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The Way I See It

Posted: Jan 24th 2009 By: mikeiles

It's a proud time for me. As I am writing my column to make the deadline for publication, I overheard the TV while the Oscar nominations were being announced. I was thrilled when I heard "Mickey Rourke" for best actor. I texted Mickey right away and offered my congratulations. We have been communicating almost every day for the past month since the Golden Globes win. Mickey has been kind enough to mention me on several TV shows including: Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Regis and Kelly and he told me he will be making a guest appearance tomorrow on the View. It is rare in Hollywood for an actor to thank the trainers and coaches who prepare them for a role, but Mickey went out of his way to remember me and of course I consider him another one of my students "my kids" who have gone through my training program.

To best describe Mickey as a person, I would like to share an article that my daughter Vale wrote about her experiences being part of the movie.

My Personal Experience With "The Wrestler"
By Vale Anoai

This article will be about my experience with "The Wrestler". I could spend weeks telling this story, but I'll try to prevent it from becoming my next book! It all started in October of 2007. I was at the mall with my best friend Gwynn, and I received a phone call from my mom. She said to come home, because we had to put a package/presentation together for a director who was interested in having dad train an actor for a movie. Being an actress, I smelled an interesting opportunity. So I raced home to get the scoop! Dad's long-time friend Georgiann contacted him, saying that Darren Aronofsky in New York was looking for wrestling trainers to train the lead actor in a wrestling movie. She submitted dad's name to him instantly, and he was eager to meet dad. I was excited, since I'm a big fan of Darren's movies, and thought it would be cool to meet the visionary director of Pi, Requiem For a Dream, and The Fountain.

A few days later, mom and dad went to a local Raw show, and I went to Batista's book signing in Jersey (another former student of my dad) (I hadn't seen him in a few months, and he said he'd give me a copy of the book if I came, so naturally, being unable to pass up a book...) He was happy for me when I told him that the next morning we had a meeting in New York with a director, and wished me the best of luck.

That next morning we headed off to the Protozoa Pictures headquarters in New York. We brought a lot of pictures and resumes of various wrestlers, some DVDs, and other things to show Darren what dad was all about. Naturally, I brought my headshot and resume along too, just in case. We were introduced to Darren, who instantly showed great interest in dad. He briefly browsed dad's information and said "I don't even need to read this, I know who you are and who you've trained." I snuck my headshot into the folder with the wrestlers' pictures. As he went through the folder, and ran across my headshot, I exclaimed "How did that get in there??" I think he admired my ingenuity (And my acting resume. Having Rocky Balboa and Shooter on there is an eye catcher!)

To make a long story short, dad was hired on the spot to train the lead actor. That night, the details were discussed, and dad said "I'll do the training if you put my daughter in the movie." The response was instantly "Oh she's in, she was in at the meeting!" I was very happy; having a Darren Aronofsky film added to my resume would give it another great dose of prestige.

When Nicolas Cage was replaced by Mickey Rourke, we were back in NYC for another meeting. The stunt coordinator, Doug Crosby, and I hit it off immediately. He brought cookies; and has great artistic and musical taste. So all of a sudden Mickey comes in...and all the energy in the room seemed concentrated around him. He has a presence that radiates an unnamable, special quality. He plops down in the chair across from me and said "I'm jet lagging and I have a hangover." Instantly, I smiled and thought "Ohhh I like him, he's going to be fun to work with! He's one of the boys!"

Dad and Mickey seemed to bond at once, it was amazing to see. You'd think they knew each other for years. Mickey was very, very eager to learn, and got into the ring that first day and learned the basics of taking bumps. The thing I really liked about him was how absolutely casual and comfortable he seemed to be. No trace of "superstar actor ego" at all, none of that "I'm better than you" attitude. He's also a hugger, not a hand shaker. When I found out that he was a tattoo/motorcycle/chihuahua/Guns N' Roses lover, that was it! I knew this was going to be the start of the greatest and most fun acting experience of my life.

I came to several of the training sessions, to watch his very quick and impressive progress. He always, always liked to have Guns N' Roses blaring while he trained, which was just fine and dandy with me! There was one training session when Doug, my new friend the stunt coordinator, brought his little Brussels Griffon dog with him. If you know anything about Mickey Rourke, you know he is a dog fanatic. I am, too. Mickey and I sat next to each other, and this little dog hopped from his lap to my lap every few minutes. I showed Mickey pictures of my chihuahua, Madison, and he just about melted right there in his seat.

The last training before Christmas, I was there again. That was the night Mickey first got to try on his Randy the Ram tights. He came out in those tights, and I thought, heart swelling, "My God...he really does look like a wrestler." I was so proud of dad's work.

When it was time to shoot the first wrestling show scene, which was a WXW show, I hid behind the concession stand so I wouldn't be seen on camera (Since I was going to be the pharmacist in the movie, I couldn't be seen in two places!). I was very happy that Gwynn and her fiancee Ed made it to the show, and are briefly seen in the audience in the movie!

A little girl had brought her pomeranian puppy to the show, and I told her "I can guarantee you if Mickey sees that dog, he is going to stop in the middle of a take to come play with her." Imagine my big smile when I turned out to be right! Mickey was in the ring, in the middle of a take, and spotted the little dog. He slid right out of the ring, came to the guard rail, and lit up like a little kid when he pet the pup.

Dad was always RIGHT there at ringside between takes, ready to assist or talk to Mickey in any way necessary. When you watch the movie, after he wins the match, you see him blow a kiss and smile in the direction of the concession stand. He was thanking dad, who was sitting just off camera, proudly smiling right back at him.

As I said, I was cast as the pharmacist. When the day came to shoot my scene, I was surprisingly very calm and unruffled. I arrived at the set after spending time in Wardrobe and Makeup & Hair, and was greeted enthusiastically by my buddy Doug, now nicknamed "Ref Dougie" for his part as the referee in the WXW match scene. As was customary, he gave me a big pile of books. From that first meeting with him, he'd always brought me great books as presents every time he saw me. What a darling!

Then Darren talked to me for a little while before we shot the first take, and I was feeling more and more happy and comfortable by the minute. Take 1 began and ended, and Mickey turned to me, smiled, squeezed my hand, and said "You did a good job, girl!" I was glowing. (what an honor when a veteran compliments you!) We shot a few more takes, then Darren came over and said "Alright, we're done. You were wonderful!" I swear, I must have smiled for the rest of that week.

Now that the movie is over, and has some fantastic awards under its proverbial belt, Mickey has been doing a LOT of talk show appearances, and has talked about dad on some of them. He and dad still talk almost daily, which shows me that loyalty and friendship, two things you almost never find in the acting world, mean a lot to Mickey.

When my aunt passed away, and dad couldn't be at the final wrestling show scene taping, Mickey called him afterward and thanked him deeply, and expressed his sincere condolences for our loss. He didn't have to do that, but he did. When we were on our way to the wrap party, Mickey called again and said he was sorry he couldn't make it, but thanked dad again, and said "And tell Vale I said hi!"

All of us are so, so happy and proud to be part of this movie. More important than any extra fame or glory, it brought us a few really great and beloved friends. When we saw the finished movie, I cried six times that first time. It's one thing to read the script and see the wrestling show scenes being shot, but to watch Mickey's flawless, heart-wrenching, downright magical acting, and him in the wrestling world; a subject that has been all around me since conception, it moved me so, so powerfully. THANK you Dad, Darren, Mickey, and absolutely everyone involved for making such a film."

I want to thank some of the many radio stations who took an interest in my experience with Mickey and The Wrestler and had invited me on their programs to share my memories with fellow fans. NewsTalk Radio 810 WGY HOST: DON WEEKS, WNBB and WNBR with The Hammer, WPKX Host: Shaggy, 1010 Sports Host: JP Peterson,The Danny Bonaduce Show - 94 WYSP, Austin and Claire - KLDJ- Kool 101.7, WOCM-FM 98.1 Bulldog and The Rude Awakening Show, PWINSIDER with MIKE JOHNSON, The Early Morning Show with Jim Scott on 700 WLW-AM XM Channel 173, HOT FM Australia - Host: Blair Woodcock. I also want to thank my publicist Shannon Rose for keeping my schedule straight.

Until next month,

God Bless

Afa The Wild Samoan

Tags: Afa, WWE