A few weeks ago, I had the amazing experience to attend the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Press Junket in Los Angeles, which included the World Premiere of the movie, as well as interviews with Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and the rest of the cast. Today, I get to tell you about my interview with Michael Rooker (Yondu) and Sean Gunn (Kraglin).
Photo Credit: Louise Bishop | MomStart.com
Exclusive Interview with Michael Rooker & Sean Gunn
SPOILER ALERT: FYI Friends! The below article contains a few spoilers from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you will want to bookmark this article to read after you do….cause it’s GOOD STUFF.
Michael Rooker is every bit as confident and outgoing as the character he plays on Guardians of the Galaxy, Yondu. I’ve been a big fan of Michael Rooker since he played Meryl on The Walking Dead. I actually had a chance to meet him at a comic convention on year here in Austin and he was hysterical – personality plus. He was no different when we met him in LA for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Intimidated by a room full of women? Absolutely not. In fact, I think he loved every minute of it.
We also met Sean Gunn during this interview. Fun fact, Sean is indeed the brother of the writer & director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn. Another fun fact, Sean is also the stand-in for Rocket. AS in he literally stands in the place of Rocket & plays him so that the actors have someone to play off of. But in Vol 2, Sean got a much bigger on-screen role with the role of Kraglin.
I don’t know anything other than where I’m supposed to stand and what I’m supposed to say.
We start off right with the hard questions, since we had just seen the movie the day before, we wanted the scoop!
For Kraglin, is using the fin at the end going to be a tie-in to Vol 3?
Sean Gunn: I don’t know anything other than where I’m supposed to stand and what I’m supposed to say.
Michael Rooker: Good answer, dude. You’re good at this shit.
SG: I mean honestly, I’d like to think there’s more in store for that character, but I don’t know anything. I mean, I don’t know if anyone knows anything, actually.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..L to R: Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017
Can you tell us about the makeup process?
MR: Yeah, the makeup process is awesome. It was about maybe a three hour process to put on and four or five, six layers of different shades of blue and gold and silver and yellow flecks and all kinds of stuff.
Sometimes they just flick it on with a brush. It’s like little spackling all over your face, but tiny little dots that helps to bring out the depth of the, of the paint so it looks like, it just looks like real skin and it feels like real skin, too.
How was it working with the teeth?
MR: We both could answer that stuff. Oh, we both had some grills, baby. Do we not? You had more of a problem with it than I did.
SG: Yeah, the teeth can be tricky. I tried to get the teeth made a good several months before we started so that I could just put them in and work with the talking. I think talking through the teeth was one of the most difficult things I did.
MR: It was. But I didn’t have a problem with it because everybody’s different. What it did do, was it’s very difficult for the whistle. A whistle’s all in the front right where the stupid teeth are and we had to fix them because I got to whistle.
Is it your whistle or do they enhance it?
MR: They enhance it, but it is my whistle.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..L to R: Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and Yondu (Michael Rooker)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017
I don’t really like working with humans.
What is your favorite character besides your own and why?
SG: I like them all in different ways. I love Drax. I loved the journey that I’ve seen Dave take from his audition for the first movie through this. The magnificent performance he gives in this movie and so I guess if I had to choose, I’d say Dave, but I love all the characters in the movie.
MR: I would say, I don’t like working with real humans. Never have. I’m going to go with Rocket and Baby Groot as my favorite. But that being said, Rocket is my friend right here and we worked together day and night doing this. He does all the vocals for Rocket.
When we’re doing a scene, it takes like, four or five times to layer all that stuff.
SG: We have to do several takes for anything that Rocket is a part of. We do a reference take. We’re in there and we make sure we get one or two good ones of those and then we have to do one with a light and I’m just doing the lines from behind the camera.
MR: So, the process for doing this kind of movie with such heavy CGI and also characters that don’t truly exist, it’s like doing five movies. I will forever get a whole hell of a lot more money if I ever have to do this again. That being said, I’ll probably never get hired again.
Photo Credit: Louise Bishop | MomStart.com
For Sean: What has it been like to transition from a behind the scenes character to an onscreen character?
SG: Well to the first point about working with my brother, we’ve been working together in various capacities since we were little. I have an easier time working with him than just about anybody because we have such a shorthand for communicating with one another and I know for the most part, what he’s looking for. When I read scenes, I have a pretty good feel for what he’s going for.
And so I think that we work together really, really well. I’m certainly grateful that he gave me such a nice role in this film.
MR: You owe it all to me. I talked to him about you.
SG: I really am happy to be part of it. I know that that’s what I’m supposed to say, but it’s true. It’s a great franchise and I think that the movies are made with a lot of love and a lot of heart and I’m very happy to be part of that.
MR: And you should be happy that he didn’t torture you too much.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..Kraglin (Sean Gunn)..Ph: Chuck Zlotnick..©Marvel Studios 2017
For Michael: Can you talk about when you learned that you were going to die in the script?
MR : You know what? I’m used to dying. I’ve died several times. Many times in different movies and different TV shows and it doesn’t hurt at all. It’s okay. I’ll be back somewhere.
Photo Credit: Louise Bishop | MomStart.com
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 was such a terrific film. I hope if you haven’t seen it, that you will see it soon!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is in theaters NOW!
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Disclaimer: Disney sent me to Los Angeles on an all-expenses paid press trip, in exchange for my coverage of the red carpet premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. All opinions are my own.
