Michael Rooker
#INTERVIEW: MICHAEL ROOKER ON “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2”
It was a star-studded night in the City and the Red Carpet was rolled out for the Canadian Premiere of the hotly-anticipated second installment of Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Its 2014 predecessor has seen outstanding reception critically and commercially, grossing a stellar $773 million worldwide.
In town for the occasion was none other than veteran actor Michael Rooker whose star in recent years has continued to rise with prominent roles in AMC‘s wildly-popular The Walking Dead as Merle Dixon and now his recurring role as original member of the Guardians of the Galaxy team, Yondu. The blue-skinned character with a protruding red fin from the back of his head is the last of his species and has the unique power of controlling his arrows with the cue of a whistle.
Taking place at Varsity Cinemas, Rooker along with characters Rocket, Groot and Star Lord, graced the jampacked Red Carpet in fedora and sunglasses, speaking to Canadian outlets about the reprisal of his role. We had the pleasure of speaking with him and asked him about his experiences with two of the internet’s most ardent fandoms to how to perfect a whistle.
Your relationship with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) changes in this second installment as there is a bomb-drop. How do you think fans will react?
Rooker: “I really don’t know. I have no expectations. I throw out the dice and let them fall as they may. I’ll see what happens.”. He adds, “From what’s going on in Europe and other places in the world, they are responding in a very positive way. It’s gonna be a fun, crazy moment.”.
How do you perfect a whistle?
Rooker: “Do you whistle at all?”, he asks. ” There are so many people who can’t whistle and I can’t believe that. I knew how to whistle when I was a kid.” . “The first thing you’ve gotta do is wet your whistle and then just blow air through your lips and tongue and that works. Some people are just hummers.”.
You’ve had the pleasure of starring in two massively popular franchises. What are some of the crazier fan experiences you’ve encountered?
Rooker: “There’s always crazy stuff that you do experience especially if you go to fan events and stuff like that. The fandom is wild.”. He tells me, “I’ve had guys following me around all day long and I’ll maybe sign a few things for them tonight if I can. But they have been and they’ve been driving their cars trying to track me down. It’s very cool. I’m very impressed with all the fandom.”
See our Chat below:
See some Snaps of from the Red Carpet below! Hover mouse over left and right of the post below to navigate slideshow:
Official Synopsis:
Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is written and directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Baby Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Laura Haddock with Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell. Kevin Feige is producing, and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Nikolas Korda and Stan Lee are the executive producers.
See the Trailer:
Our Review, written by Justin Waldman is coming shortly, stay tuned.
Marvel Canada release GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Friday, May 5, 2017.
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Marvel Canada)
#SPOTTED: STARS IN TORONTO FOR FAN EXPO CANADA 2014
It certainly was Celebrity Central this weekend as the 20th annual FAN EXPO CANADA took place at Metro Toronto Convention Centre this weekend. Known as the “Comic-Con of the North”, the four-day Gathering brings together Genre Fans and their favourite Artists under one roof for a Celebration of Fandemonium.
Names new and returning graced the Conference Halls, Photo Booths and Autograph Stations, being met with thunderous applause and starry-eyed admiration. The likes of Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries), Stephen Amell (Arrow), Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), William Shatner (Star Trek), Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The New Generation), Matt Smith (Dr. Who), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Nathan Fillion (Castle), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) proved most popular among Fans, many of them quickly selling-out Photo Ops with Fans at prices of up to $125 per Snap. Reedus turned quite a few heads walking through the Convention on Saturday with a Rob Ford mask, having fun with it!
Cosplay Artists more than ever were the rage of the Fan Expo Canada this year, the elaborately-costumed Performance Artists drawing long lines among their Admirers, including the likes of Jessica Nigiri (who unfortunately had to curtail her visit short one day) and Nadya Sonika.
Toronto’s Amell drew a large crowd today in one of a few Fan Q&A Sessions hosted by SPACE‘s Morgan Hoffman. On his Cousin, Actor Robbie Amell recently being cast in new Series The Flash as Firestorm, he tells his Fans he had knowledge of this well in advance. “He (Robbie) sent me a text in all-caps and I was like… I know!”, admits Amell. ” The only time we ever teamed up was playing Beer Pong, so Firestorm and Oliver Queen may soon cross paths.”.
Somerhalder as expected, always draws a large female Audience speaking candidly about his Character Damon being killed on People’s Choice Award-winning TV Series The Vampire Diaries, stating he only found-out about the news filming the fifth Season’s second episode. In response to the many marriage proposals he received from his Fans, he says “You don’t wanna marry me. I have five companies, a TV Show and an Organization which operates in 180 countries… I didn’t even know there were 180 countries!”. The Actor was spotted by Fans arriving a couple days back with current Girlfriend, Actress Nikki Reed of The Twilight Saga.
Toronto also got a rare opportunity to see The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Star Elijah Wood, known best for the role of Frodo Baggins. The Austin Native tells Fans at his Q&A that he finds it odd when Fans dress-up as Frodo, but also enjoys Fan Conventions. “It is the one time you get that concentrated experience meeting a lot of people at once and I like it!”.
Missed Fan Expo Canada this year? Learn more about it here and start planning for 2015!
It wouldn’t truly be Fan Expo without a couple Photo Ops with some of my Faves:
Mr. Will + Elijah Wood:
Mr. Will + Matt Smith:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#FIRSTLOOK: “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY” TRAILER PREMIERE
Chris Pratt certainly is a Star on the rise basking in the success of The Lego Movie and with his all-American good looks and comedic relatability, there isn’t a reason why he can’t be the Nation’s next Megastar. He stars in the new Action-Fantasy-Comedy as a Jet Pilot who gets stranded in space, and must unite a diverse team of aliens to form a squad capable of defeating cosmic threats. Jimmy Kimmel got the exclusive tonight premiering the Trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy. And for only 24 hours on his YouTube Channel, you can watch it first!
Guardians of the Galaxy also stars Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Benicio del Toro, Glenn Close, Chris Pine, Djimon Honsou, Vin Diesel and Lee Pace.
See the Trailer below:
Walt Disney Motion Pictures Canada release Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014.
(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Motion Pictures Canada)
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