Rourke says he did right by beating up drug dealer

July 11th, 2009 Central Park's stolen bronze eagles finally homeNEW YORK — Two bronze eagles stolen from Central Park more than 30 years ago by a drug dealer who used them to store his stash are finally back at home. Prosecutors say the statues were stolen from the City Employees War Memorial at the Mall in the mid-1970s.

May 29th, 2009 Serbian priest charged in rehab beatingBELGRADE, Serbia — Police have filed torture charges against a Serbian Orthodox priest for beating a drug rehab patient with a shovel. The former head of the church-backed Crna Reka rehab center in southern Serbia, Branislav Peranovic, has been removed from his position after a video broadcast on national television showed him swinging a shovel at an unnamed patient's lower back.

May 6th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke is struggling to lose his beefed-up physique from the 2008 Oscar-nominated movie 'The Wrestler' in time to begin filming the new 'Iron Man' sequel in the summer of 2009. Rourke, 56, gained over 13 kg of muscle to play washed-up grappler Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in the movie.

April 29th, 2009 LONDON - American actor Mickey Rourke has revealed that his wrestling match with Chris Jericho was nowhere easy and he ended up with a broken hand. Rourke, 56, had faced the professional grappler earlier this month at the WWE's Wrestlemania 25 in Houston, Texas, following a bitter and public war of words with Jericho.

April 23rd, 2009 LONDON - American actor Mickey Rourke has revealed that he almost did not make it as a boxer, and that he had to beg his coach Freddie Roach, to give him a second chance. Roach, who is currently training Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming fight with Brit Ricky Hatton, had refused to work with Rourke in 1990 because he was not committed or disciplined enough to be a good fighter.

March 27th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke plans to marry a former Russian boxer and has reportedly proposed to her. Irson Kudikova is the woman Rourke wants to wed and she is now a singer.

February 28th, 2009 LONDON - Oscar nominated actor Mickey Rourke's career is back on track. He has been signed up for the next Rambo film.

February 21st, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke doesn't think he will win an Academy Award for his role in 'The Wrestler' as he has angered many people in Hollywood in the past. 'Well, I don't know, It's voted for by people from the movie business and in the past I've hacked them all off.

February 19th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke doesn't think he will win an Academy Award for his role in 'The Wrestler' as he has angered many people in Hollywood in the past. 'Well, I don't know, It's voted for by people from the movie business and in the past I've hacked them all off.

February 14th, 2009 LONDON - Oscar-nominated actor Mickey Rourke stunned airline staff at Heathrow when he turned up with a suitcase weighing 5.5 stone (around 36 kg) packed full of shoes. Rourke's bulging bag of loafers (slip-ons) was over the weight limit and before he could check in at the airport for his flight to New York, he had to redistribute his shoes among his other suitcases, reports mirror.co.uk.

February 10th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke says he will be uncomfortable watching his late co-star Brad Renfo as their movie 'The Informers' is set to release later this year. Contactmusic.com reports that Rourke is on a comeback with his critically acclaimed role in 'The Wrestler'.

February 9th, 2009 LONDON - 'Slumdog Millionaire' star Dev Patel says that actress Sharon Stone flirted with him on the red carpet at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Mirror.co.uk reports Patel saying: 'Sharon's great, she's been flirting with me all night.

January 12th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke and rock legend Bob Dylan became friends after the former got a late night call from Dylan. According to contactmusic.com, Rourke appeared in the movie 'Masked and Anonymous' released in 2003 about Dylan and the two would talk about Rourke's character often.

January 6th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke, who for years was in obscurity after a promising start, makes a comeback with his latest movie 'The Wrestler' and says he could connect with the character because it was close to his real life. Thesun.co.uk reports that Rourke had a promising start with hits like 'Angel Heart' and 'Nine 1/2 Weeks' in the 1980s, but his difficult behaviour almost ruined his career.

January 5th, 2009 LONDON - Actor Mickey Rourke received two ovations at the London premiere of his new movie 'The Wrestler'. He called it the best and the hardest movie of his life.