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Martin Scorsese’s upcoming mob drama The Irishman features a stacked cast, but it could have included another big name: Mickey Rourke. According to The Independent, Rourke told Italian TV show Live – Non è la D’Urso that he was originally being considered for a role in Scorsese’s Netflix film, but his longstanding feud with star Robert De Niro got in the way. “Robert De Niro said he refused to work with me in a movie,” the actor said. “I don’t look up to him no more; I look through him.”
In a statement provided to Decider, a representative for De Niro disputed Rourke’s account. “According to The Irishman producers, Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and casting director Ellen Lewis, ‘Mickey Rourke was never asked to be in The Irishman nor was he ever even thought of, discussed or considered to be in the movie,'” the statement reads.
Rourke told Live – Non è la D’Urso that he and De Niro first butted heads on the set of Alan Parker’s 1987 film Angel Heart. The Wrestler star said that he originally “looked up” to De Niro, but their relationship became frosty after his co-star allegedly said, “I think it’s better if we don’t talk.” In the years since, the veteran actors haven’t been able to repair their relationship, and the feud is apparently so bad that it got Rourke axed from The Irishman.
“Marty Scorsese wanted to meet me for a movie with Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro,” recalled Rourke, referencing The Irishman. “The casting person told my manager that Robert De Niro said he refused to work with me in a movie.” Rourke went on to say that he was “upset” by the move, as he “needed the money.”
“Now I don’t look up to him no more; I look through him,” continued Rourke. “I came up from the shit. He doesn’t know that life. I lived that fucking life, so every time I look him in the face I look right through his asshole.”
The Irishman stars Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who becomes involved in Jimmy Hoffa’s (Pacino) disappearance. The drama is expected to be a major awards contender, and may be Netflix’s strongest chance at a Best Picture Oscar (Roma was nominated last year, but didn’t win). Scorsese’s film will make its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on September 27; it will begin a limited theatrical release on November 1 before hitting Netflix globally November 27.
UPDATED 9/18/19 4:05 PM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Robert De Niro’s representative.
