Supporters raise funds amid Mickey Rourke eviction

Fans of Mickey Rourke have come through on his behalf, donating almost $80,000 so far through an online fundraiser designed to keep the actor and boxer in his Beverly Grove-area rental home. The GoFundMe was launched Sunday morning by his manager’s assistant, with Rourke’s permission. By Monday morning it had reached almost 79% of its $100,000 goal via donations from almost 2,000 supporters.

On Dec. 18, Rourke, 73, was served with a three-day notice to pay rent or vacate the three-bedroom, 2½-bath premises where he signed a lease through last April at $5,200 a month; rent was subsequently raised to $7,000 a month. The total amount owed for 2025 was $59,100, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times.

“Mickey Rourke is an icon — but his trajectory, as painful as it is, is also a deeply human one,” the GoFundMe says. “It is the story of someone who gave everything to his work, took real risks, and paid real costs. Fame does not protect against hardship, and talent does not guarantee stability. What remains is a person who deserves dignity, housing, and the chance to regain his footing.”

Rourke’s manager, Kimberly Hines, is named as the beneficiary of the fundraiser and according to the GoFundMe page is “directly involved” in overseeing Rourke’s personal and professional affairs.

“The goal is simple: to give Mickey stability and peace of mind during an extremely stressful time — so he can stay in his home and have the space to get back on his feet,” the description says. Later, it adds, “All funds withdrawn from this campaign will be applied directly toward Mickey’s immediate needs and expenses, with full transparency and care, and strictly on his behalf.”

Rourke shined in leading roles in mid-1980s movies including “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “9½ Weeks” and “Barfly.” Then, after returning to boxing in 1991, there came a long stretch of “not so much” in the area of acting success.

Rourke’s personal pain was on display when he talked about his “Wrestler” role as Randy “The Ram” Robinson at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.

“I lost everything. My house, my wife, my credibility, my career,” he told The Times. “I even lost my entourage, which is when you know things are really bad. I just had all this anger from my childhood, which was really shame, not anger, and used it as armor and machismo to cover up my wounds. Unfortunately, the way I acted really frightened people, although it was really just me who was scared. But I was like this person who was short-circuited and I didn’t know how to fix myself.”

He wound up getting help from a therapist, he said at the time. What he didn’t know then was that the role would earn him a best actor Oscar nomination in 2009, before he got additional attention in 2010 for his performance as villain Ivan Vanko in “Iron Man 2.”

“Let’s put it this way, Randy the Ram was somebody 20 years ago and so was Mickey Rourke,” he said in Toronto. “When you used to be somebody and you aren’t anybody anymore, you live in what my doctor calls a state of shame. You don’t want to go out of the house. You hate just going to the store and having to stand in line, because inevitably someone will stare at you and say, ‘Hey, didn’t you used to be someone in the movies?’”

Rourke’s “real and punishing” boxing career, which happened before and during his acting career, “left lasting physical and emotional scars,” the fundraiser says. During his down years, he had health challenges and financial strain, according to the GoFundMe.

According to IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, Rourke has six upcoming films on his calendar, including two that are completed and one that is currently filming.

Tribune News Service