Even as his financial troubles were deepening behind the scenes, Hollywood legend Mickey Rourke was still enjoying nights out in Los Angeles, exclusive Daily Mail photos show.
The 73-year-old actor was spotted dining in style at trendy Italian restaurant, the Little Door, recently - just days before he'd resurface with a gaunt face and bald head amid his mounting money woes.
Nevertheless, Rourke cut a fashionable figure during the December outing in West Hollywood, sporting a cream-colored jacket paired with a matching cowboy hat and shoes.
He appeared in great spirits as he walked and talked with a friend.
At the time, the one-time leading man was already facing eviction for unpaid rent that led to the launch a GoFundMe campaign earlier this month.
According to court filings obtained by the Daily Mail, the notoriously private star was served with a three-day notice on December 18 demanding nearly $60,000 in unpaid rent.
Mickey Rourke, 73, was snapped in West Hollywood after dining at trendy Italian restaurant Little Door recently
The reclusive actor, who was accompanied by a friend, appeared relaxed and upbeat as he treated himself to a fancy dinner, despite facing mounting financial troubles
He allegedly failed to comply with the order, placing him at risk of being forced out of the property.
The unearthed images mark a noticeable shift from photos taken earlier last year.
In August 2025, Rourke was photographed at the property now at the center of the debt drama, looking markedly different and far less polished as the financial strain appeared to take its toll.
The sighting also comes after a turbulent year for the Oscar-nominated actor, who was kicked off Big Brother UK last year following inappropriate behavior - another setback in a career long marked by dramatic highs and lows.
Still, if his latest night out is any indication, Rourke hasn't completely given up on the finer things, even as the pressure mounts behind the scenes.
Rourke - real name: Philip Rourke Jr - has only been renting the three-bedroom home since March 30, when he signed a lease for $5,200 a month.
At the time, Rourke was already facing eviction for allegedly racking up nearly $60,000 in unpaid rent
The actor has repeatedly disowned a GoFundMe campaign set up by his own manager Kimberly Hines and assistant Dima, which raised over $100,000 to help cover the $59,100 he owed in unpaid rent. It has since been taken down
The complaint, filed by plaintiff Eric T. Goldie, indicates that the monthly rent on the 2.5-bathroom home was later raised to $7,000 beginning in Rourke's second month of occupancy.
In addition to the $59,100 that Rourke allegedly owes in back rent, Goldie is also seeking to have the Iron Man II actor pay his attorney fees and to end the lease, which would presumably prevent Rourke from continuing to live at the house even if he did pay up.
It then appeared that the actor had turned to crowdfunding to stay afloat, via a GoFundMe appeal set up on January 4.
Within days the campaign raised its $100,000 goal - suggesting fans were rallying behind the troubled star.
The fundraiser to help Rourke was launched by a woman named Liya-Joelle Jones, who claimed to work as an assistant to his manager, Kimberly Hines.
On the website, Jones claimed the page was created with Rourke's 'full permission.'
But in an Instagram video, shared on Rourke's page the following day, he insisted he'd never accept 'charity' - despite claiming the house had 'rotten' floors and was infested with rats - and he denied knowing about the fundraiser.
Clad in a bright pink T-shirt, the Sin City star said he was 'confused' and 'frustrated' by the situation.
'If I needed money, I wouldn't ask for no fg charity. I'd rather stick a gun up my a* and pull the trigger,' he said in the clip.
Speaking of 'whoever did this,' Rourke added, 'I wouldn't know what a GoFundMe foundation is in a million years. My life is very simple; I wouldn't go to outside sources like that.'
He went on to call the campaign 'embarrassing' but added, 'I'm sure I'll get over it like anything else.'
He then urged his supporters not to donate to the campaign and to request a refund if they had already done so.
Rourke has since spoken out against the GoFundMe effort, insisting he'd never accept 'charity' and denied having knowledge of the fundraiser in a video shared on his Instagram earlier this month
The injuries Rourke sustained as a boxer required reconstructive surgery and drastically changed his appearance; pictured in 2022
A GoFundMe spokesperson told TMZ last Friday that the campaign has since been deleted and 100 percent of donation refunds were issued last Wednesday.
Hines had previously explained to THR: 'We said, "Mickey, there's some people that want to help you out." He's like, "Okay, great." I don't think he understood, and now it's taken on this media frenzy, and he flipped out.'
'The good thing about this is that he got four movie offers since yesterday. People are emailing him movie offers now, which is great because nobody's been calling him for a long time,' she noted.
Rourke -- who's said to be 'rich poor' and living 'paycheck-to-paycheck' -- also reflected back on his career, stating he has 'done a really terrible job' in managing it.
'I wasn't diplomatic. I had to go to over 20 years of therapy to get over the damage that was done to me years ago,' he said.
'I worked very hard to work through that. I'm not that person anymore.'
The actor admitted that he did 'borrow money from a great friend of mine' amid his financial woes, and said he will eventually reveal who it was.
However, he insisted that he would 'never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel. That's not my style.'