The New York Daily News quoted Wass Stevens as saying Rourke heard that real-life wrestlers sometimes fake injuries by cutting themselves with razor blades, then decided to do likewise for his portrayal of a has-been grappler.

"So Mickey taped a blade to his forearm, and when the time was right, sliced his forehead," Stevens told the newspaper.

"I didn't know much about wrestling at all before this. For about three months, I trained every day for two hours. And they pushed me. Before we were done filming, I had three MRIs," Rourke said at last week's screening of the movie at the New York Film Festival.

Rourke has previously starred in "Rumble Fish," "The Pope of Greenwich Village," "9 1/2 Weeks," "Barfly" and "Sin City."