History Trivia / TheWrestler

* PlayingAgainstType: Darren Aronofsky directs a completely straightforward, small scale story with no surreality.

* CareerResurrection:
** For Creator/MickeyRourke, who had spent over ten years doing ''very'' subpar action schlock and direct-to-video movies.
** The movie brought attention to Ernest "The Cat" Miller for the first time since before Wrestling/{{WCW}} folded in 2001 and he'd fallen off the radar entirely.

* EnforcedMethodActing:
** It's pretty clear that in every scene where Randy interacts with another wrestler (as in, an actual wrestler cast as an extra), that Mickey Rourke was told to act like, and that the others were told to treat him like, an aging but still respected wrestler. Granted, that's the very definition of acting, but aside from the scenario itself, it's obvious there was no script involved. This results in scenes like Randy walking into the makeshift locker room near the beginning of the movie and interacting with [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] and others later on in the gymnasium, which come across as very spontaneous with only a very broad "goal" of conversation to be reached in order to complete the scene. Contrast these scenes with actual scripted scenes involving wrestler extras like Tommy Rotten and The Ayatollah.
** The scenes between Randy and the grocery store customers were unscripted with hidden cameras. Those were real shoppers interacting with a person they believed to be an employee.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Creator/MarisaTomei as a struggling stripper doesn't really make sense since she's still drop dead gorgeous, but her performance was acclaimed enough to overcome this.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film captures the pro wrestling industry of the late 2000s that it's almost like a time capsule. Even five years later, the internet had already proved to be a huge game changer when it came to the indies; numerous promotions were able to broadcast their shows via [=iPPV=], and indie wrestlers who'd never signed to major promotions were able to build up followings equal to those who were. The film was also made in the middle of one of pro wrestling's {{Dork Age}}s - and it would enjoy a renewed mainstream popularity in TheNewTens. Also, ''Wrestling/RingOfHonor'' at the time was still distributing its shows via DVD sales - when it would get a television deal just a year after the film's release. Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli and Wrestling/RTruth make appearances as indie wrestlers - when they'd both later sign to WWE (and R-Truth already had by the time the film was released). More superficially, the most current video game Randy's young neighbour references is ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'' (released in 2007). There's also no mention of Twitter or [=YouTube=], which would become huge parts of most wrestlers' lives in TheNewTens.

* ProductionPosse: Fans of Aronofsky's work will recognize Mark Margolis (who plays Lenny) as Max's neighbor Sol from ''Film/{{Pi}}'', old Mr. Rabinowitz from ''Literature/RequiemForADream'', and the Franciscan monk Father Avila from ''Film/TheFountain''.
* QueerCharacterQueerActor: Possibly. Stephanie, who is heavily implied to be a lesbian, is portrayed by Creator/EvanRachelWood, who is bisexual.

* QueerCharacterQueerActor: Posdibly. Stephanie, who is heavily implied to be a lesbian, is portrayed by Creator/EvanRachelWood, who is bisexual.

** Originally, Creator/NicolasCage was cast as Randy, and was spotted backstage at several Wrestling/RingOfHonor shows trying to get a better feel for the environment. He willingly stepped down in favor of Rourke, who was Aronofsky's original choice. He did also briefly consider Creator/SylvesterStallone, but he decided against it, especially since it could make the film too similar to ''Film/RockyBalboa''.

* {{Jossed}}: Wrestling/HulkHogan claims he turned down the role of Randy, but Creator/DarrenAronofsky disputes this. He's said that Rourke was always his first choice.

** It's pretty clear that in every scene where Randy interacts with another wrestler (as in, an actual wrestler cast as an extra), that Mickey Rourke was told to act like, and that the others were told to treat him like, an aging but still respected wrestler. Granted, that's [[CaptainObvious the very definition of acting]], but aside from the scenario itself, it's obvious there was no script involved. This results in scenes like Randy walking into the makeshift locker room near the beginning of the movie and interacting with [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] and others later on in the gymnasium, which come across as very spontaneous with only a very broad "goal" of conversation to be reached in order to complete the scene. Contrast these scenes with actual scripted scenes involving wrestler extras like Tommy Rotten and The Ayatollah.

* HeAlsoDid: Writer Robert Siegel is probably best known as being an editor in chief for The Onion during the early 2000s.

** Originally, Creator/NicolasCage was cast as Randy, and was spotted backstage at several Wrestling/RingOfHonor shows trying to get a better feel for the environment. He willingly stepped down in favor of Rourke, who was Aronofsky's original choice. He did also briefly consider Sylvester Stallone, but he decided against it, especially since it could make the film too similar to ''Film/RockyBalboa''.

* BannedInChina: The Iranian Government has condemned ''Film/TheWrestler'' as "Western propaganda" (due to the Ayatollah character).

* ProductionPosse: Fans of Darren Aronofsky's work will recognize Mark Margolis (who plays Lenny) as Max's neighbor Sol from ''Film/{{Pi}}'', old Mr. Rabinowitz from ''Literature/RequiemForADream'', and the Franciscan monk Father Avila from ''Film/TheFountain''.

** In spite of his RealLife [[Jerkass personality]], Axl Rose was invited to see an advance screening of the movie. He was so moved that he allowed the movie to use "Sweet Child o' Mine" [[PetTheDog free of charge]].

** At one point, Rourke's character straight up grabs an Iranian flag, smashes it, and then throws it into a crowd of screaming fans, which makes sense in context (since his shtick is being All-American) but can be understandably offensive looked at by itself.
* CareerResurrection: For Mickey Rourke, who had spent over ten years doing ''very'' sub-par action schlock and direct-to-video movies.
** The movie also brought attention to Ernest "The Cat" Miller for the first time since before [=WCW=] folded in 2001 and he'd fallen off the radar entirely.
* CastTheExpert: Wrestling/{{WWE}} fans will note that Wrestling/RonKillings, now known as R-Truth, is among the indie wrestlers that make cameos in the film. Wrestling/{{WCW}} fans may recognize Ernest "The Cat" Miller as The Ayatollah. And Wrestling/{{ECW}} fans will recognize Wrestling/TheBlueMeanie. In fact, every wrestler you see in this movie is a professional wrestler in real life, and they're using their actual gimmicks (save for Miller).

** In spite of his RealLife [[JerkAss personality]], Axl Rose was invited to see an advance screening of the movie. He was so moved that he allowed the movie to use "Sweet Child o' Mine" [[PetTheDog free of charge]].
* DyeingForYourArt: Mickey Rourke gained thirty pounds of muscle, bleached his hair blond and trained to wrestle. He also cut himself for real when Randy blades in the ring.

* {{Jossed}}: Wrestling/HulkHogan claims he turned down the role of Randy, but Darren Aronofsky disputes this. He's said that Mickey Rourke was his first choice (and, basically, his ''ideal'' choice due to how well Rourke fit the part).
* TheOtherMarty: Abbie Cornish was cast as Stephanie, but had to drop out at the last minute, and Evan Rachel Wood replaced her.
* ProductionPosse: Fans of Creator/DarrenAronofsky's work will recognize Mark Margolis (who plays Lenny) as Max's neighbor Sol from ''Film/{{Pi}}'', old Mr. Rabinowitz from ''Literature/RequiemForADream'', and the Franciscan monk Father Avila from ''Film/TheFountain''.

** Also, before becoming an actor, Rourke was a promising amateur boxer. When his acting career stalled, Rourke decided to go pro at 39. While he was undefeated in his eight bouts, he, like Randy, was at an age where he really did not belong in the ring and suffered serious injuries trying to succeed in a sport he shouldn't have been a part of anymore.
** Mickey Rourke also used "Sweet Child o' Mine" as his entrance music in boxing. Randy uses it as his music in the film.

** It's pretty clear that in every scene where Randy interacts with another wrestler (as in, an actual wrestler cast as an extra), that Mickey Rourke was told to act like, and that the others were told to treat him like, an aging but still respected wrestler. Granted, that's [[CaptainObvious the very definition of acting]], but aside from the scenario itself, it's obvious there was no script involved. This results in scenes like Randy walking into the makeshift locker room near the beginning of the movie and interacting with [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] and others later on in the gymnasium, which come across as very spontaneous with only a very broad "goal" of conversation to be reached in order to complete the scene. Contrast these scenes with actual scripted scenes involving wrestler extras like Tommy Rotton and The Ayatollah.

* {{Jossed}}: Wrestling/HulkHogan claims he turned down the role of Randy, though Darren Aronofsky disputed that - saying Mickey Rourke was his first choice.

** Originally, Creator/NicolasCage was cast as Randy, and was spotted backstage at several Wrestling/RingOfHonor shows trying to get a better feel for the environment. He willingly stepped down in favor of Rourke, who was Aronofsky's original choice. He did also briefly consider Sylvester Stallone, but decided against it - feeling it would be too similar to ''Film/RockyBalboa''.