Age: 71
male
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).
In a galaxy still recovering from cosmic wars, young Earth teenager Richard Rider is chosen by the last survivor of the Nova Corps to inherit an unstoppable cosmic power. Thrust into an interstellar conflict between collapsing empires and an ancient force awakening in the Negative Zone, Richard must learn what it truly means to be a hero. As worlds burn and alliances fracture, Nova becomes humanity’s unlikely defender among the stars. Blending cosmic spectacle, high-stakes action, and coming-of-age emotion, Nova opens a bold new chapter in the Marvel Studios universe.
