Hot on the heels of his success in The Wrestler Mickey Rourke is set to tackle another action role. He's has inked a deal to star in Iron Man 2 – with a little persuasion from Robert Downey Jr.

Keen to sign up the star Robert used their frequent recent encounters on the awards ceremony circuit – Mickey won a Golden Globe and was Oscar-nominated for The Wrestler, while Robert received nominations for Tropic Thunder - to secure the 56-year-old actor's participation.

And his hard work paid off. Mickey, who played a tough anti-hero in Sin City, has reportedly agreed to portray Russian villain Whiplash.

Rounding off a stellar line-up, the former boxer will join lead Robert, Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and the front runner to play fictional super-spy Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson, in the Marvel Comic film follow-up.

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