Why did Mickey Rourke want to change his name to Romeo Florentino?
The thing about famous actors is that even their names alone can conjure up images of some of their most iconic moments. Uttering the words “Brad Pitt”, we immediately think of his effort as Tyler Durden in David Fincher’s Fight Club, “Marlon Brando”, and we perceive The Godfather’s Don Vito in the mind’s eye. Regarding Mickey Rourke, we’d likely hark back to his Academy Award-nominated performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler.
Of course, Rourke’s acting career has been split into two distinct parts, and though he has recently faded into relative obscurity compared to his dual heyday years, both the late 20th and early 21st centuries have greatly profited from having his talents on offer for the cinematic medium.
Early into the New York-born actor’s career, he rose into prominence with performances in the likes of Rumble Fish, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Barfly and Angel Heart. Years before he made his later efforts in films such as Buffalo ’66, The Pledge, Man on Fire and Sin City, though, Rourke retired from acting to become a professional boxer.
Rourke had been a boxing hopeful in his youth, but after suffering a concussion during a match, he was told to take a year off, during which time he became a young actor. In 1991, Rourke returned to the sport, having turned down a number of high-profile roles. His personal life was in constant “self-destruction”, and he felt that his original passion in life would help him get back to a positive frame of mind.
Across the next few years, Rourke was undefeated in the ring in eight fights, although he suffered a number of injuries, including a broken nose and ribs. Of course, by the time his pro boxing career finally came around, Rourke was already a notable acting figure, but he had largely wanted to start afresh without his former life getting in the way of the actual fighting.
In fact, the actor-turned-boxer had wanted to hide from the “Mickey Rourke” persona and use another name completely. Speaking with Interview magazine, he once explained, “I tried to change my name for the fights, but the only way they could pay me money was if I used my own name.”
Rourke added, “I wanted to change my name to, like, Romeo something-or-other, and they said, ‘No, we can’t do that. We’ve got to use Mickey Rourke.’ Because they paid me a lot of money to go over to Europe and Asia to fight.”
According to Rourke, he had wanted to go by the name Romeo Florentino in the ring, which he said is a “good fighter’s name”. However, the promoters of his matches knew that they would bring in a bigger crowd if they knew that it was indeed Mickey Rourke of Rumble Fish and Angel Heart going toe-to-toe in the ring.
Though he knew that he was a little too old to really challenge for titles as a boxer, Rourke saw his brief boxing career as a personal test, although it was a test that would leave his face disfigured following reconstructive surgery. Still, it was Rourke who came out on top because, over the next handful of years, he delivered yet more iconic performances in front of the camera, including his brilliant effort in The Wrestler. And he knew that “Romeo Florentino” would always remain undefeated in the ring.
