Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in ''

Eight Men Out ''Eight Men Out'' is a 1988 American sports drama film based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book ''Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series''. It was written and directed by John Sayles. The film is a dramatization of Major League Baseball' ...

'' (1988), Frank Baily in '' Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in '' Sea of Love'' (1989), Rowdy Burns in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), Bill Broussard in '' JFK'' (1991), Hal Tucker in ''

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

'' (1993),

Sherman McMaster Sherman McMaster (1853–1892) was an outlaw turned lawman, who was one of the six men involved in the Earp vendetta ride. Early life Sherman W. McMaster was born in 1853 in Rock Island, Illinois, the son of Sylvester W. McMaster. Not much is k ...

in '' Tombstone'' (1993), Jared Svenning in '' Mallrats'' (1995), Detective Howard Cheney in '' The Bone Collector'' (1999), Grant Grant in '' Slither'' (2006),

Merle Dixon Merle Dixon is a fictional character from the horror drama television series '' The Walking Dead'', which airs on AMC in the United States. He was created by series developer Frank Darabont and was portrayed by Michael Rooker. The character was ...

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

's '' The Walking Dead'' (2010–2013),

Yondu Udonta Yondu Udonta, or simply Yondu (), is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original version of the character is depicted as the last survivor of his species in the 31st century, and is a founding ...

in ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

'' (2014), its sequel, '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' (2017), and the animated series ''What If...?'' (2021), and

Savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

in '' The Suicide Squad'' (2021). Since 2006, he has been a frequent collaborator of filmmaker

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a directo ...

, and has appeared in all five films Gunn has directed so far.

Early life

Rooker was born in

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. He has nine brothers and sisters. His parents divorced when he was 13, and he moved with his mother and siblings to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, where he attended

Wells Community Academy High School William H. Wells Community Academy High School (commonly known as Wells High School) is public 4-year high school located in the West Town neighborhood on the Near Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Wells is a part of the Chic ...

and studied at the Goodman School of Drama at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

Career

He made his film debut in 1986, playing the title role in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'', based on the confessions of

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

Henry Lee Lucas. He was acting in a play when the play's director, who was going to do the prosthetics for ''Henry'', told him about the role. Rooker did not care if the script was good or bad; he just wanted to act in a film as it would "challenge" him. ''Henry'' was a critical success and Rooker received more film roles. He was given more dramatic roles in films such as ''

'', '' Mississippi Burning'', and '' JFK'', but he became widely known for his roles in

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and thriller films such as '' Sea of Love'', '' Days of Thunder'', ''

'', and '' Tombstone''. He also starred in '' Mallrats'', ''

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

'', ''

The 6th Day ''The 6th Day'' is a 2000 American science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, and Robert Duvall. In the film, a family man of the future is illegally cloned ...

'', '' Slither'', '' Jumper'', '' Super'' and ''

Hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

''. In June 2010, he revealed via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he was to appear in the

television series '' The Walking Dead'' as

, one of the survivors of a

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack huma ...

. He guest-starred in two episodes of the first season and one of the second season before becoming a series regular for the third season. Rooker is also known for his roles in

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s such as '' Call of Duty: Black Ops'' (where he played himself), Mike Harper in '' Call of Duty: Black Ops 2'' in November 2012, and as Merle in '' The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct'', the video game based on the television series. He played

Yondu Yondu Udonta, or simply Yondu (), is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original version of the character is depicted as the last survivor of his species in the 31st century, and is a founding ...

in the Marvel Studios film ''

'', directed by

, and reprised it in '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' (2017). In 2021 he appeared in the action film '' F9'', directed by Justin Lin.

Personal life

Rooker lives in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with his wife Margot Rooker. They married in 1979 and have two daughters. He practices the

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

style of karate.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rooker, Michael 1955 births Living people People from Jasper, Alabama Male actors from Alabama American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male karateka Kyokushin kaikan practitioners DePaul University alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Chicago