Mickey Rourke: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked‏

3. Robert "Boogie" Sheftell - Diner (1982)

Barry Levinson is not easily impressed. Even when he came around to directing the first of his four so-called "Baltimore Films" he'd directed a bunch of sitcoms before moving to the big screen, and in the years to come he got more Oscar noms than you can shake a wickedly talented Idina Menzel at. Clearly he had an eye for talent, and he since launched the movie careers of big stars like Robin Williams. Back in 1987, he managed to gather an impressive ensemble of young talent who would later become some of the biggest (and not-so-biggest) actors in tinsel town. Diner starred the likes of Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg and Paul Reiser as a group of friends who return to their hometown or the wedding of one of their group, acting all nostalgic for their misspent youth. One of those friends was an up-and-comer named Mickey Rourke who, once again, isn't on screen for very long in Diner but still manages to leave a lasting impression. It's all the more impressive when you consider the fact that Levinson mainly let the cast improvise their lines, so this charmingly suave mofo is almost entirely Rourke's own creation. The slightly downtrodden Boogie has a lot of the James Dean about him, both in his haircut and his demeanor - watching now, it's hard to square quite how this movie star-handsome guy turned into Ivan Vanko. Oh yeah, and there's that bit with the popcorn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vujNcE_43Qg