s actually a little creepy. You’re pretending to be snorting cocaine, which gives you a serious lift, and while you’re not actually taking the drug, you’re taking a different powder into your body which still gives you a bit of a kick. It’s like "diet cocaine."

This was reportedly a serious problem on the set of The Wrestler where Mickey Rourke was apparently notified of the powder’s side effects following a scene where his character ingests the fake drug. Jeff Butcher, the prop master on the film, said that Rourke had a bit of a "freak out" upon discovering what he just ingested. Apparently the actor had some pre-existing anxiety issues, and he was afraid that the pep from the powder might exacerbate them. Luckily, it does not appear there were any problems, as Rourke was able to calm down.

The fact that "the stuff" is not real does not mean that there can’t be some serious problems with snorting it. Al Pacino has previously discussed how snorting the fake cocaine in Scarface completely messed up his nasal passages for years afterward. They can make the stuff not kill you, but you still have to actually inhale it up your nose which, generally speaking, is not how your body was designed to take in substances.

So the next time you see somebody on screen snorting a white powder, you’ll know what they’re actually inhaling. Nobody is doing actual drugs, although they may be increasing their daily intake of calcium or vitamin B. See, it’s almost like they’re being healthy.

Most comic book/superhero movies are adaptations of preexisting source material, which means that it’s especially important to find the right actor to breathe life into these characters. Occasionally the studios find someone who plays a near-perfect version of the lead characters, like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man or Christopher Reeve as Superman. Then there are those at the opposite end of the spectrum, actors who, although successful, gave the audience a terrible version of the hero, villain, or supporting player either due to a bad script or just going in the wrong direction with the character.

These bad performances can be found not just in the modern era of comic book movies, but in decades past. While all the actors on this list have enjoyed success with their film careers, their respective superhero movies are not indicative of their talents, resulting in mediocre, campy, or just straight up horrible performances. These are the movie stars who should have stayed away from superhero films.

Richard Pryor, Superman III

Richard Pryor is one of the greatest comedians of all time, but his performance as Gus Gorman in Superman III was not one of his best moments. As the bumbling computer programmer (a skill that he learned in just days?!), his only purpose was to serve as unnecessary comic relief while Superman battled the film’s subpar villains. Just because an actor/performer is talented and has impressed people doesn’t mean that they’ll be a good fit for every project. Pryor’s shenanigans didn’t add anything substantial to the story, and while this doesn’t dent his impressive career, it did leave a blemish on the Superman film series.

George Clooney, Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin was the straw that broke the Bat’s back, and George Clooney was at the forefront playing Gotham City’s not-so-Dark Knight. When Val Kilmer decided not to reprise his Bruce Wayne role after Batman Forever, Clooney was brought in as his successor. However, like the nearly all the other actors, his performance was negatively received, and one critic called him the George Lazenby of the Batman series, referring to the short-tenured James Bond. Nearly 20 years later, Clooney is still apologizing for the film, Bat-nipples and all. Still, we owe him and the rest of the cast and crew a degree of gratitude. After all, if Batman & Robin hadn’t flopped, we would have never gotten Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

Tommy Lee Jones, Batman Forever

Rather than let Billy Dee Williams become Two-Face as originally planned, Tommy Lee Jones was hired as the replacement for Batman Forever. Other than his face being scarred, the bizarre clothing, and the coin flipping, this version of the duality-obsessed criminal didn’t resemble his comic book counterpart so much as a kooky, Joker knock-off who, by the way, didn’t even follow the rules of his own coin flipping. Every time he showed his gruesome half-face on screen, he was hamming it up to unbearable levels, and MTV Best Villain nomination aside, he’s among the worst on-screen adaptations of a Batman rogue. It also doesn’t help matters that Jones was mean to his villainous costar, Jim Carrey.

Colin Farrell, Daredevil

The 2003 Daredevil movie turned to Colin Farrell, then known from American Outlaws and Minority Report, to play Daredevil’s arch-nemesis Bullseye. Unfortunately, this version of the comic book villain missed the mark by letting Farrell go way overboard with performance. Nearly every time you see him, it’s bad one-liners and dialogue you couldn’t help but groan at. The badass assassin from the comics became a walking joke draped in an alligator skin trench coat. Luckily for Farrell, his career wasn’t tainted by the film, but the Bullseye we’re possibly getting next year in Netflix’s Daredevil Season 2 can only be an improvement. Maybe giving Farrell’s Bullseye the costume he asked for would have helped, but probably not.

Nicolas Cage, Ghost Rider

It’s been debated by intellectuals across the world whether Nicolas Cage is a great or terrible actor (thank you, Community). However, most of us can agree that Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider was not one of his finest performances. Even when his skull lit up in flames, there was nothing remotely scary about Cage’s Ghost Rider, and every line sounded more funny than serious. You can almost feel Cage’s crazy leaking through rather than ever feeling he was a real superhero. Despite the negative reviews (which included a Razzie Award for Cage), Sony decided to bring him back again for 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, but now that Marvel has the Ghost Rider rights back, we won’t have to worry about him returning for a threequel.

Jamie Foxx, The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Electro is one of Spider-Man’s most powerful adversaries, but as The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s main antagonist, there was nothing electrifying about Jamie Foxx’s version. Max Dillion starts off as a copy of Riddler from Batman Forever, i.e. being obsessed with the movie’s protagonist. Right away it’s obvious acting like a nerd doesn’t come natural to Foxx. Eventually we get the origin story, and right on schedule, he gets unnecessarily angry at his former idol. Although Electro’s powers were visually amazing, Foxx’s villainous persona was dull and barely reminiscent of what the character is like in the comics. Maybe if Max’s personality had been tailored to fit Foxx’s talents, things would have worked out better, but the end result was this Electro shorting out.

John Travolta, The Punisher

Although may fans enjoy Thomas Jane’s performance as Frank Castle, The Punisher itself garnered mixed-to-negative reviews over the years, and John Travolta’s Howard Saint didn’t help things. Like several of the other mentions on this list, Travolta hams it up in every scene he’s in, and his over-the-top Saint feels out of place in a movie that’s supposed to be dark and gritty, a.k.a. what the Punisher is all about. Despite being the main crime boss who ignites Frank’s mission of vengeance, Saint feels more like a stereotypical evildoer from a time long past. Maybe if he had infused the role with a little Vincent Vega it might have turned out better.

Mickey Rourke, Iron Man 2

Ranking high on Marvel’s list of less-than-stellar villains is Ivan Vanko, a.k.a. Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2. Unlike Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane in the first movie, there was nothing remotely fun about this Tony Stark adversary. Even ignoring that hilariously bad Russian accent, Vanko was barely fleshed out as a character, resulting in a one-dimensional bad guy wielding a pair of electric whips. If Rourke is to be believed, Vanko not being fully developed stems from several of his scenes being cut, but even so, the end result was a poor enemy for Iron Man. Evidently Rourke agrees, because he now holds eternal hatred towards Marvel for how they wronged him.

Halle Berry, Catwoman

If you’re reading this list, you probably know that 2004’s Catwoman is arguably the biggest train wreck of a superhero movie of all time, not to mention just a horrible movie in general. While Halle Berry starred as Marvel hero Storm for four X-Men movies, her experience with DC was a disaster in every sense of the word. Berry has given many great performances in movies and TV, but this film gave her nothing interesting to work with, and fans got a cringeworthy hero wearing a "sexy" costume that was anything but. Frankly, if Berry had just done a little research and found out that this Catwoman barely had anything to do with the feline-obsessed Batman villain, she would be without this blemish on her resume, and a Razzie Award.

Seth Rogen, The Green Hornet

It was already a bad sign when The Green Hornet moved away from his pulp roots and turned into a modern-day comedy, but having Seth Rogen play lead hero Britt Reid took the project further down the rabbit hole. Rogen has made his mark as a comedic performer, but The Green Hornet was not the best way to show off his funny chops. Aside from his rich background, nothing about the movie’s Britt Reid resembled the original character. Instead, he was turned into a goofball wannabe crimefighter with various amusing personality quirks, which may be a good character for Rogen to play in general, but it’s not who the Green Hornet is. Heck, even though Kato is the one with the badass fighting moves, at least the original Green Hornet contributed productively to their crimefighting. Aside from the money, the same can’t be said for Rogen’s version of the character.

You know how some actors choose to take the high road after working on a project that doesn’t quite come together. Not Mickey Rourke. He’s a much bigger fan of telling people exactly what’s on his mind, even if it means setting fires to most of the bridges he walks over. Over the years, he’s poured gasoline and thrown matches at the Marvel walkway numerous times thanks to his disdain for Iron Man 2, but in case if you weren’t aware of his hatred, he decided to twist the knife in again this week on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

There to promote his work on Sin City 2, Mickey Rourke, dressed and styled like he was attending a combination line dancing party and rave, was asked if he was a comic book fan, and he, of course, used the opportunity to remind everyone he’s still not pleased. You can check out a portion of his quote below…

Here’s the thing about those quotes. If Mickey Rourke had been asked directly about Iron Man 2, they would be perfectly reasonable. Perhaps, they would even be a bit classy and understated, but because they come out of nowhere, it feels like he’s throwing right hands for the sake of throwing right hands.

You can watch the whole thing in context below…

The source of the problems stretch back to pre-production. Rourke reportedly asked the creative players on set if he could ad some layers to his character. They immediately agreed and perhaps weren’t surprised since the actor is a guy who always likes to go deep with his characters. When it came time to actually put the movie together, however, the Marvel decision-makers allegedly pulled much of his performance, preferring instead to have a simpler villain who was more straight up evil. Allegedly. Marvel, of course, hasn’t spoken out on the matter.

Regardless, it’ll be a cold day in hell before we see either Rourke or Marvel pushing to reunite and join force for another roll in the hay. Fortunately, something tells me the majority of fans are OK with that. Some fine meats are better kept on different sandwiches.

The latest clip from Ridley Scott’s The Counselor is on its own pretty confusing. What crime are Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender discussing? What is Pitt advising when he suggests, “don’t do it”? Why is he talking about Mickey Rourke? Well, the caption Yahoo includes below the clip answers the last question, explaining: “Westray (Brad Pitt) gives The Counselor (Michael Fassbender) some advice straight out of Body Heat."

That brings us to this scene from the 1981 crime thriller about a man (William Hurt) who falls so hard for a seductive married woman (Kathleen Turner) that he plots with her to murder her husband. Here, a shady associate played by Rourke warns the movie’s anti-hero he is in over his head:

Well, if you’re going to incite a comparison to another crime thriller in your movie marketing, may as well make it one that was a critically heralded box office hit. Aside from borrowing a few lines of dialogue, The Counselor is an original screenplay from lauded author Cormac McCarthy, who has seen his books All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, The Road and Child of God earn movie adaptations. Directed by Ridley Scott, The Counselor has Fassbender in the role of the titular lawyer, who as you may have guessed is dabbling in crime, specifically drug trafficking.

Hot off his blockbuster zombie epic World War Z, Pitt plays a middle man in the drug trade who apparently thinks this counselor is out of his depth when it comes to an upcoming drug deal. Also on board for this star-stuffed drama are Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo, and Game of Thrones’s Natalie Dormer. In another curious clip, Fassbender’s criminal counselor asks dealer Reiner (Bardem in one of the craziest costumes we’ve seen him in yet) for advice, but to little avail. In a third, Cruz as Fassbender’s ladylove Laura and Diaz as Bardem’s dangerous partner Malkina chat poolside, but theirs isn’t chipper girls talk.

It’s mind-boggling how generous Scott has been with clips, and yet how little these clips and trailers actually reveal. As much as these pieces show, the puzzle will only be solved by actually seeing The Counselor when it opens in theaters on October 25th. All in all, it’s a clever strategy from Scott and company.

It was back in April that writer/director Robert Rodriguez said he had talked to Mickey Rourke about being in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, a sequel to his 2005 graphic novel-based thriller, but only now has he apparently actually entered negotiations for the part.

Deadline has gotten word that Rourke is now talking about reprising his role as Marv in the Sin City sequel. While the source questions how Marv could appear in the new movie considering he died in the first one, the answer is that A Dame To Kill For, the story written by Frank Miller that the movie will be based on, is set before The Big Fat Kill, the story where Marv dies. The plot follows Dwight McCarthy (who was played by Clive Owen in the first movie) as he gets sucked back into the web of an ex-girlfriend/femme fatale named Ava Lord when she calls him and says that she is being stalked by a murderer.

But that's not all the Rourke news out there. The same source is saying that the Oscar-nominated actor is also in talks to join Motor City, the new drama from director Albert Hughes. The film is about a man (Gerard Butler) who works to get revenge against the man who "put him behind bars and took his woman." Joel Silver's Dark Castle is producing the movie and Warner Bros. is set to distribute the film.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For will be released by The Weinstein Company on October 4, 2013. Motor City does not yet have a release date.

Robert Rodriguez has been promising a sequel to his sleek and sexy Sin City since 2005, but last week, after years of empty promises, fans were finally rewarded for their patience. Dimension Films announced Sin City 2 - rechristened as Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame To Kill For - would at long last go into production. With news that casting would begin this week came the vague assurance that much of the original cast would surely return. And now Rodriguez has begun laying down some specifics. The director recently spoke with MTV and revealed that two key cast members will be making their return. "A Dame to Kill For, all those people come back," Rodriguez said. "I just had lunch with Mickey [Rourke] this weekend. He's all excited to come back, but he's probably the first one. I saw Rosario [Dawson] too. I ran into her for something else, and she's pumped. They've always been excited about doing another one, so that will be fun."

Of course, Rourke played the squared-jawed Marv in Sin City, but you may recall his tough as nails thug with a heart on his sleeve didn't make it out of his Hard Goodbye arc alive. No worries, though, because that story takes place after Miller's A Dame To Kill, meaning the Marv character is still alive and kicking ass in this part of the Sin City comic series. Without giving too much away, Marv—and by extension Rourke, who brought a magnificent pathos to the cartoonish killer — is crucial to the story, so it's good to hear he's eager to return. Likewise, Dawson's S&M enthusiast hooker Gail is pretty important—in the book anyway—but the cast member most people are curious about is Clive Owen.

When Sin City hit, Owen's fame was on the rise Stateside and he's since blown up into worldwide celebrity. So could they even get him now? A few months back MTV asked if he'd still be interested in being a part of Sin City 2, and Owen was magnanimous but noncommittal, saying, "Listen, I had a fantastic time with [Rodriguez] on that movie. I thought the movie was seriously groundbreaking. I'm a big fan of it as a movie. So yeah, of course I would be interested in doing it — but I really don't know what the state of it is."

With Owen's character, Dwight, being at the center of the graphic novel A Dame to Kill For, it would seem he's a necessary get for the project to go forward. That said, (possible spoiler ahead) Dwight underwent a major makeover from the start of the Sin City series to where the first movie picked up, meaning it's entirely possible—though not preferable—to recast this role. Either way, if this sequel is in fact on its way to production, we should soon have more casting news and more official confirmations.

For one Expendables cast member, that title has proved all too accurate when it comes to the sequel. Deadline is reporting that Mickey Rourke, who played an old friend and former teammate of Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross in the 2010 action hit, will not be returning for the 2012 sequel.

Despite his part being singled out as one of the better elements of the first film, he was hardly indispensable, and I think the already enormous cast will probably soldier on just fine without him. Assuming Stallone and company can manage to stir together the same alchemical recipe as the first film: explosions, guns, testosterone, and painfully manly dialogue. If they run up against a wall, just throw the '80s section of Stallone's filmography into a blender, then cut and paste as needed.

Rourke won't be sitting idle in the mean time, however. The reason he's ducking out of Expendables 2 is because he's in negotiations to join Seven Psychopaths, the next movie from In Bruges writer/director Martin McDonagh. If you saw In Bruges, I shouldn't need to tell you anything else to get you excited. If you haven't, then stop reading this and remedy that immediately. (Or, failing that, you could read Eric's piece about Colin Farrell's outstanding performance as regretful hitman Ray.)

Rourke will join a reunited McDonagh and Farrell for Seven Psychopaths, which tells the story of a screenwriter (Farrell) who's struggling to finish a new script. He finds more inspiration than he could possibly hope for after getting involved in a high-profile dognapping (shut up, that's totally a thing). The cast also includes Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, and man, this thing just keeps sounding better the more I type. Then again, In Bruges was one of my favorite movies of recent years, so the cast could be composed entirely of lemurs and I'd still be psyched.

One film's loss may be another's gain, but we'll get to judge for ourselves when they arrive next year. Expendables 2 is due on August 17th, while Seven Psychopaths is just slated for sometime in 2012.

Thanks to Relativity Media, we have an official look at Immortals, director Tarsem Singh’s telling of a war between Greek gods and man. In the movie newly dubbed Superman Henry Cavill stars as Theseus, a mortal chosen by the god Zeus to lead the fight against ruthless King Hyperion (played by Mickey Rourke) and his bloodthirsty, rampaging army.

It sounds a little like 300 meets Clash of the Titans, which seems like a good thing to me. Stephen Dorff, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Kellan Lutz, Luke Evans, and the great John Hurt co-star and we have your first look at the film below in the form of four brand new images from Immortals.

Click on the images below to see them in ultra-high-res.

Immortals arrives in theaters November 11th, in 3D. For more detailed information on the film visit its dedicated page in our Blend Film Database.

Richard “Iceman” Kuklinski is probably the most proficient and feared killer in the history of New York. Not some bumfuck town in the middle of nowhere, New York City. Claiming to have killed over two hundred people by methods ranging from guns to poison to bare-handed beatings because he “liked the exercise”, Richard Kuklinski terrorized the criminal underground for forty years until his eventual capture. Now he’s the subject of two competing biopics. One of them must disappear. Seems like the perfect subtext to Kuklinski’s life.

According to Deadline, the first project from Nu Image would star Michael Shannon as the Iceman with Benicio Del Toro and possibly James Franco in support. The second is from Natural Selection and has Mickey Rourke attached to play the title role. How do you even pick between these two projects? Michael Shannon owns on Boardwalk Empire, but this role has Rourke’s name written all over it. But does the presence of Benicio del Toro and maybe James Franco overcome that disparity? Maybe.

Not since Capote have two rival films gone the entire distance without one of them folding. We all know how that worked out. We’ll see which one of these two blinks first.

A couple weeks ago it was reported that Mickey Rourke would play the lead role in a biopic about notorious mafia hitman Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski. The deal was finalized after being rumored since September 2009 and was supposed to begin shooting this past spring based on a script by David McKenna. In my write-up of the story, I denounced the project, objecting to the idea of glorifying a mass murderer. Just my luck, it appears that there are now two films about the man being made.

Production Weekly, via their Twitter feed, has announced that Michael Shannon, Benicio Del Toro, and James Franco have joined the cast of The Iceman, a project being written by Morgan Land based on the book by Anthony Bruno (the Mickey Rourke-version is based on the biography by Phil Carlo) and directed by Ariel Vroman. Looking at the Vroman film's IMDb page, it appears that Vroman took to announcing that Shannon would be his Kuklinski back in April.

Back in 2005/2006, two competing projects about Truman Capote went into production. Bennett Miller's Capote went on to earn wide-spread acclaim and Philip Seymour Hoffman took home the Oscar for his performance. Douglas McGrath's Infamous was released a year later and was all but completely ignored. Going back even further in the decade, both Oliver Stone and Baz Luhrmann started up projects about Alexander the Great, Stone casting Colin Farrell and Luhrmann casting Leonardo DiCaprio. Only Stone's made it out the other end of the production cycle. The point is this: only one of these projects will survive. We'll just have to wait and find out which.

This afternoon I saw Mitch Glazer's directorial debut Passion Play, and judging by the number of critics who walked out halfway through, I may be one of the few people who ever gets to claim I saw it in its entirety. The movie has gained some attention pre-festival for casting Megan Fox as Mickey Rourke's winged, mysterious love interest, but really, there's so much weird stuff going on here that the wings start feeling downright quotidian. But rather than reviewing it, how about I just offer the 15 most head-scratching moments and ideas in the film, from the very presence of Bill Murray to the fact that Megan Fox's character is supposed to be Mexican. Well, maybe. I wasn't really clear on that point, and to be honest, no one who made the film seemed to be either.

1. Mickey Rourke is a trumpet player, which we know because he fondles a trumpet mouthpiece like a pacifier.

2. Megan Fox is a winged woman, which we know because she has giant wings sprouting out of her back.

3. At the beginning of the film Rourke is rescued by a fleet of ninjas who shoot his attacker and then run away, never to be explained.

4. It starts as a Western-- man with no name enters a desert town, causes some trouble, etc. etc.-- before Mitch Glazer apparently runs out of Western references and starts making a romantic comedy instead.

5. This is a movie in which someone pours a glass of bourbon and proceeds to smash the glass with a bare hand-- twice.

6. This is a movie in which Megan Fox and Bill Murray don't just share a frame, but hold hands.

7. This is a movie in which Megan Fox and Mickey Rourke don't just share a frame and hold hands, but have fairly graphic sex.

8. This is the point in the movie where many, many critics in the press screening walked out.

9. Fox seems to think this is her bid at being a Real Actress, but she's been cast to basically play a naive, walking Barbie doll. For plot purposes you could replace her with a particularly expensive painting or some other inanimate object and not change the movie all that much.

10. Rourke seems to think he's bringing the same emotional heft to this that he did to The Wrestler, but he also seemed to think that about his long monologue in The Expendables.

11. There is absolutely no telling what Murray is thinking.

12. The film takes place partially in Mexico, but there is snow everywhere.

13. Fox's character supposedly learned English by watching old movies and has never been to America, but talks, well, exactly like Megan Fox.

14. I may have this wrong, but I think Glazer uses a track from Jon Brion's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind score in one particularly unimportant scene, to no real effect

15. As you can no doubt tell by now, Passion Play is not a good movie, but it's also so weird and committed to its weirdness that I don't feel right dismissing it. Good luck getting a chance to judge for yourself, though-- Passion Play is seeking distribution at Toronto, and I have a hard time imagining who's going to be bold and crazy enough to make that dream come true.

More Cinema Blend coverage from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival right here.

A Russian trailer for crime thriller 13 has just been released online. The film is a remake of the 2005 French film 13 Tzameti. Gela Babluani, who directed and wrote the 2005 version, will also be writing and directing the American adaptation. 13's cast feels like a darker, underground version of The Expendables, featuring Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Ray Winstone, and Michael Shannon.

Fortunately, the cast is just reckless and volatile enough to dutifully handle the subject matter. In this adapted version, a young man (Sam Riley) makes a questionable choice that sends him spiraling into a violent and ruthless underground Russian roulette ring. The roulette ring seems to thrive off of human trafficking, drawing its hapless competitors from various shady sources. The human-trafficking is a nice touch; as these two esoteric industries seem to go hand in hand, it actually adds some freakish plausibility to 13.

But if its star power you pine for, then you'll nod in giddy approval at Rourke's character here. According to Wikipedia, the golden-maned desperado will be playing Jesse James Jefferson, a Texas cowboy recently sprung out of a Mexican prison and dealt into the deadly competition. Just one more role for Rourke to make being an anachronistic rebel stylish, I guess. From the looks of the trailer, Michael Shannon seems to be playing an especially depraved role, as some sort of moderator/referee for the Russian-roulette-dominoes tournament. Plenty of actors can pretend, but Shannon knows how to go to that dark place and mean it.

Here’s the trailer:

It's been a while since we last heard from anything from Tony Scott's project Potsdamer Platz. Back in April, Mickey Rourke, Javier Bardem and Jason Statham all signed on to the project about two members of a New Jersey crime family looking to go international, but things have been quiet since then for the long in-development project. Fortunately, it looks as though the project is still very much alive and has just added two new cast members.

French website leParisien is reporting that Christopher Walken and French actor Johnny Hallyday have joined the cast. Unfortunately, the article doesn't supply any information regarding who the actors will play in the film, though an educated guess would be that Walken plays a member of the Jersey mafia and that Hallyday is one of the internationals the two soldiers encounter abroad.

What's strange is that Jason Statham is not mentioned in the article, meaning that he's either no longer involved with the project or that the French don't care about him. I'm inclined to lean towards the former because, seriously, who doesn't love Jason Statham? That guy's awesome.

Two more posters for Iron Man 2 have been released. I think this officially puts us well over a dozen released so far for the film, and all seem to be a variation on the character standing and staring back at the viewer motif. The new IMAX poster though, may be my favorite so far. It’s the first to feature Tony Stark’s suitcase armor, the one you’ve probably seen him putting on at the race track after Whiplash appears and rips his car to shreds.

Check out both posters below and click on each to see them in high-res where the originated at Screen Rant and Superherohype.

The geek audience for Iron Man 2 has been very well primed already-- we know about Whiplash and Justin Hammer and Black Widow, and dammit, we just want to see the movie already! But the masses, the people who don't know the Mark I suit from the Mark II, are the ones who will actually have the power to make Iron Man 2 another monster hit, and they still need to be educated. Enter Entertainment Tonight and their "Iron Man Mondays," which will introduce the populace at large to the wonders of Tony Stark.

But first up are Whiplash and Justin Hammer, presumably because they're the important new characters of the film. In the short clip below, we get to see the first footage of the two coming face to face, and, so far as I can remember, the most dialogue we've heard from Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer yet. So forget what I said about this one being for everyone else-- the geeks should be excited about this too. Take a look at the new footage below.

Ever since the money to make Unstoppable finally came together last summer, we haven't heard much from Tony Scott-- he wrapped up filming the Denzel Washington/Chris Pine action film in December, and presumably has been hard at work figuring out exactly which swoopy camera shot would make it into the final cut.

Now, according to Deadline, Scott is ready to move on, and he's bringing Mickey Rourke, Javier Bardem and Jason Statham-- now there's a dream team-- along with him. He'll be directing the long-in-development Potsdamer Platz, about two members of a New Jersey crime family who decide to expand their business internationally. And while it may seem logical to assume, based on the title, that the international expansion includes Germany, oh would you be wrong-- the movie is going to be set in Puerto Rico. As much as I'd love them to keep the now-illogical title, it's apparently heading for a name change.

Perhaps the craziest news in all of this is Scott was pursuing Gene Hackman, who hasn't acted since 2004, to take a role in the film. Hackman turned him down, but whether or not that's because he's happy not acting or because he wanted nothing to do with another Tony Scott movie, we'll never know.

Filming on Potsdamer Platz, or whatever it's going to be called, begins this fall.

Last week, three images from Jon Favreau's continuation of the Iron Man franchise wormed their way onto the tubes, and apparently Paramount didn't think that was enough to sate the masses. 10 more ultra high-rez shots have been sent our way.

Since the trailers and all the other images have already been released, there's not a ton of new material to see here. Sam Rockwell is looking as smarmy as ever, Sam Jackson has never looked cooler, and Mickey Rourke still has that damn parrot on his shoulder. The most interesting thing is getting to see the director himself in one of the pics, handcuffed to the Iron Man briefcase. I've included sampling of the images below, head over to our Iron Man 2 Image Gallery in glorious, unbridled, high-res beauty.

When promotion first began for Iron Man 2 and we started to hear more about the new stuff that would be coming in the sequel, one of the more baffling bits was a quote in Entertainment Weekly by newcomer Mickey Rourke when he said Jon Favreau let his character have a pet cockatoo who he could "talk to and get drunk with" while constructing the Whiplash suit. Even for a man with as strange a past and personality as Rourke's, this came across as a bit weird. That feeling doesn't fade once you see the bird.

Yahoo! has posted three new stills from the film, one of which features Rourke with his aforementioned feathered friend. Also pictured is Favreau playing Stark bodyguard Happy Hogan with the Iron Man suitcase chained to his wrist (you may remember this wonderful device for it's appearance in the last ten seconds of the second trailer that premiered on Oscar night).

Check out the new photos below and join me in wondering if that phone Rourke is holding actually works.

The final domestic poster for Iron Man 2 has debuted today at MySpace, and really, all you need to do to know our reaction is read our disappiontment over the international poster and add in a "WTF? Why is Mickey Rourke left out?"

Because really, the only saving grace of the international poster was that the floating heads were counterbalanced by Mickey Rourke's Whiplash standing in front of a giant fireball-- not all that original, but at least cool. But for Americans, Paramount has opted with just a ton of floating heads and a tiny little figure of Iron Man flying... down. So it actually looks like he's falling.

Check out the nonsense below. At least everyone knows no amount of crappy posters can keep people from seeing this movie.

As incredible as both trailers for Iron Man 2 have been, the posters that we have seen thus far haven't exactly left us jumping for joy. The first one, while delivering a better look at the new and ultra-cool War Machine armor, was kind of a snore. The next was an international poster that looks like a helmet-less version of the original DVD cover. Most recent has been the Whiplash character poster, but seeing as it gives us a look at a version of the character we have already seen multiple times, it wasn't really enough to get our motor going. So what does the newest international poster bring to the table?

Floating heads. Yahoo! has revealed the newest art for the film and it once again fails to impress, bringing back what has become standard fare in the action movie genre. While there has never really been any correlation between poster quality and film quality, it would be nice if they tried a bit harder for one of the most anticipated movies of the year. I would be remiss if I didn't point out one thing, however: Scarlett Johansson is ridiculously hot.

Check out the poster below.

Someone should probably explain spoiler alerts to Mickey Rourke. Comic Book Movie uncovered an interview with him in the May 2010 issue of Total Film, where he seems to reveal the ending of Iron Man 2 or, if not the ending of the film then the ending for his character Whiplash.

Here’s what Rourke revealed. Warning: This could be a huge spoiler so don’t read any further if you don’t want to know.

So could be a spoiler… or maybe not. It sounds like even Rourke isn’t entirely sure what Whiplash’s ultimate fate is. Is he killed by Pepper Pots? Shouldn’t his death scene involve Robert Downey Jr.? We’ll find out May 7th.

Amid rumors that a new trailer for Iron Man 2 will debut in front of either Avatar or Sherlock Holmes, Apple has beaten everyone to the punch by debuting a brand-new poster for the film featuring none other than Whiplash, the villain played by Mickey Rourke.

Posing in the shadows in front of a wall full of Tony Stark's press clippings, wearing his full suit of armor and a wicked set of dreadlocks, Whiplash looks terrifying and awesome at the same time. Having missed the Iron Man 2 footage at Comic Con, I can't wait to see what this guy looks like in motion, and this image is an excellent preview. Click the poster below to see it in ultra high-res on Apple, and stay tuned for news about the trailer.

Hollywood’s studio system keeps a pretty tight rein on what any actor involved in a major project says to the press. That’s why most of the interviews you’ll read with major stars are, to put it bluntly, downright boring. It’s the lesser knowns who often have the most interesting things to say, whether because they just don’t know any better or because they have less lose. Either way, somewhere a studio suit cringes every time someone interviews stuntman number two or the third extra from the left in a major, upcoming picture.

For instance Movieline interviewed stuntman Garrett Warren. He’s Mickey Rourke’s stunt double on Iron Man, he did stunt work in Avatar, and he has a job on Tin Tin. What he probably didn’t know when he started talking to Movieline was that their only reason for interviewing him was to get him to slip them some savory, probably shouldn’t be talked about information on one of the high-profile projects he’s been working on. Ok, I’m actually only assuming that was their motive, but read the interview for yourself and see if you see what I see. Maybe I’m just a cynical bastard, but to me it reads as though they played him like a fiddle.

The result of that fiddling is a few interesting, highly spoilerific Iron Man 2 tidbits. You can read the full interview over there, but here’s a quick breakdown of the biggest, most noteworthy items sucked out of him:

If you’ve seen any of the early pictures of Iron Man 2’s new villain Whiplash, or even caught him in the trailer, then you’ve probably noticed that his costume looks sort of temporary. It has that cobbled together in a cave look that Tony Stark’s early Iron Man costumes have. Now maybe that’s just how Whiplash rolls or maybe what we’ve been shown so far is only an early version of the costume he’ll use in the film.

Marvel is releasing a new comic meant to fill in the details of Whiplash’s life before his appearance in Iron Man 2. It’s called Iron Man vs. Whiplash and they’ve posted an image from the comic on their official site which would seem to show Whiplash’s final costume, the finished product. Click over there to see it bigger. Below you’ll find a side by side comparison of the cobbled together costume we’ve seen so far and Marvel’s artist rendering of the finished product: