Mickey Rourke is an American actor who has starred in various action and drama films such as Sin City, Point Blank and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He won a Spirit Award for his role in The Wrestler. Rourke will appear in the upcoming Marvel sequel Iron Man 2, allegedly portraying a Russian villain named Whiplash, based partially on Crimson Dynamo.Slash Film: Mickey Rourke Has Signed for Iron Man 2 (March 11, 2009)EW.com: Iron Man 2: Mickey Rourke closes deal to play villain, Whiplash (March 11, 2009) He will reportedly be paid only $250,000 to take part in the film.EW.com: Iron Man 2: Mickey Rourke closes deal to play villain, Whiplash (March 11, 2009)

Rourke returned to the ring on April 5, 2009, at Wrestlemania 25 where he was said to have subdued professional wrestler Chris Jericho. Rourke received a standing ovation from the audience.People: Mickey Rourke Scores a Knockout (April 6, 2009)

Rourke attended Miami Beach Senior High School, where he excelled at sports like baseball and boxing. He moved to Los Angeles after some small Broadway work in New York, and landed several minor film roles in the late 70s and early 80s, such as Steven Spielberg's war movie 1941 (1979). Rourke then began appearing in more prominent feature roles through the 80s, such as Oliver Stone's Year of the Dragon (1985), as well as Alan Parker's Angel Heart (1987).

These films helped solidify his tough and gritty anti-hero image. After his short stint as a boxer in the 1990s, Rourke returned to acting in popular action films such as Sin City, in which he plays up his anti-hero image as a superhuman noir hero. Rourke won five awards for his portrayal as Marv in Sin City.

On February 18, 2009, that Rourke's Chihuahua, Loki, died at the age of 18. Loki accompanied Rourke to the Venice Film Festival in September of 2008.People Pets: Mickey Rourke's Beloved Dog Loki Dies! (February 18, 2009) Later in the month, Rourke was seen in the Los Angeles International Airport with a new chihuahua he named Jaws.TMZ: Loki Who? (February 27, 2009)

Rourke won the Best Actor in a Drama Golden Globe for his 2008 role in The Wrestler, and received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the same role.MSNBC: Will Oscar campaigning help Mickey Rourke? (December 18, 2008)

On January 7, 2009, Variety reported Rourke was in negotiations to play villain The Crimson Dynamo in Iron Man 2. The Marvel Comics sequel will be directed by Jon Favreau.Variety: Mickey Rourke Sizes up Iron Man 2 (January 7, 2009) In a February 2008 interview with MTV, Robert Downey Jr. denied reports that Rourke would fill the role.Slash Film: Rourke NOT Crimsons Dynamo (February 3, 2009)

It was rumored in late 2008] that Rourke was romantically involved with his The Wrestler|Wrestler co-star Evan Rachel Wood. Rourke plays Wood's father in the Oscar-nominated film. Though the two initially denied any romantic involvement several eyewitnesses claim to have seen the two "passionately" kissing outside the SAG Awards in late January 2009. Woods continues to deny the rumors and recently told reporters that she felt she was being "disrespected" by both Rourke and the press.Perez Hilton: Busted! (January 27, 2009)Rolling Stone: Evan Rachel Wood... (January 29, 2009)

On a January 2009 episode of Larry King, professional wrestler Chris Jericho criticized Rourke's film portrayal and comments about wrestlers during a red carpet event. Jericho then challenged Rourke, who immediately declined to wrestle the champ.Buzzfeed: Rourke vs Jericho (January 27, 2009)

The Oscar campaign turned ugly when the blog The Daily Beast reported that it had seen a text message in which Rourke described Sean Penn as a "homophobe" and an "average" actor. Penn is also considered an Oscar contender for his portrayal of former San Francisco mayor Harvey Milk in MilkThe Daily Beast: Rourke Trashes Penn (December 29, 2008)

Killshot languished, without a release date, for three years and was even rumored to be going straight to DVD, until the Golden Globe and Oscar buzz thrust Rourke into the limelight. Harvey Weinstein cited the limited release as related to Rourkes "new celebrity." The New York Times: An Odd Landing in Phoenix... (January 21, 2009)

Mickey Rourke appears in a new PETA ad in January 2009, with his Chihuahua, Jaws, for their new spay and neuter campaign. The ad bears the caption, "Have the cojones to fix your dog. When dogs get knocked up, puppies get put down because there aren't enough homes for them." Rourke made this comment about his role in PETA, "I became a little more aware of how many dogs are abandoned or put to sleep each week; it's staggering. The most important thing about having a dog and loving a dog is keeping the dog its whole natural life, you have a responsibility to communicate with your animal how much he means to you."People: ...Rourke's New PETA Ad (January 14, 2009)

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• September 16, 1952: Born

• 1979: 1941

• 1980: Heaven's Gate

• 1981: Body Heat

• 1982: Diner

• 1986: Nine 1/2 Weeks

• 1987: Angel Heart

• 1990: Wild Orchid

• 1997: The Rainmaker

• 1998: Point Blank

• 2005: Sin City

• 2006: Stormbreaker

• 2008: Killshot

• 2008: The Wrestler