Mickey Rourke Says His Rugby Movie Shoots In February

Mickey Rourke Says His Rugby Movie Shoots In February

By Russ Fischer/April 13, 2011 2:00 pm EST

But that’s just the fun stuff. Buried in there is also his statement that his biopic of famed rugby player Gareth Thomas will shoot this coming February. We’ve heard about this project a couple times over the past six months, and it still seems like something that is destined never to happen. The actor is 22 years older than his subject, after all. That distance can be minimized in some contexts, but not as easily when he’s got to be convincing on the very demanding rugby pitch. (He may just be playing a character heavily inspired by Gareth Thomas, however.) Mr. Rourke has said that he’ll learn the player’s native Welsh for the role, and it sounds like a project to watch. Hopefully eighteen months from now he won’t be casually dismissing it in an offhand interview.