One of our favorite character actors talks Guardians, Yondu, The Walking Dead and more.

Ad content continues below

Michael Rooker:Dude, I like you already!

Im really happy to be in a Marvel movie, yeah.

This is like my buddies, you know.

Dude you want me to do what?

Im your whipping boy.

Whatever you want is yours.

Thank you very much, you know.

Because its turned out to be a dream come true and a beautiful role.

Hanging out with my friend and meeting all this great cast we have.

Its a total joy.

Have you ever auditioned for any of the other ones?

This was literally my first Marvel thing.

Not my first Disney.

How did James pitch it to you?

What did he tell you about this universe and this character and what youre going to have to do?

At first I dont think he knew, you know.

He might have known but he didnt really say anything to me.

He just says Im gonna write this role for you, you know.

And I dont need a lot, you know, as an actor.

Im sort of a wash and wear kind of guy.

I get the script.

So I just do it.

So you dont need to write out a biography for your character like some people like to do?

Oh yeah, exactly.

I mean Ive got backstory.

I do have all this history and stuff but its all in my head usually.

I dont need to write it down.

And sometimes I dont have to do that.

It just comes along as we go along.

It just develops as we do the piece.

Of course with these characters there are decades of history.

Did you go back and look at the comics?

I knew about it before but then I went back and just read more stuff.

I dont want to corrupt your mind by knowing too much.

Yondu was actually a founding member of the original Guardians, back in 1969.

It was pretty amazing stuff.

Were you a comic book fan growing up?

I was, because both my eyes are kind of dominant.

Its not so cool when youre a kid learning how to read.

So youre like flipping and flopping and both eyes are fighting each other.

So comic books was a way that I supplemented the story, you know.

Thats kind of how I learned to read.

Thats interesting because a lot of people would say comics are not real reading.

Its the only way I could learn.

We should tell people.

Kids should read more comics because look what happened to me.

Tell me about the makeup process.

It was actually a total of five hours before I was camera ready.

An hour and a half of prosthetic makeup and some basic makeup stuff.

And then Id have like a little break for a meal.

Then Id go into the paint room for another hour and a half or two hours.

Wed get it down to like an hour or sometimes even under that.

And then itd go back up to an hour and a half.

It was different each time.

But after that I did wardrobe and all that combined would equal out to about five hours.

I definitely want things to be practical.

I want to be able to move and turn and kick and fight and draw my weapons.

It was very cool and I had lots of layers.

There were lots of layers on me and buckles and stuff.

So I had somebody and theyd come in and help me every day and it took quite a while.

Five hours all total, you know, with everything.

But it was quite good.

Sometimes you spend that time just chilling.

Because sometimes youve got to jump back in time, forward in time.

Its not all in sequence.

You have done several films with James Gunn and you play off each other really well.

Whats that relationship like and why do you think he keeps coming back to you?

He must like me, I dont know.

For some reason the guy likes me.

I like him too.

Hes okay (laughs).

Yeah, you know, we dug each other from the first.

The first audition was forSlither.

I dont know what it is.

But its youve got my back, Ive got yours, that kind of thing.

You certainly get the sense that Yondu is a very complicated character.

Do you think its possible well get to see more of him?

Oh, theres way more.

I think thats what I like.

When people leave a movie, if they have more questions than answers, then Ive done my job.

So Ive done my job on this one.

And I think a lot of people want to see more of Yondu.

Thats what I like.

And that happens emotionally and physically.

We were all disappointed when Merle bit the dust.

I was totally disappointed.

It was like, Oh my God, you know.

But the timing was so exquisite.

And it wasnt planned out.

Ive had people come up to me and ask if it was my choice to leave because ofGuardians.

And I said no, it wasnt.

And its weird that for this situation it ended up being perfect.

Do you still watch the show?

Oh, Im still a big fan.

Im still yelling at the screen going, What are you doing?

You wouldnt do that!

You made that choice.

For some reason this show really gets people talking.

Youve got generations hanging out watching the TV show.

And theyre digging it and they all like it.

I know when we first started doing the TV show there was an age bracket.

Thats blown completely out of the water.

Theres no age bracket for that show anymore.

Thats why its so popular everywhere in the world.

Do you feel like it opened up a new audience for you?

Oh, big time.

People cry when they come up to me all the time.

She just came over and we looked at each other and she said, Can I just hug you?

I said, Of course.

And I could tell she was about to cry and I said, Its okay, its okay.

All is cool and, you know what, Im happy and Merle has moved on to Marvel heaven.

Hes in a better place.

Guardians of the Galaxyis out in theaters this Friday (August 1).

Like us onFacebookand follow us onTwitterfor all news updates related to the world of geek.

AndGoogle+, if thats your thing!