Mickey Rourke may not be down on his luck, but his pride is unwavering.
The actor and former boxer, who was recently evicted from his Los Angeles home amid financial difficulties, has been flooded with job opportunities since his troubles made headlines.
But he feels the gig is beneath him.
His manager, Kimberly Hines, told TMZ on Thursday that her client has been receiving a rapid succession of job offers, from indie films and photo shoots to live appearances and autograph signings, including six offers in just two days.
But Hines said he’s not interested because the 73-year-old only wants to be paid like an elite player and the jobs he takes on demand more than $200,000 a day.
Rourke, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Randy “The Ram” Robinson in the 2008 film “The Wrestler,” is also keen to work with top actors and directors like those he has worked with in the past, she said.
Hines seems to disagree with Rourke’s approach. This is because I believe that if I focus on seizing the opportunities in front of me, the money will eventually follow.
On Monday, Rourke was photographed leaving her home with nearly $60,000 in unpaid rent. Hines is staying in a West Hollywood hotel with her three dogs, but plans to check out by the end of the week.
She added that she secured Rourke a new apartment in Los Angeles, but stressed that she needed to get back to work if she wanted to remain there.
The day before Rourke was evicted, Lia-Joel Jones, who works with Hines, launched a crowdfunding campaign for fans to “help keep Mickey Rourke in the house.”
The GoFundMe page was said to have been created with Mr Rourke’s “full permission”, but he denied any involvement, calling the ordeal “humiliating”.
“If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for some shitty charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my ass and pull the trigger. … I wouldn’t go to an outside source like that,” he said in an Instagram video, claiming it’s not his “style” to ask “strangers” for financial help because he’s “too proud.”
Hines, who is listed as a beneficiary of the GoFundMe, clarified to The Hollywood Reporter that the fundraiser is not a “grudge.”
She explained: “I don’t think he understood. And now, taking advantage of this media frenzy, he’s flipped out. … Unless he goes back to work, I can only fund him for a long time, so maybe he should get this help.”
Hines made sure to specify that if Rourke refused assistance, the donations would be “refunded.”
Meanwhile, a source recently told the Daily Mail that Rourke lives “paycheck to paycheck” and would probably be “okay” if he was “more protective of his finances.”
The source elaborated, “He’s both rich and poor, if that makes sense. He has the means to make quite a bit of money by appearing in movies and reality shows, but he spends his money so quickly that by the time he starts making money, he’s right at square one.”
According to a source, “Mickey has lived the life of a rock star, repeatedly abusing drugs and alcohol for many years.”
Hines and Jones did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
