If Madame Tussaud’s ever made a waxwork of the legendary Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan, I’m willing to put money on the fact that he wouldn’t look anything like Mickey Rourke. However it appears that Mickey isn’t going to let something as small as the fact he’s white and has a face that looks like playdough put him off saddling up for John Milius’ epic take on the saga of Khan.
Rourke spoke to the Orlando Sentinel about the movie, telling them that, “I read his script (John Milius’) and you know, the man is known for his tough writing. He wrote Conan and Dirty Harry and Apocalypse Now, and itll be interesting to see how he works behind the camera. Im playing Genghis. John wrote as a piece told from the son and grandsons point of view, how they saw this mythic figure from their family. You see him in flashbacks, back when he was in his mid-40s.”
Khan is known for creating an empire that covered much of Central Asia and China, turning disparate bands of nomadic peoples into a mighty world power, as well as trying to civilise it, although he was also incredibly violent and authoritarian. However, as Rouke points out, Historically, if you read about the guy, he was a mystery. Theres a lot of myths surrounding him, but also some true stories. Milius went through that in prepping this, so hell be a fascinating character to play.
It’s also worth mentioning that Rourke says that the rumoured movie St. Vincent, which would reteam the actor with director Walter Hill, is “Not gonna happen.”