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).
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Superman | Superman Robot #1 (voice) | 2025-07-09 |
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Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 | Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan | 2024-06-26 |
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Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2 | Sgt. Major Riordan | 2024-09-07 |
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Fast X | Buddy (uncredited) | 2023-05-17 |
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The Out-Laws | Agent Oldham | 2023-07-07 |
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Yondu | 2023-05-03 |
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The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special | Yondu | 2022-11-24 |
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White Elephant | Gabriel Tancredi | 2022-06-03 |
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Corrective Measures | Warden Devlin | 2022-04-29 |
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The Suicide Squad | Savant | 2021-06-06 |
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Clerk | Self | 2021-03-17 |
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Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR | Self | 2021-05-29 |
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Vivo | Lutador (voice) | 2021-07-30 |
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F9 | Buddy | 2021-05-19 |
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The Dark Tower | Elred Jonas | 2020-03-11 |
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The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder | Self | 2020-09-30 |
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Love and Monsters | Clyde | 2020-10-16 |
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Fantasy Island | Damon | 2020-02-12 |
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Bolden | Pat McMurphy | 2019-05-03 |
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Brightburn | The Big T | 2019-05-09 |
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The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking | Merle Dixon / Lucille's Father (voice) | 2017-10-08 |
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Life After Flash | Self | 2017-10-02 |
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Yondu | 2017-04-19 |
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The Belko Experiment | Bud Melks | 2016-03-17 |
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The Sparrows Are Flying Again! - The Making of the Dark Half | Himself | 2014-11-18 |
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Elwood | Condello | 2014-06-01 |
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The Driving Dead | Trooper | 2014-08-25 |
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Guide to the Galaxy with James Gunn | Self | 2014-12-09 |
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Guardians of the Galaxy | Yondu Udonta | 2014-07-30 |
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Brother's Keeper | Chief Carver | 2013-04-05 |
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Rogue River | Gas Attendent | 2012-01-16 |
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Pennhurst | Dr. Death | 2012-10-08 |
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Hypothermia | Ray Pelletier | 2012-10-02 |
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Mysteria | Captain McCarthy | 2011-10-23 |
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Cell 213 | Ray Clement | 2011-06-10 |
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The Making of The Walking Dead | Self | 2010-07-31 |
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DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection | Red Doc (segment "Jonah Hex") (voice) | 2010-11-09 |
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Atlantis Down | Father / Alien | 2010-10-01 |
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Blood Done Sign My Name | Defense attorney Billy Watkins | 2010-02-01 |
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Matadors | John Canterna | 2010-01-01 |
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Louis | Pat McMurphy | 2010-01-01 |
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DC Showcase: Jonah Hex | Red Doc (voice) | 2010-07-27 |
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Super | Abe | 2010-11-26 |
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The Marine 2 | Church | 2009-12-29 |
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Freeway Killer | Det. St. John | 2009-11-04 |
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Super Capers | Judge / Dark Winged Vesper | 2009-03-20 |
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Penance | Mann | 2009-05-30 |
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This Man's Life | Richard Crummly | 2008-03-29 |
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Humanzee! | Priest | 2008-12-01 |
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Jumper | William Rice | 2008-02-13 |
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Whisper | Sydney Braverman | 2007-11-27 |
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Slither | Grant Grant | 2006-03-31 |
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Repo! The Genetic Opera | 2006-01-01 | |
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Lenexa, 1 Mile | Russ | 2006-03-25 |
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Erection of an Epic - The Making of Mallrats | Himself | 2005-09-20 |
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Chasing Ghosts | Mark Spencer | 2005-05-11 |
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Portrait: The Making of Henry | Self | 2005-09-27 |
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Skeleton Man | Captain Leary | 2004-03-01 |
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The Eliminator | 2004-07-06 | |
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Saving Jessica Lynch | Colonel Curry | 2003-11-08 |
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The Box | Detective Stafford | 2003-05-15 |
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On Thin Ice | Roger Hopkins | 2003-11-03 |
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Undisputed | A.J. Mercker | 2002-07-17 |
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The Outer Limits: The New Series - Time Travel and Infinity | Colonel Beckett | 2002-09-03 |
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Replicant | Jake | 2001-05-11 |
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The 6th Day | Robert Marshall | 2000-11-17 |
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Here on Earth | Malcolm Arnold | 2000-03-24 |
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Table One | Rowdy | 2000-01-01 |
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Newsbreak | John McNamara | 2000-09-26 |
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Wicked Ways | Matt Draper / Dr. Matthew Swan | 1999-12-21 |
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The Bone Collector | Captain Howard Cheney | 1999-11-04 |
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The Replacement Killers | Stan 'Zeedo' Zedkov | 1998-02-06 |
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Shadow Builder | Father Vassey | 1998-11-01 |
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Renegade Force | Matt Cooper | 1998-12-14 |
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Brown's Requiem | Fritz Brown | 1998-11-01 |
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Song of Hiawatha | Bertrand | 1997-05-31 |
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Deceiver | Detective Edward Kennesaw | 1997-08-31 |
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Keys to Tulsa | Keith Michaels | 1997-04-11 |
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Meet Wally Sparks | Michael Rooker | 1997-01-31 |
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Rosewood | Sheriff Walker | 1997-02-21 |
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American Yakuza II | Bob Malone | 1996-08-29 |
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Bastard Out of Carolina | Uncle Earle | 1996-12-15 |
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The Trigger Effect | Gary | 1996-08-30 |
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Mallrats | Svenning | 1995-10-20 |
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Johnny and Clyde | Frank Tennant | 1995-01-01 |
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The Hard Truth | Jonah Mantz | 1994-11-23 |
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Suspicious | Attendet | 1994-01-01 |
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The Dark Half | Sheriff Alan Pangborn | 1993-04-23 |
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Cliffhanger | Hal Tucker | 1993-05-28 |
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Tombstone | Sherman McMasters | 1993-12-25 |
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Afterburn | Casey 'Z' Zankowski | 1992-05-30 |
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JFK | Bill Broussard | 1991-12-20 |
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Days of Thunder | Rowdy Burns | 1990-06-27 |
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L.A. Takedown | Bosko | 1989-08-27 |
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The Edge | Deputy Sheriff (Indian Poker) | 1989-08-23 |
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Sea of Love | Terry | 1989-09-15 |
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Music Box | Karchy Laszlo | 1989-12-22 |
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Retreads | 1988-01-01 | |
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Mississippi Burning | Frank Bailey | 1988-12-08 |
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Above the Law | Man in Bar | 1988-04-08 |
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Eight Men Out | Chick Gandil | 1988-09-02 |
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Rent-a-Cop | Joe | 1987-11-28 |
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Light of Day | Oogie | 1987-02-06 |
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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer | Henry | 1986-09-24 |
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The Underneath: In Fortune's Shadow | The Man with the Answers | |
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Table for One | Matt Draper | |
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피그 빌리지 | Steve | |
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Road Rage | Stony |