Mickey Rourke Calls Tom Cruise 'Irrelevant' For Not Stretching Himself As An Actor In Viral Rant

Mickey Rourke is not impressed with Hollywood colleague, Tom Cruise, who is currently smashing box office records after reprising his Top Gun role 36 years later in Paramount's biggest domestic grosser ever, Top Gun: Maverick.

In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, Rourke–who is known for his work in films like The Expendables, and The Wrestler–said of Cruise's success with the Top Gun sequel:

"That doesn't mean sh*t to me."

"The guy's been doing the same effing part for 35 years, ya know? I've got no respect for that."

"I don't care about money and power," said the 69-year-old when asked why he was critical of Cruise.

Rourke then mentioned the names of actors who inspire him.

"I care about when I watch Al Pacino work and Chris Walken and [Robert] De Niro's early work and Richard Harris's work and Ray Winstone's work."

"That’s the kind of actor I want to be like. Like Monty Clift and [Marlon] Brando back in the day. A lot of guys who tried to stretch as actors."

When Morgan asked, "You don't think Tom Cruise is a good actor?" Rourke replied:

"I think he's irrelevant in my world."

Some people agreed with Rourke.

Others sensed jealously and implied Rourke was the "irrelevant" one.

Some moviegoers understood what Rourke was trying to articulate but disagreed with his criticism of Cruise.

One user saw Rourke's point, but it didn't benefit the actor.

Rourke recently worked with Roman Polanski in the upcoming drama, The Palace, which is set for a November release.

Top Gun: Maverick has surpassed the $600 million mark in domestic ticket sales and is at $595.6 million internationally.

It became the first movie of the year to surpass $1 billion globally, according to Variety.

Brian Robbins, Paramount’s president and CEO, celebrated the sequel's success after it surpassed Titanic's first-run release as the studio’s highest-grossing domestic film in its 110-year history.

He said in the following statement:

“'Top Gun: Maverick’ is a phenomenal motion picture, and we take deep pride in celebrating this tremendous achievement alongside Tom Cruise, our filmmakers and cast, our marketing and distribution teams, and, of course, all the new and original 'Top Gun' fans, without whom this wouldn’t have been possible.”