Mickey Rourke is no stranger to fights — including a decades-long dispute with Robert De Niro that he claims cost him a role in Martin Scorsese’s forthcoming “The Irishman.”
Rourke, 67, told Italian TV show “Live – Non è la D’Urso” this week that he was “broke” and looking for work when De Niro blocked him from a part in “The Irishman,” claiming the actor “refused to work” with him because of an old feud.
“Marty Scorsese, great director, he wanted to meet me for a movie with Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Chris Walken and Robert De Niro,” Rourke said. “The casting person told my manager that Robert De Niro said he refused to work with me in a movie.”
A statement from De Niro’s rep Stan Rosenfield on behalf of the film’s producers and casting director denied Rourke’s accusation that he was passed up for a role.
“According to ‘The Irishman’ producers, Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and casting director Ellen Lewis, Mickey Rourke was never asked to be in ‘The Irishman’ nor was he ever even thought of, discussed or considered to be in the movie,’ ” Rosenfield told The Post, adding De Niro is “aware of these comments.”
Scorsese has not responded to requests for comment. Rourke’s rep also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The alleged feud extends back to the 1987 psychological thriller “Angel Heart,” where Rourke starred opposite De Niro, now 76, Rourke said.
“When I was in school studying to be an actor, I looked up to him like Marlon Brando, Al Pacino,” Rourke said, noting that he introduced himself on the set.
But immediately, Rourke says, he was snubbed by his idol.
“About five minutes later, [De Niro] comes over he said, ‘I think it’s better if we don’t talk because of characters in the movie. It’s better if we don’t say hello, talk or anything.’ ”
Rourke added: “It hurt my feelings a little bit ’cause I looked up to him.”
“The Wrestler” star added that their rift festered while filming scenes for the Alan Parker film, including an alleged incident where Rourke said De Niro refused to be touched by his co-star.
“Now I don’t look up to him no more; I look through him,” Rourke said. “I came up from the s–t. He doesn’t know that life. I lived that f–king life, so every time I look him in the face, I look right through his a–hole.”
“He don’t forget what happened 20 years ago,” he added, “because they have a saying, ‘I took him to school’ before no other actor.”
De Niro is set to star as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran in the Netflix film based on Charles Brandt’s book “I Heard You Paint Houses.” The plot centers on the 1975 “disappearance” of Jimmy Hoffa and the mob’s possible role in his alleged slaying. The film, which is slated for Nov. 27, is set to be Scorsese’s most expensive movie ever, as Page Six reported.
As for Rourke, he told The Post in February that he has “three movies before” his upcoming films “Night Walk” and “Legionnaire’s Trail.” Rourke did not disclose the role he was tapped for in “The Irishman.”