Mickey O'Keefe stars in "The Fighter" as himself.
Mickey O'Keefe is a police sergeant in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was the real-life mentor of Micky Ward during his prolific boxing career. Micky Ward is played by Mark Wahlberg in the film.
O'Keefe helped to train Micky and clashed with him over his lifestyle. O'Keefe has been a police sergeant for over 30 years and is still on the force today.
"It was Mark's idea to cast Micky," explains director David O. Russell. "Mark wanted the realness and the intensity of someone who knew fighting and knew Micky and Dicky and nobody knew these guys better than O'Keefe because he trained both of them."
O'Keefe remembers getting the call from Wahlberg to be in the movie and initially thought that he was joking. When he realized Wahlberg was serious, the two of them went out for dinner. O'Keefe still had doubts. "Mark said I could do it because, as a police officer, you act," he recalls. "If somebody wants to commit suicide or you're involved in a gun situation or whatever, you're thinking on your feet. So, I said 'I'll give it a shot.'"
Recalls Wahlberg of O'Keefe's initiation as an actor: "Mickey looked at me like 'I don't know what I'm doing,' I just said 'Will ya shut up? Shut up and be yourself. You're fantastic! Just learn your lines and we'll help you. You're going to be great.'"
That approach worked, says producer David Hoberman. "It turned out that Mickey O'Keefe was unbelievable because he brought in a naturalism nobody else could have gotten to."
Of his real life student Micky Ward, O'Keefe says, "Micky was different than everybody else. He was a kid who just had it. They couldn't get a better name for the film than 'The Fighter' because that's what he was – a fighter. His brother was a great boxer. There's no taking that away from him, but Micky's a fighter. He never stepped back from anybody, even in the Sanchez fight when he was getting his *ss kicked. He never wavered and then when push came to shove, he knocked the guy out with that left hook to the body. It's like getting hit with a bolt of lightening. You can't breathe; you can't talk. You just want to die and when you see people fall, that's real. You know he pulled it off. You know it was a great fight."
Mickey O'Keefe is a police sergeant in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was the real-life mentor of Micky Ward during his prolific boxing career. Micky Ward is played by Mark Wahlberg in the film.
O'Keefe helped to train Micky and clashed with him over his lifestyle. O'Keefe has been a police sergeant for over 30 years and is still on the force today.
"It was Mark's idea to cast Micky," explains director David O. Russell. "Mark wanted the realness and the intensity of someone who knew fighting and knew Micky and Dicky and nobody knew these guys better than O'Keefe because he trained both of them."
O'Keefe remembers getting the call from Wahlberg to be in the movie and initially thought that he was joking. When he realized Wahlberg was serious, the two of them went out for dinner. O'Keefe still had doubts. "Mark said I could do it because, as a police officer, you act," he recalls. "If somebody wants to commit suicide or you're involved in a gun situation or whatever, you're thinking on your feet. So, I said 'I'll give it a shot.'"
Recalls Wahlberg of O'Keefe's initiation as an actor: "Mickey looked at me like 'I don't know what I'm doing,' I just said 'Will ya shut up? Shut up and be yourself. You're fantastic! Just learn your lines and we'll help you. You're going to be great.'"
That approach worked, says producer David Hoberman. "It turned out that Mickey O'Keefe was unbelievable because he brought in a naturalism nobody else could have gotten to."
Of his real life student Micky Ward, O'Keefe says, "Micky was different than everybody else. He was a kid who just had it. They couldn't get a better name for the film than 'The Fighter' because that's what he was – a fighter. His brother was a great boxer. There's no taking that away from him, but Micky's a fighter. He never stepped back from anybody, even in the Sanchez fight when he was getting his *ss kicked. He never wavered and then when push came to shove, he knocked the guy out with that left hook to the body. It's like getting hit with a bolt of lightening. You can't breathe; you can't talk. You just want to die and when you see people fall, that's real. You know he pulled it off. You know it was a great fight."