Humanising Bad Guys

There's a fair share of good guys in Michael Rooker's CV – the actor has played a lot of cops and military men in his 30-year career – but it's the bad dudes for which he's best known. It makes sense, really: Rooker has an imposing physique, a rough-hewn appearance and a growl of a voice. But when you look at the villainous characters in his body of work, from the cold-blooded murderer in the chilling Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer to the racist, sexist Merle Dixon on the hit TV series The Walking Dead, there's invariably some small spark of humanity with which Rooker imbues them. And even if audiences don't end up cheering these characters (perhaps be concerned about the viewers who do!), they at least tend to come away with an understanding of them.

Take Henry, for example, whose violent, random killings are borne of a horribly abusive childhood, or take Merle who displays loyalty and love towards his brother Daryl. “We actually started trying to humanise Merle right off the bat,” says Rooker. “When we first encounter him on that rooftop, and he ends up handcuffed to a railing, he was such a jerk one moment, then the next episode you're feeling sorry for the guy. We tried to throw the audience for a loop. All these roles we're talking about, they all have that odd ability to bring the audience to their side in really strange ways. I've been doing that kind of stuff from the beginning, whether I knew it or not. No matter how strange or violent or ugly the characters can be.” Rooker's empathy for his characters even extends to Svenning in Kevin Smith's Mallrats, where the bullying businessman runs afoul of a snack tainted by... well, taint. “He's protecting his daughter!” laughs Rooker. “He didn't want her to be dating schmucks! But poisoning him with the ol' chocolate-covered pretzel is such a cruel thing to do, it's only natural that people would feel sorry for him.”

This skill for generating sympathy for seemingly irredeemable individuals has not only kept the actor in business for decades now, it's also made him something of a fan favourite at pop culture conventions like the upcoming Supanova events in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast this April. “I'm really digging it. I get to meet and greet the fans, talk about playing everyone from Henry to Merle, and it's a lot of fun.”

So even if you've been intimidated or downright terrified by Rooker's work in the past, don't be afraid to approach him! He's a friendly fella and has excellent stories to share about a brilliant career working alongside big names and playing colourful characters. And his next role is literally colourful – blue-skinned alien Yondu in James Gunn's sci-fi adventure Guardians Of The Galaxy. “It's gonna be a pretty wild ride, that one,” chuckles Rooker. “And I get to play a blue alien, for goodness' sake! It blows my mind that I get to do this.”