Directed by David O. Russell, story about the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.
Mark Wahlberg waived his own salary, taking no upfront fee for the film. Christian Bale was paid only $250,000 for his role.
To prepare for his role, Christian Bale spent hours with the real Dicky Eklund to learn how to emulate him properly. He had to lose 30 pounds because Eklund was a crack addict at the time.
Dicky Eklund was not happy with how his mother and sisters were portrayed in the film. He yelled at Christian Bale after a screening in anger. His sisters also did not like their portrayals. Beaver Eklund walked out of a screening of the film in protest.
Micky Ward's real-life trainer Mickey O'Keefe was asked to appear as himself in the film, but turned the role down, since he had never acted before. He was convinced to take the role by Mark Wahlberg, who told him he would be able to, since he was a cop, and therefore he has to act and think fast on his feet.
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