Posted: February 24, 2009, 5 a.m. EST
Mickey Rourke thanked his recently deceased Chihuahua while accepting his Best Actor statue at the Independent Spirit Awards for “The Wrestler” on Saturday in Santa Monica, Calif.
The moved star choked up when talking about Loki, who died at age 17 on Feb. 17.
“I’ve just gotten thousands of letters from strangers and people that know me about my dog that died six days ago,” Rourke told the audience. “Loki, this is for you, baby.”
Rourke, who wore a photo of Loki on a necklace to the Oscars Sunday night, thanked the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, as well as the wrestling community.
“I didn’t realize how many closet Mickey Rourke fans there were,” Aronofsky told a reporter backstage. “That’s been the biggest surprise of the whole trip.”
Rourke’s return to big-screen stardom made “30 Rock” star and Sprit Awards attendee Alec Baldwin a little jealous.
“I want back into the movie business so bad ... I gotta get a dog, start working out, drop a lotta f-bombs on live TV,” Baldwin joked.