GCE Exclusive: Interview with Michael Rooker

Now, how’s about a big hug for your old pal Merle?

Many of you may know him as Merle Dixon, the hand-blade wielding redneck and big brother of Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. Some of you may recognize him from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Days of Thunder or Cliffhanger, but Michael Rooker’s most recent work is the one that’s been taking the world by storm; Guardians of the Galaxy.

In Guardians, Rooker plays a blue-skinned alien named Yondu, a smuggler that may secretly have a bigger heart than one would expect. That’s all I’ll say about his character because you really need to see the film (a couple times) in order to get a feel for his character yourself.

Recently, I had the chance to be able to talk to Rooker about his roles in Guardians of the Galaxy and the Walking Dead, his most challenging role, comic books, and of course his upcoming appearance at Fan Expo Canada™ in Toronto.

How long did you have to spend in the makeup chair everyday for Yondu?

Oh, it wasn’t so bad! Usually three and a half to four hours, depends on how many times we mess up [laughs]. After that, there’s another hour or hour and a half of wardrobe, so in total it’s about four and a half or five hours before I’m absolutely camera ready.

What did you do to pass that time in the makeup chair?

You just hang out. You watch to make sure everything is being done the way you remember it and the artists remember it a certain way and you come together to create this work of art each time. You try to make it exact, but it’s impossible to make it the same as you did the day before.

You work with the makeup artists to assure that everything is going well and that it feels okay. As the actor, you are experiencing it in a completely different way. You are visually experiencing it in the mirror but you are also making sure if it feels right or not. It’s important that you try to stay awake and alert to what is going on and when it’s going on.

It must be interesting to see the character begin to come together in the mirror.

[laughs] He’s already alive inside you.

At the end of Guardians we see Yondu open the orb like he knew Quill wouldn’t have given him the infinity gem and smiles when he sees the Troll doll inside. Are we going to see Yondu get Quill back for that in the future?

I would hope so! I mean, how many times are you going to let that kid mess with you like that until you really just wanna…!

But they have a really great relationship despite their back and forth.

Oh yeah! I mean if it wasn’t for Yondu, Quill would not even have lasted that long. So their relationship is definitely one of protector slash parent slash punisher for when he’s doing stuff wrong. He just wants to make sure Quill is doing things right because if he’s not, he’s going to end up getting eaten up in that environment.

You are a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now so I have to ask; are you a fan of comics and if so, which are some of your favorites?

Yep! I enjoy the Hulk, that was one of my favorites. I liked comics when I was a kid and the Hulk was one; I liked Spider-man and the Silver Surfer — you know, if the evil guys were not as powerful and exciting as the heroes then nothing is going to work. The bad guys have to be just as great. Same with doing a film or television show; you have to have a good balance.

You and James Gunn go back to 2006 with Slither — would you say it’s easier or more difficult to make a film with someone who you’ve already worked with in the past?

Easier, of course! It becomes easier every time. You learn how to deal with each other, you are familiar with the material and you learn how to communicate in a way so that you don’t have to waste time.

You can go in knowing certain expectations.

You may not have to learn expectations, but you learn as you go every time. You are constantly changing. No one goes into a film saying ‘this is the way it’s going to be done’. You’d be stupid to go in thinking that because you are dealing with so many artists. Everyone has their ideas and they come together and from that, you may even make something new. That’s how it’s done and myself and Gunn do that well together, that’s all.

Even with the prospect of Guardians of the Galaxy on the horizon, was it difficult to leave the rest of the cast of the Walking Dead?

No it wasn’t hard at all because I was dead! [laughs] You work with people and you get to know them and of course it’s hard, it’s too bad things have to come to an end but they do and you have to move on. That’s part of an actor’s life and we are good at it. We have to be able to do that well because you can’t be thinking of a former project when you are working on a current one. You have to be able to lock it and move forward.

While Merle was a little rough around the edges at times, he certainly tried to redeem himself in his final moments. Is that how you pictured Merle might have gone out?

Minus a few little details, it was exactly how I wanted it to happen. It was part of my imagination as well as the writers imagination to coordinate that whole sequence. They didn’t just write that sequence — it was imagined by myself and the writers together in a collaboration. That’s how things tend to evolve and develop.

We only had three weeks to do it. I mean we had two, but then it got flipped around so we had three weeks to write and rewrite and write — we had time to express ideas and get them on paper and some ideas weren’t even on paper and on the day of, we decided to do it. Hopefully it comes out good and you’ll have a good show. The Walking Dead is an amazing show and I think it’s in part due to the collaboration that makes it believable, exciting and the fans really enjoy that.

And The Walking Dead is a very well written show.

And a well performed show! It’s not that it’s just a well written show, it’s a well performed show too. Everything that is written down has to be acted out in a believable fashion. If that’s not the case, no matter how good your writing is, the show is going to suck. You have to have the writing, you have the artists coming in and reading said writing and adding their influence and creativity and then the director comes in and they all collaborate together. If one part of that falters, many times the other parts will still bolster it up and it will still be a great show.

What is the most challenging role you’ve ever had?

Being a father is probably the most challenging [laughs]. No, it’s really great actually. But I think the most challenging was probably my first one, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Everything else has sort have been a cakewalk. That one was one of the most internally intense characters that I’ve ever played. All the rest have been challenging in their own way, but because this was my first screen performance there were extra stresses and tensions and because it was based on a real serial killer, it was an incredibly challenging role.

You’ll be coming to Fan Expo Canada™ in Toronto in a couple weeks, what do you love the most about conventions?

Meeting the fans, that’s what it’s all about. You go there and hang out, sign autographs and take photos — that’s what it’s all about. [laughs] If you aren’t happy doing it, you should never do it. It’s fun and people who would never get the chance to meet you in this lifetime — knowing that and being there to meet them, there’s a lot of joy. At the end of the day you’re exhausted and sometimes you shouldn’t go out and party or whatever and sometimes you do, but at the end of the day you just fall into bed exhausted.

It’s a crazy, fun, exciting weekend! You know that’s what it’s all about. Fan Expo is massive — I went there for one day last year — I was flying in from Guardians and I only had one day. It was so unbelievably intense. It was like ‘wow!’… the energy was just electrifying. I immediately thought that I needed to come back and do all four days.

People were lined up for hours last year to see you and the cast at the Walking Dead panel.

I know, I know! That’s what it’s all about, my gosh. The fandom and the love and appreciation — is just something that if you have that as an actor — you just have to go and do it! You know what you have to do is you have to be in a sci-fi film or some kind of pop culture film JUST to go to these conventions. To be worthy enough for someone to stand in line to meet you or get your autograph — that is so cool. The horror fans especially are very loyal fans. Same with sci-fi.

My fanbase is absolutely, beautifully rabid. They come from different countries and different states and they drive or fly and take trains — it’s pretty amazing.

A big thank you goes out to Michael Rooker for taking the time to speak with me. Fan Expo Canada™ will be in Toronto from August 28th through 31st at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and will feature Michael Rooker for all four days of the convention. Fans will be able to get his autograph or have a photo professionally taken with him, as well as see him as a part of the Walking Dead panel at 11AM on Sunday, August 31st. If you haven’t purchased tickets yet you can do so here.