Mickey Rourke drops out of Gareth Thomas biopic

London: Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke has dropped out of playing gay rugby star Gareth Thomas in a new biopic after struggling with stunt training for the movie. The 59-year-old, who had signed up to tell the true story of the first openly gay rugby player and threw himself into researching the Welshman, has pulled out of the film, leaving movie chiefs to search for a replacement, reported a website.

"I was talking to Mickey yesterday and basically we`re now talking to other big-name actors who could play the part instead. We had talked about using computer-generated special effects with Mickey but we don`t think that will be as realistic, so it`s time to find someone new, Thomas said. ‘Inception’ star Tom Hardy is reportedly in talks for the role. PTI