9 Actors Who Played Both Iconic Super Heroes And Villains
6. Mickey Rourke - Marv / Whiplash
Mickey Rourke had a long, depressing dry period in Hollywood when he was blacklisted for bad behaviour and couldn’t get decent work. He finally got a second chance when he signed on to play Marv in Sin City, a muscle-bound thug with a secret heart of gold.
With Rourke’s gravelly voice and tough guy demeanour, he was practically born to play the part, and the acclaim led to other movies like The Wrestler and Iron Man 2. There was widespread joy when Rourke was cast, but he felt wasted in the movie. He still made for a charismatic villain, but he was poorly developed and Rourke looked kind of embarrassed lashing out with his CGI whips.
He doesn’t look back fondly on his time with Marvel either, but he made the best of a weak character. He later returned to kill Marv in A Dame To Kill For, and while the movie might have been disappointing his performance was the best thing about it.