2. Mickey Rourke - Untitled Gareth Thomas Biopic
The Commitment: To play openly gay Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas, Rourke learned Welsh, lost weight to get into shape, trained to play rugby and even - if reports are to be believed - had surgery to more closely resemble the sportsman, having work done on his eyes, with the intention of eventually removing his two front teeth. Rourke even went to gay clubs with Thomas, and you can imagine that was particularly difficult for him; for a Lothario that apparently once slept with 14 women in one night, going to a club where his prospect of picking up chicks was zero is a true indicator of his dedication.
The Result: After coming to his senses, realising he was too old at 59 to play the 37-year-old Thomas, too American to play a Welshman, and too Mickey Rourke to play a convincingly normal human being, Rourke handed the role back to producers, and it's now said that Tom Hardy is circling the project. It was never really going to work out, so it's mind-boggling that Rourke stuck it out for so long. Aside from the age difference, there's the little matter of a lack of physical resemblance, their only similarities being that they're both male, and that they both have faces.