Iron Man 2 actor Mickey Rourke went on an unhinged bender in Miami before he was stopped and detained by the police.

The Iron Man franchise is the vehicle that propelled Robert Downey Jr to superstardom following his years of well-documented substance abuse issues. However, Downey Jr was far from the only actor who faced legal issues in the past to have worked on the hit superhero franchise.

Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t the only actor with legal issues on Iron Man 2 

One of Downey Jr’s co-stars faced similar struggles long before taking on the role of a villain in the franchise’s second installment. Furthermore, the actor’s alcohol-addled outings were allegedly so out of control that they might even overshadow Downey Jr’s famous incidents. The actor in question is Mickey Rourke and here is everything you need to know about his escapades.

Iron Man 2 Villian Actor Mickey Rourke Went on a Bender in Miami

Actor Mickey Rourke gained critical acclaim for his role in the 2008 sports drama film The Wrestler, which netted him his first Golden Globe Award. Rourke later went on to play the role of Ivan Vanko / Whiplash, the primary antagonist of Iron Man 2.

Iron Man 2 actor Mickey Rourke was busted for drunk driving in Miami 

Before Rourke turned his career around, he faced several legal issues because of his drinking habit. In 2007, TMZ reported an incident detailing Rourke’s bender in Miami, which saw him drunk-driving a Vespa at 4 am in the night.

What the f*** did I do?!

Rourke allegedly made the above statement after cops stopped him and took him into custody for driving drunk. The actor argued that he did not have much to drink, but his bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech as recounted by a witness account said otherwise.

Rourke was eventually detained by the cops after failing a sobriety test and held on a $1,000 bond. Similarly, the actor reportedly had gotten into a brawl outside a South Beach nightclub in Florida, almost a decade ago and resisted arrest.

The incidents strongly suggest that Miami was Rourke’s favorite party location and the actor went on an insane Vespa-driven bender in the city, which overshadows his Iron Man 2 co-star Robert Downey Jr being arrested on Pacific Coast Highway in 1996 for a DUI and other charges.

Mickey Rourke Had Audacious Demands For Accepting Iron Man 2 Role

Mickey Rourke’s time on Iron Man 2 also wasn’t without its fair share of problems, especially since the actor had some pretty strange demands for accepting the role of the film’s primary villain. According to a report by Vulture, Rourke was initially completely unaware of the franchise.

Later, Rourke agreed to sign on for the film without reading the script as long as his audacious demands were met. These demands included allowing him to sport a samurai bun. The actor also insisted on speaking in a Russian accent and having a bird on his shoulder in most of his scenes.

Given that Rourke was fresh off his Golden Globe Award win at the time, the studio was likely eager to get him aboard the project, leading to them agreeing to his demands. However, after the film’s release. Rourke publically criticized Marvel and director Jon Favreau for allegedly cutting out his nuanced performance.

Iron Man 2 is streaming on Disney+.