It looks like Mickey Rourke finally closed a deal to play the Russian villain in Iron Man 2.

Apparently the negotiating was a bit strained when Marvel Entertainment offered The Wrestler star only $250,000 for his first major studio film in years.

My guess is that Rourke’s salary is much better than that now.

According to Variety, Rourke’s encounters with Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. on the awards circuit sealed his participation in the film. Rourke won the Golden Globe and was Oscar nominated for The Wrestler and Downey got Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Tropic Thunder, so Downey used each occasion to recruit Rourke.

As the story goes, when Downey, Rourke as well as actors including Frank Langella and Anne Hathaway took part in a roundtable discussion with Newsweek’s David Ansen, Downey interrupted the proceedings, reached across the table and flat out asked Rourke to do Iron Man 2.

And then, Rourke met with Jon Favreau and scribe Justin Theroux and got to be part of the development of his character. He’ll play Whiplash, a character that includes elements from that comic book villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie.