Rourke: 'My dogs saved my life'

Mickey Rourke has credited his dogs with helping him through the "dark times" in his life.

The actor, who has previously said he thought his career was over until his recent comeback, said that his pets are the only people he has always been able to trust.

Rourke told the Daily Mail: "My dogs really helped me get through the dark times. I lost everything at the same time - my wife, my career, my house, my credibility - and all I had left was the dogs plus just two or three people who stuck with me."

The 57-year-old star continued: "I was living under the mat - being known and then being known for being out of work, for having fallen from grace. You go and buy a pack of smokes and people say, 'Hey, didn't you used to be that actor?' So it was a very shameful place, and the dogs were my friends."

Rourke added: "A lot of people you meet out there turn their backs on you once you're down, but the dogs don't. The one dog I loved, Loki, died last year, and she is deeply missed but with me in spirit."