Mickey Rourke Thrown Hollywood Lifeline: Actor 'Set to Play Ozzy Osbourne' in New Movie Biopic After 'Celebrity Big Brother' Axing Threatened to End Career For Good
Mickey Rourke is being lined up to play Ozzy Osbourne in a movie biopic about the late rocker.
Dec. 16 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Mickey Rourke has been thrown a Hollywood lifeline after his career looked over following his Celebrity Big Brother axing.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the veteran actor, 73, is in the frame for two major biopics, including a movie about the life of the late Ozzy Osbourne.
Rourke's Back In Demand?
Rourke has also been linked with a role playing Johnny Cash in another biopic.
Insiders claim Rourke's name has been openly discussed by movie execs in regards to playing an older version of the Black Sabbath frontman, who died in July.
The other role up for contention is a biopic about country icon Johnny Cash.
The film offers come nine months after the star was booted off British reality show Celebrity Big Brother for "unacceptable behavior," after he made homophobic remarks to reality star JoJo Siwa.
A movie insider said, "Producers here don’t even know about the Celebrity Big Brother thing. Mickey is golden in the States. This town also loves an underdog, and movie bosses think Mickey still has an Oscar-worthy performance they can wring out of him.
Playing An Icon
Iconic rocker Osbourne died in July after suffering a cardiac arrest.
"He was a top actor back in the day; he would have been on a par with James Dean and Marlon Brando if he hadn't taken wrong turns and gone down a bad path."
The insider claimed: "There are scripts in the pipeline on Ozzy and Johnny, and Mickey's name has come up in meetings about both projects.
"They want to portray Ozzy's final days before that amazing show at Villa Park, and they want a performance like Mickey gave in The Wrestler."
"They’re confident he could do it," the source added.
It's understood streaming giants Amazon, MGM, and Apple are interested in both projects, with big-name directors in the frame to oversee it — including Martin Scorsese.
Ozzy's son, Jack Osbourne, revealed a film about his dad was in the works during his homecoming show back in July.
Rourke's career appeared over after his 'Celebrity Big Brother' controversy.
Jack said, "We do have the film on the way. We have a lot of good forward momentum on the Ozzy biopic. We have a director attached now, and the script is done, and Sony Studios is going to be producing it.
"We are really excited about it, so maybe we will do the premiere here in Birmingham."
He added at the time: "If the evil overlords of Hollywood give us the green light, we could be filming in the spring, so maybe it will be out in summer 2027, fingers crossed."
Rourke the 'Total Recluse'
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The rocker's son Jack revealed a film about the singer is in the works.
Radar revealed Rourke has become a total recluse since his Celebrity Big Brother axing.
A source claimed, "He lives in a beat-up place in Beverly Hills where the curtains are always drawn, and the landscaping is unkempt. The neighbors must hate him – it's a total eyesore.
"He rarely goes out and has his assistant fetching things for him. There's no doubt he's humiliated over what happened on Celebrity Big Brother, and that's contributed to his deep funk."
According to reports, the Wrestler star hasn't been tending to his personal appearance lately either. He even seems to be neglecting to wear any of his rumored hairpieces, making him look even older and more disheveled.
