Mickey Rourke thinks Putin is ‘cool’ and says Gareth Thomas film will feature sex scene

PinkNews logo on pink background with rainbow corners.

Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke, who says he’s making a film about gay former rugby player Gareth Thomas, thinks President Vladimir Putin is “very cool”.

Rourke queued with hundreds of people in Moscow on Monday to get their hands on a T-shirt of Mr Putin.

“If I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t buy the T-shirt believe me,” Sky News reports Rourke said.

“I met him a couple of times and he was a real gentleman, a very cool regular guy, looked me right in the eye. I think he is a good guy. If I didn’t, believe me I wouldn’t wear the T-shirt.”

The actor claimed his admiration had nothing to do with politics.

“I have a Russian girlfriend, that’s all I care about,” Rourke added. “Her father is a good person, her mother’s great, her babushka’s wonderful. To me it’s all about family. I don’t give a fuck about the politics. That’s not my department.”

Earlier this week, Rourke gave an update on US chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live about his project to play gay former rugby player Gareth Thomas in a biopic.

The actor claimed it would feature him as Thomas undertaking a sex scene. “There’s a scene where I’m in the tub with another guy and I remove my teeth at the front and put them on the edge of the bath – you know, before we get it on,” Rourke said with a smile.

He explained why he wanted to make the movie.

“A whole bunch of different athletes have followed Gareth in coming out in the last couple of years,” Rourke said.

“But I didn’t want to do a boxing movie and I can’t play basketball – I don’t dribble very well – so rugby seemed to be the sport.”

Gareth Thomas became rugby’s first openly gay professional player to come out and continue playing in 2009.

He announced his retirement in October 2011.

In 2010, Mickey Rourke announced plans to make a film of the life of Thomas.

Rouke is yet to elaborate on when the film is due to be released.