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 (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), Jared Svenning in Mallrats (1995),
Merle Dixon in AMC's The Walking Dead (2010â€"2013) and Yondu Udonta
in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and its sequel, Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).Michael Rooker was born in Jasper, Alabama. He
has nine brothers and sisters. His parents divorced when he was 13
years old, and he moved with his mother and siblings to Chicago,
Illinois, where he attended Wells Community Academy High School and
studied at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University.Rooker
made his film debut in 1986, playing the title role in Henry: Portrait
of a Serial Killer, based on the confessions of serial killer 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 was subsequently noticed in the filmmaking industry, which led
to his receiving more film roles.Rooker was given more dramatic roles
in films such as Eight Men Out, Mississippi Burning, and JFK, but he
became widely known for his roles in action and thriller films such as
Sea of Love, Days of Thunder, Cliffhanger, and Tombstone. He also
starred in Mallrats, Rosewood, The 6th Day, Slither, Jumper, Super and
Hypothermia.
his roles as Henry in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Chick
Gandil in Eight Men Out (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), Jared Svenning in Mallrats (1995),
Merle Dixon in AMC's The Walking Dead (2010â€"2013) and Yondu Udonta
in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and its sequel, Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).Michael Rooker was born in Jasper, Alabama. He
has nine brothers and sisters. His parents divorced when he was 13
years old, and he moved with his mother and siblings to Chicago,
Illinois, where he attended Wells Community Academy High School and
studied at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University.Rooker
made his film debut in 1986, playing the title role in Henry: Portrait
of a Serial Killer, based on the confessions of serial killer 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 was subsequently noticed in the filmmaking industry, which led
to his receiving more film roles.Rooker was given more dramatic roles
in films such as Eight Men Out, Mississippi Burning, and JFK, but he
became widely known for his roles in action and thriller films such as
Sea of Love, Days of Thunder, Cliffhanger, and Tombstone. He also
starred in Mallrats, Rosewood, The 6th Day, Slither, Jumper, Super and
Hypothermia.
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