Posted: September 13, 2008, 5 a.m. EDT
Mickey Rourke appeared at the Venice Film Festival this week with a female on his arm – Chihuahua mix Loki, who posed for photographers in a studded collar with the actor on the red carpet.
“I brought my dog because my dog is very old, she is 16 and she is not going to be around for long so I want to spend every moment with her,” he told Reuters.
Rourke’s latest film, “The Wrestler,” which stars the actor as a washed out fighter, won the festival’s top prize for best film. “The Wrestler” was “the best ... movie I’ve ever made,” Rourke said.
German director Wim Wenders, president of the seven-member Venice Film Festival jury, added: “This is for a film with a truly heartbreaking performance in the very sense of the word, and if I say heartbreaking, you know I am talking about Mickey Rourke.”
Wenders added that Rourke deserved the best actor prize, but says the festival does not present acting awards to the Golden Lion winner.