Rourke the Reason Springsteen Got in the Ring for 'The Wrestler'

Bruce Springsteen's theme for the critically acclaimed film 'The Wrestler' is nominated for a Golden Globe, but filmmaker Darren Aronofsky says he wasn't the impetus for Springsteen's affiliation with the film -- it was actor Mickey Rourke.

"Springsteen did the film for one reason," Aronofsky tells Slashfilm. "It had nothing do with me. In fact, to be honest, I met with Bruce, and he's heard of me, but he had never seen any of my work." Aronofsky admits, "He did it for one reason and that was that he did it for Mickey. He's a tremendous fan of Mickey's ... so he wanted to help, and that's the only reason he did it. And he did it for basically nothing."

"I can't wait for [Bruce] to see the movie because Asbury Park is in it, and I think he'll be psyched," the director says. "He read the screenplay, knew it and basically just pumped it out. It's a beautiful song."

Rourke, who earned a Best Actor Golden Globes nomination for his work in the film, made his appeal to the Boss the old-fashioned way. "I wrote Bruce a letter, because we've known each other over twenty years," the actor tells Uncut. "I told him how I felt lucky now, and didn't have to end up being this guy, being [washed-up title character] Randy. A while later I got a call in the middle of the night: he said he'd written a little song, for nothing."

"It's f---ing beautiful, right?," Rourke adds. "I'm so goddamn proud of this magical movie and to have Bruce's input. Ain't nobody in Hollywood with all their millions can just ring the man and he'll do a song, y'know?"

In addition to its inclusion in the film's soundtrack,'The Wrestler' theme will be included on Springsteen's new studio disc, 'Working on a Dream,' due out January 27.