Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Chick Gandil in Eight Men Out, Henry in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead, Yondu Udonta in Guardians of the Galaxy, Frank Bailey in Mississippi Burning, Bill Broussard in JFK, Hal Tucker in Cliffhanger and Jared Svenning in Mallrats.

Early life

Michael Rooker was born in Jasper, Alabama. He has eight 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 studied at the Goodman School of Drama.

Career

Rooker made his film debut in 1986, playing the title role in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, a film based on the confessions of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. He was acting in a play when the director of the play, who was going to do the prosthetics for Henry, told him about the film. Rooker did not care if the script was good or bad, he just wanted to act in a film as it would "challenge" himself.Henry was a critical success and got Rooker noticed in the filmmaking industry, which led to his receiving more film roles.