People
Michael Rooker
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor who mainly plays roles of antagonists. He first rose to prominence for portraying the titular role in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and is best known for starring as Merle Dixon in the AMC series The Walking Dead (2010–2013) and as Yondu Udonta in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), followed by its sequels Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). He is a recurring collaborator of Guardians of the Galaxy director and co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn, appearing in all of his films to date, including Slither (2006), Super (2010), and The Suicide Squad (2021). Rooker's other notable roles include Chick Gandil in Eight Men Out (1988), Frank Bailey 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 (1993), Sherman McMaster in Tombstone (1993), Jared Svenning in Mallrats (1995), Detective Edward Kennesaw in Deceiver (1997), Detective Howard Cheney in The Bone Collector (1999), Detective Jake Riley in Replicant (2001), and Buddy in F9 (2021).
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
The Suicide Squad
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Guardians of the Galaxy
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Days of Thunder
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Superman
As Superman Robot #1 (voice)
The Belko Experiment
Appears in a KinoChain journey
L.A. Takedown
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
As Yondu
Jumper
As William Rice
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Trapped and Playing by Someone Else’s Rules
With the upcoming release of Jumanji: Open World, we trace the evolution of the survival game subgenre, following how the core premise of human beings forced to...
10 films
The Reckless Edge - Talent as a Double-Edged Sword
Forty years after Top Gun roared into cinemas, Maverick's need for speed still feels as exhilarating as ever. But Pete Mitchell is part of a much bigger movie t...
7 films
The Perfect Needledrop: Ten Moments That Own the Screen
From sudden silences to euphoric choruses, these are the film moments where a song doesn't just score the scene, it becomes the scene.
10 films
Second Chances
From Hitchcock to Mann, a journey through films where directors revisit their own earlier work, refining obsession into art.
8 films
Criminal Alliances
A chain tracing the anti-hero ensemble film from its war-movie origins through heist, western, and genre mutations to the modern comic-book iteration, examining...
8 films
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
Superman
2025 · Superman Robot #1 (voice)
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
2024 · Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan
Corrective Measures
2022 · Warden Devlin
Vivo
2021 · Lutador (voice)
The Suicide Squad
2021 · Savant
F9
2021 · Buddy
Love and Monsters
2020 · Clyde
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2017 · Yondu
The Belko Experiment
2017 · Bud Melks
Guardians of the Galaxy
2014 · Yondu Udonta
Jumper
2008 · William Rice
The Bone Collector
1999 · Captain Howard Cheney
Mallrats
1995 · Svenning
Tombstone
1993 · Sherman McMasters
Cliffhanger
1993 · Hal Tucker
The Dark Half
1993 · Sheriff Alan Pangborn
JFK
1991 · Bill Broussard
Days of Thunder
1990 · Rowdy Burns
L.A. Takedown
1989 · Bosko
Eight Men Out
1988 · Chick Gandil
Above the Law
1988 · Man in Bar