Actor
· Acting
Michael Rooker
Born 1955-04-06
📍 Jasper, Alabama, USA
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).
Filmography 137
Superman
as Superman Robot #1 (voice)
2025
Creature Commandos
as Sam (voice)
2024
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2
as Sgt. Major Riordan
2024
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
as Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan
2024
The Out-Laws
as Agent Oldham
2023
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
as Yondu
2023
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
as Yondu
2022
White Elephant
as Gabriel Tancredi
2022
Corrective Measures
as Warden Devlin
2022
Peacemaker
as Red St. Wild
2022
What If...?
as Yondu (voice)
2021
What If...?
as Yondu Udonta (voice)
2021
Vivo
as Lutador (voice)
2021
The Suicide Squad
as Savant
2021
Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR
as Self
2021
F9
as Buddy
2021
Clerk
as Self
2021
Marvel Studios Legends
as Yondu Udonta (archive footage) (uncredited)
2021
Love and Monsters
as Clyde
2020
The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder
as Self
2020
Dead Talk Live
as Self - Guest
2020
Fantasy Island
as Damon
2020
Creepshow
as Beau
2019
The Righteous Gemstones
as Cobb Milsap
2019
Brightburn
as The Big T
2019
Bolden
as Pat McMurphy
2019
The Rookie
as Frank Teska
2018
The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking
as Merle Dixon / Lucille's Father (voice)
2017
Life After Flash
as Self
2017
SEAL Team
as Big Chief
2017
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
as Yondu
2017
Unlocked: The World of Games, Revealed
as Self
2016
The Belko Experiment
as Bud Melks
2016
Ride with Norman Reedus
as Self
2016
CelebriD&D
as Arnold
2015
The Driving Dead
as Trooper
2014
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Yondu Udonta
2014
Elwood
as Condello
2014
True Detective
as Edward Hoyt
2014
Brother's Keeper
as Chief Carver
2013
Pennhurst
as Dr. Death
2012
Hypothermia
as Ray Pelletier
2012
Rogue River
as Gas Attendent
2012
Mysteria
as Captain McCarthy
2011
Talking Dead
as Self
2011
Cell 213
as Ray Clement
2011
Super
as Abe
2010
DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection
as Red Doc (segment "Jonah Hex") (voice)
2010
The Walking Dead
as Merle Dixon
2010
Atlantis Down
as Father / Alien
2010
The Making of The Walking Dead
as Self
2010
DC Showcase: Jonah Hex
as Red Doc (voice)
2010
Blood Done Sign My Name
as Defense attorney Billy Watkins
2010
Louis
as Pat McMurphy
2010
The Marine 2
as Church
2009
NSFW Show
as Self - Guest
2009
Freeway Killer
as Det. St. John
2009
Archer
as Sheriff E. Z. Ponder (voice)
2009
Meteor
as Calvin Stark
2009
Penance
as Mann
2009
Super Capers
as Judge / Dark Winged Vesper
2009
Humanzee!
as Priest
2008
Jumper
as William Rice
2008
Whisper
as Sydney Braverman
2007
Chuck
as Mauser
2007
Burn Notice
as Dale Lawson
2007
Shark
as Oscar Riddick
2006
Psych
as Garth Lawnmore
2006
Slither
as Grant Grant
2006
Thief
as Detective John Hayes
2006
Lenexa, 1 Mile
as Russ
2006
Repo! The Genetic Opera
2006
Portrait: The Making of Henry
as Self
2005
Criminal Minds
as Chief Carlson
2005
Erection of an Epic - The Making of Mallrats
as Self
2005
Chasing Ghosts
as Mark Spencer
2005
The Eliminator
2004
Skeleton Man
as Captain Leary
2004
Saving Jessica Lynch
as Colonel Curry
2003
On Thin Ice
as Roger Hopkins
2003
Las Vegas
as Marcus Wexler
2003
The Box
as Detective Stafford
2003
Tremors
as Kinney
2003
CSI: Miami
as Marty Jones
2002
The Outer Limits: The New Series - Time Travel and Infinity
as Colonel Beckett
2002
Undisputed
as A.J. Mercker
2002
The Making of 'Tombstone'
as Self
2002
Crossing Jordan
as Shawn Curaco
2001
Replicant
as Jake
2001
The 6th Day
as Robert Marshall
2000
Newsbreak
as John McNamara
2000
Table One
as Rowdy
2000
Here on Earth
as Malcolm Arnold
2000
Wicked Ways
as Matt Draper / Dr. Matthew Swan
1999
The Bone Collector
as Captain Howard Cheney
1999
Renegade Force
as Matt Cooper
1998
Brown's Requiem
as Fritz Brown
1998
Shadow Builder
as Father Vassey
1998
The Replacement Killers
as Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov
1998
Deceiver
as Detective Edward Kennesaw
1997
Stargate SG-1
as Colonel Edwards
1997
Song of Hiawatha
as Bertrand
1997
Keys to Tulsa
as Keith Michaels
1997
Rosewood
as Sheriff Walker
1997
Meet Wally Sparks
as Michael Rooker
1997
Bastard Out of Carolina
as Uncle Earle
1996
The Trigger Effect
as Gary
1996
Back to Back
as Bob Malone
1996
Mallrats
as Svenning
1995
The Outer Limits
as Colonel Beckett
1995
Johnny and Clyde
as Frank Tennant
1995
The Hard Truth
as Jonah Mantz
1994
Suspicious
as Attendet
1994
Tombstone
as Sherman McMasters
1993
Fallen Angels
as Babe McCloor
1993
Cliffhanger
as Hal Tucker
1993
The Dark Half
as Sheriff Alan Pangborn
1993
Afterburn
as Casey 'Z' Zankowski
1992
JFK
as Bill Broussard
1991
Law & Order
as Jamie Yost
1990
Days of Thunder
as Rowdy Burns
1990
Music Box
as Karchy Laszlo
1989
Sea of Love
as Terry
1989
L.A. Takedown
as Bosko
1989
The Edge
as Deputy Sheriff (Indian Poker)
1989
Mississippi Burning
as Frank Bailey
1988
Eight Men Out
as Chick Gandil
1988
Above the Law
as Man in Bar
1988
Retreads
1988
Rent-a-Cop
as Joe
1987
Light of Day
as Oogie
1987
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
as Henry
1986
Crime Story
as Lieutenant
1986
The Equalizer
as Bill Whitaker
1985
The Underneath: In Fortune's Shadow
as The Man with the Answers
Pig Village
as Steve
Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger
as Self