Mickey Rourke has turned to fundraising to pay the US$59,100 (£44,000) he allegedly owes in rent, after being sued by his landlord and facing eviction from his Los Angeles home.
The 73-year-old actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for his performance in the 2008 drama The Wrestler, has approved a GoFundMe page launched by Liya-Joelle Jones, a friend and member of Rourke’s management team. At time of writing, the fundraiser had raised US$33,000 of its US$100,000 goal.
“Mickey is going through a very difficult time right now, and it’s been incredibly touching to see how many people care about him and want to help,” Jones told the Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. Jones wrote on GoFundMe that the fundraiser was “created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent that from happening”.
Rourke received a three-day eviction notice in late December, the Los Angeles Times reported, with court documents filed in Los Angeles superior court showing he had failed to comply. His landlord is now suing for damages and legal fees. The documents show Rourke signed the lease for the Los Angeles home – in which The Big Sleep author Raymond Chandler once lived in the 1940s – in March, agreeing to pay $5,200 a month, which was later raised to $7,000 a month.
Known for his roles in films such as The Pope of Greenwich Village, Diner, Rumble Fish and 9½ Weeks, Rourke was a huge star in the 1980s but grew disillusioned with the industry and mostly abandoned acting to pursue a career in professional boxing. He then returned to acting in the 2000s in films including Sin City, The Wrestler and Iron Man 2.
