Mickey Rourke just won the best actor Golden Globe after interpreting a fallen-star wrestler known as "The Ram," but he seems to deserve his colorful nickname: "The Phoenix." Like that mythical bird that flames out and is reborn from its ashes, the 56-year-old actor is experiencing his own high-flying Hollywood rebirth.

 

In the early ‘80s, he broke through with a series of small parts in films like "Diner," "The Outsiders" and "Body Heat." His performances drew comparisons to Marlon Brando or Robert De Niro thanks to his intense and confident aspect.

 

But the worst may be yet to come for Rourke because this week he has to stand trial in Hollywood's municipal court on charges that in July he assaulted the 25-year-old model-actress Carre Otis, who used to be his wife. Rourke pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor battery.

 

According to Otis, just a year after they married, Rourke pressed her to give up her career—even though she was about to sign a million-dollar-a-year deal with Helena Rubinstein cosmetics. But with Rourke out of her life, at least for the moment, Carre Otis seems to be getting back on track. A week after filing charges, she contacted “Look” and hooked up with them again.

 

The actor blames his tough-guy tendencies on his stepfather, Gene Addis, a retired cop who married Rourke's mother, Ann, when Mickey was about 10. Together with his brothers and sisters, the boy was raised in an atmosphere both strict and tense.

Mickey Rourke is looking to kick some ass when it comes to fighting animal overpopulation. In an effort to spread the word about how important it is to spay and neuter, the actor is once again showing his passion for pets, this time by tag-teaming with PETA on a new ad featuring his canine, Jaws.