Michael Rooker contributions to the world of horror have earned him legendary status within the genre. His role as a demented ruthless killer in ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ left audiences terrified, while his role as Merle Dixon on ‘The Walking Dead’ became one of the breakout characters on the popular zombie show, and most recently Rooker played Yondu in this summer’s blockbuster breakout ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. Rooker will takes part in Toronto’s FanExpo this weekend from August 29th-31st at the Metro Toronto Convention Center.

Bloody-Disgusting sat down with Michael about his upcoming appearance in Toronto this weekend at FanExpo, his most bizarre interactions with fans, ‘The Walking Dead’, the longevity of ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’, and why you can expect to see him in the sequel to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

Bloody-Disgusting: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with Bloody-Disgusting. We’re big fans of your body of work at the site. Anything gory or disgusting and our audience will love it…

Michael Rooker: You don’t have to tell me about who you are, because I already know all about you disgusting and bloody people!

BD: You are coming to this year’s FanExpo in Toronto on August 29^th -30^th and you are very active on the convention circuit and very interactive with fans. Are there any fan moments that stand out in your mind where people have gone to great lengths to meet you or show their devotion to you?

MR: There are people that come up all the time and have tattoos. There was one lady in particular that had a zombie Merle tattooed on her upper inner thigh, and it said, “Zombie Merle protects my lady parts.”

BD: It has to be such a strange experience to see your face tattooed on someone else’s body like that.

MR: It is strange. People have me sign their arms, legs, ankles and breasts all the time. Then they go and have it inked into their skin; it’s crazy. Those particular fans are die- hard and since you’re with Bloody-Disgusting then you already know that horror fans are the most extreme and loyal fan base that you can have. That is my core fan base from when I started out in this business with my first movie “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”, which laid the groundwork for my fan base of horror fans.

BD: “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” is now considered to be a classic horror film. Are you surprised at all with how timeless that movie has become more than two decades later?

MR: Good god; No, dude! We were just trying to make a good scary movie. We have no budget whatsoever. I think we had $120,000 budget, and I think the $20,000 was added in the editing and publishing of the movie. We shot it in a less professional manner and to be able to screen it in a professional way, we had to bump up the budget. When I say we, I really mean the director, because as an actor I moved on fairly quickly to my next project.  I have remained friends with the director and producers from that time and they kept me in the loop on what was going on, as they were trying to get this thing out there fighting for it to be seen and reviewed. They were telling me all the horrors that they had to go through with the MPAA, which is the American version of, “I’m going to ban your ass!” As far as I’m concerned all those guys can go jump in a lake.

BD: Actors strive to make a timeless classic throughout their career, and “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” is one of those films that will still be discovered by new fans twenty or thirty years from now.

MR: That is all because we didn’t listen to the MPAA, and we did everything our way. We didn’t have any pre-screenings to determine if the public was going to like it or anything like the crap that they do these days. Obviously you can tell that I’m old school, and my job is not to do a movie that the people have to like. If you’re really doing an art piece, and it’s your baby, you have to do it your way. You cannot care about what the public think or feels about your project. You just have to do it, put it out there, and let the chips fall where they may.

BD: Good art will challenge people, and “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” challenged the limits of what a horror movie was capable of at that time.

MR: When you do a good horror movie, sometimes it’s too unbelievable. It’s horror, so it’s fun, funny, and scary all at the same time. When you’re doing a movie like “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” it’s very realistic, so you’re thinking in the back of your mind, “I don’t know if I want to walk to my car.” It’s just that kind of movie with that guttural feeling, and hell dude when I first saw the movie I walked out of there and my stomach felt hollowed out. Everything inside my gut was just tipsy after watching that. It was such a strange feeling.

BD: “The Walking Dead” just continues to be insanely popular. I’m interested now that Merle is dead, have you had a chance to watch the show as a fan or is that experience is too strange?

MR: I have, finally. We didn’t get a chance to watch any of it while we were making it, but they would offer us the chance to watch the show prior to its release. While we were filming we would have a weekly viewing, but everyone was so damn tired that you would say, “Thank you so much, but I’ve got to get some sleep.” I would only got to see a few of them, and when I finally did watch it when I was off the show and I watched them all in a row. It’s a very cool show and an awesome piece. There were some decisions about the show that I disagree with, such as the editing, but that’s going to be with almost every project. What we’re doing on the show, and I say we because I’m still a part of the show. I’m the one that you go and visit during Decoration Day, because I died twice on the same episode. They’ll still think of me, but they don’t really want to hang out with me because I’m dead. I’m dead, so some of the other living actors on the show may be contaminated by my death on the show. Some of the writers on the show have seen us photographed together and think, “Wow, maybe we should kill him off as well.”

BD: Seeing the reaction to the cast members of The Walking Dead at these conventions, it’s almost like you guys are today’s version of rock stars being mobbed by fans.

MR: We are at times. People are a little afraid to mob me but they do anyways, because Michael Rooker is a pretty approachable and friendly guy in real life. You don’t want to run up behind me, because that’s just not fun. If you approach me from the front I probably won’t bite! (Chuckles)

BD: Well Canadians are notoriously nice people, so I don’t think you will have that problem at FanExpo in Toronto.

MR: Come on now… I’ve watched your hockey, so I know what you’re about. (Laughs)

BD: One of the things that really surprised me about the success of Guardians of the Galaxy was just how much people loved this move from young to old.

MR: I know! The same thing happened with the Walking Dead and Merle. All the characters on that show resonated with a vast range of ages, and Guardians of the Galaxy is the same way. I don’t even think there is a demographic for that movie, because everyone is enjoying it.

BD: Can we expect to see Yondu in the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy?

MR: I think it’s pretty safe to say. James Gunn has already expressed his interest in exploring the Yondu character more, so people can find out more about him.