Movies
The resurgent actor, who recently scooped a Golden Globe for his role in Darren Aronofsky's acclaimed movie, told Digital Spy: "After working 16 or 17 hours on the set I'd have my trainer walking behind me pushing me up the f**king stairs. I had three MRIs in the first two months.
"I had no realisation that because wrestling is entertainment that these guys get as hurt as they do. I had a new respect for a profession that I had no knowledge or respect for."
He continued: "You do a flip off the top rope or you get slammed, 60% or 40% of the time it's gonna go right or wrong and you're gonna be hurting at the end of the day. I dreaded wrestling practice. I dreaded it."
However, Rourke, who quit a successful acting career to box for several years in the early 1990s, added that comparing wrestling to boxing is akin to comparing "ping pong and rugby".
> Click here for our interview with Mickey Rourke
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