Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood star in the new movie The Wrestler along side of Mickey Rourke, who plays a professional wrestler from the 1980s who is forced to retire after a heart attack nearly kills him. Tomei stars as a stripper Rourke is trying to court, and Wood plays Rourke’s estranged daughter. Both ladies shared with us what it was like working with someone as intimidating as Rourke, and how much freedom they had to interpret their characters.

Filmazing: How did you get yourself ready for the part?

Tomei: I think I’m nuts especially now in retrospect since people’s reactions have been, ‘how did you do that?’  I asked a couple of strippers to show me some things and I talked with them, and I had a friend who teaches pole classes, so she gave me some lessons.

Filmazing: Was it choreographed or were you free to do whatever you wanted?

Tomei: Whatever I wanted, I think Darren Afronofsky (the director) was so into the wrestling, he just wanted me to get up there and hoochy-coochy and leave. And I said we actually need music for this. He gave me a lot of freedom with it, so I chose to learn a lot of the dance moves without a choreographer because I wanted it to be able to come more organically from my character’s point of view then having it opposed upon me.

Filmazing: Was it self expressing for you to be able to do that?

Tomei: I think all of acting hopefully it pushes you to bear a lot of your soul, it certain aspects. That can be just as changeling as dancing nude. I would say that dancing nude was fun.

Filmazing: What was it like working with Mickey Rourke?

Tomei: He can be very intense and very fierce, in the best ways. He is an artist, a very deep artist, and also is very vulnerable.

Filmazing: Would you say your character brings out the softer side of him?

Tomei: A lot of times guys really go to the strip club not just to see the beauty of the women dancing, but to have a drink and talk; let their guard down from the rest of their lives. So that vulnerability comes out easily between his character and mine because that’s what he is there to do, that’s why he is going to the club.

Filmazing: What do you think the message of the film is?

Tomei: I think it is finding something that you’re good at and you like as well. And do you go down fighting or do you try to reinvent yourself? How easy or hard is it? It’s really hard; I think that anyone who has changed careers on any level, you know how difficult it is.

Filmazing: What was the motivation to prepare for your character?

Tomei: I can really relate to the character, I had my own daddy issues. A lot of the things I was doing and saying on screen happened to me in real life, so it was difficult to deal with all those emotions that I have been ignoring for so long. That is one of the reasons I took the part in the first place. And it was like therapy, getting it all out and having to feel all that again.

Filmazing: How do you think the audience will relate to your character? (Directed to Evan Rachel Wood)

Wood: I think a lot of woman especially can relate to the characters (Marisa and mine.) How you can be so in love with the man they want to be. It just kills you because you can see that they are trying, but they are always going to screw it up.  There is something in them that won’t let themselves do it, so you keep setting yourself up to get hurt over and over again. I think that’s what they all struggle with.

Filmazing: What do you admire about your character?

Wood: She stands up for herself in the end. She is a fighter and she will not take it anymore because she has been through enough. I really liked that.

Filmazing: What was it like working with Mickey Rourke?

Wood: I have never seen anyone more dedicated or focused to a character. Darren made it so that Mickey and I didn’t speak in between takes; didn’t rehearse, didn’t go into hair and makeup at the same time. I never saw Mickey out of character. So the only time we talked was in the scenes which brought them to another level of reality especially for us. Not only were we saying those things for the first time, but it was the only thing we were saying to each other. So it was easy to forget he was Mickey Rourke, and just have him be the character. That helped a lot.

Filmazing: What do you think the message of the film is?

Wood: I think it doesn’t even have to apply to wrestling, even though I do have a whole new respect for it now. It is about being passionate about something and be willing to die for what you love, and the scarfices and the regret. I think that’s why it hits people so hard, that’s one thing so many people want to ignore; things u regret, things u cant change. That’s what the movie is about, and everyone can relate.