If there is a “bad guy” to be played within film or television, casting directors need look no further than distinguished character actor Michael Rooker. Breaking through with his thrilling lead performance in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, he has since been prevalent in equally nefarious roles, his most famous being the portrayal of Merle Dixon in the The Walking Dead. Rooker has starred in a multitude of iconic movies of the late 80s and 90s including Mississippi Burning, Sea of Love, JFK and Tombstone, while appearing more recently alongside Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper in hit movie series Guardians of the Galaxy.

Rooker is one of the few actors to have acted along the 3 biggest action stars of the 80s, appearing in Cliffhanger alongside Sylvester Stallone, The 6th Day alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Replicant along Jean-Claude Van Damme. More recently television audiences were introduced to him with spells on acclaimed series CSI: Miami, Las Vegas, Criminal Minds, and Archer.

Aside from his celebrated stage career, Rooker is additionally known for voice acting roles in video games such as Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 and voicing Merle in the spin-off game Walking Dead: Survival Instinct.