Michael Rooker was far from a newcomer to the world of acting when he joined The Walking Dead as Merle Dixon in 2010. The brother of series regular Daryl Dixon, Merle made his debut in the AMC show's first season. Rooker appeared in three seasons before his arc came to an end. At 65-years-old, Rooker has accomplished a stellar career — but some of his best work came outside of The Walking Dead.
Following his time as Merle, Rooker moved on to another career-defining role, playing Yondu Udonta in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. He then had a cameo in Brightburn before starring in 2020's Fantasy Island. Despite his work in movies, Rooker kept up with his TV gigs with roles in SEAL Team, Robot Chicken, and True Detective. Much of Rooker's recent work is notable, but some of his most memorable acting credits stemmed from titles that premiered decades ago.
Rooker was born in Alabama but moved to Chicago, Illinois as a teenager. He then studied drama at DePaul University and was active in the local theatre scene. While starring in a play, Rooker was advised to try out for his first film gig. That role turned out to be 1986's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, in which Rooker portrayed the titular part of the serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas. The psychological horror received critical praise, especially when it came to Rooker's performance. Filmmakers took notice of Rooker and his film debut wound up opening many doors for the actor.
Michael Rooker's Most Notable Roles Before TWD
Rooker acquired a steady workload of film roles heading into the 1990s. His best-known roles included Oogie in Light of Day, baseball player Chuck Gandil Eight Men Out, Frank Bailey in Mississippi Burning, and Rowdy Burns in Days of Thunder. In those years, he also found TV work in Crime Story, The Equalizer, and Gideon Oliver. Rooker continued splitting his time between TV and movies throughout the '90s. The latter of which was more noteworthy considering Rooker's roles as Bill Broussard in JFK, Hal Tucker in Cliffhanger, Sherman McMasters in Tombstone, Jared Svenning in Mallrats, and Captain Howard Cheney in The Bone Collector.
The actor followed that up with another busy decade, appearing movies like The 6th Day, Replicant, Slither, and Jumper. In the '00s, Rooker also appeared in many popular TV shows such as Stargate SG-1, CSI: Miami, Las Vegas, Numb3rs, JAG, Law & Order, Chuck, Criminal Minds, Psych, and Burn Notice. These gigs were short term but they paved the way to Rooker's time on The Walking Dead beginning in 2010.
Next up, the Walking Dead alum will reprise his MCU role as Yondu in the animated series, What If...?. The Disney+ title is expected to debut in 2021. The actor also has three big film titles set to release in 2021, including a post-apocalyptic rom-com, Monster Problems, and a role in the next Fast & Furious installment, F9. Last but not least, Rooker will star in The Suicide Squad in an unknown role.