* ActorInspiredElement: Mickey Rourke had a lot of his character's lines changed, because he didn't think the original ones written were authentic enough for the people in the wrestling industry.
* BannedInChina: The Iranian Government has condemned ''Film/TheWrestler'' as "Western propaganda".
* 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. 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).
* CreatorsOddball: Darren Aronofsky directs a completely straightforward, small scale story with no surreality.
* DoingItForTheArt:
** Because of how much the movie meant to them personally, Aronofsky, Rourke, and Music/BruceSpringsteen did their work free of charge.
** 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: 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.
* EnforcedMethodActing: 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.
* HeAlsoDid: Writer Robert Siegel is probably best known as being an editor-in-chief for ''The Onion'' during the early 2000s.
* TheOtherMarty: Abbie Cornish was cast as Stephanie, but had to drop out at the last minute, and Creator/EvanRachelWood replaced her.
* ProductionPosse: Fans of Aronofsky's work will recognize Creator/MarkMargolis (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.
* RealitySubtext:
** Randy's wrestling career is a fairly close mirror to Rourke's acting career.
** The conversation about how the '90s sucked can serve as this for Marisa Tomei as well as Rourke; while she won an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for ''Film/MyCousinVinny'', many people sniped that she didn't really win or didn't deserve to win because she won for a comic performance, and her career suffered for a while as a result.
** 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.
** Rourke used "Sweet Child o' Mine" as his entrance music in boxing. Randy uses it as his music in the film.
* WordOfGod: 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.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** 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.[[note]]He later clarified that he dropped out because he didn't think he'd be able to get the required physique in that time frame.[[/note]] He did also briefly consider Creator/SylvesterStallone, but he decided against it, especially since it could make the film too similar to ''Film/RockyBalboa''.
** Originally, Tomei's character was supposed to be a ballerina, and ''Film/BlackSwan'' was supposed to be pretty much folded into this. However, the producers felt that it was too much for one movie, and the stories were split in half. They are still considered "two halves of the same movie," however.
** In the original screenplay, it was Stephanie who sought Randy out first. She would have been a recovering alcoholic and trying to make amends as part of her twelve-step program.
-----