Darren Aronofsky on 'The Wrestler', Mickey Rourke and working with actors

December 17, 2008 by Lance Carter

“I think the reality about Mickey is, he’s so talented, he can coast through a film and actually be pretty good, and he’s done that way too much,” said Darren Aronofsky. “I just had to push him every day. I had to, honestly, get him out of bed and fight to keep him on set to do the work. But . . . there was no one more natural and more giving. Just getting him to the starting line was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my career.”