10 Things You Didn't Know About The Wrestler

During his pro boxing career in the 1990s, Mickey Rourke used Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses as the soundtrack to his ring walk. As such, it's only fitting that his fictional counterpart used the same theme during his final ring entrance at the close of the movie.

Despite having a relatively modest budget for a major motion picture, Rourke's friendship with Guns N’ Roses frontman, Axl Rose, enabled the movie to acquire the rights to use the song. After seeing a rough cut of the film, Axl Rose contributed the track free of charge and, as hoped, Darren Aronofsky was allowed to use the song as The Ram’s entrance music during the climactic final scene. Axl Rose is given a special thanks in the credits for his generosity and Guns N' Roses even get a shout out during the bar scene with Randy and Cassidy, while they are declaring their love for '80s rock music.

The GN’R connection is also present throughout the film in a far more subtle and concealed manner. The musical score for the movie is actually performed by none other than Slash himself and the background music to many scenes is provided by the top-hat toting legend.