Mickey Rourke as Genghis Khan?

The Orlando Sentinel talks with Mickey Rourke at length about his plans to play Genghis Khan, written and directed by John Milius.

“I read his script and you know, the man is known for his tough writing. He wrote Conan and Dirty Harry and Apocalypse Now, and it’ll be interesting to see how he works behind the camera.

I’m playing Genghis.

“John wrote as a piece told from the son and grandson’s point of view, how they saw this mythic figure from their family. You see him in flashbacks, back when he was in his mid-40s. And back then, being in your mid-40s was being REALLY old.”

“It’ll be a fascinating experience, maybe shooting in parts of India, they tell me, and China. I’ve never worked in either of those countries, so that’ll be new.

“Historically, if you read about the guy, he was a mystery. There’s a lot of myths surrounding him, but also some true stories. Milius went through that in prepping this, so he’ll be a fascinating character to play.”
As everybody learned last year during awards season, Mickey Rourke loves his dogs — chihuahuas, mostly. And he found something in common with the Mighty Khan in that regard.

“One of the things I like about Genghis Khan was his love of dogs. The Mongols used dogs in battle, and dogs rarely made it out of the battle. But in one instance, in this script, he orders his men – ‘Hold the dogs back.’ He was looking out for the dogs. I like that.”

aw, Loki would like that too.