I was pretty confident that I'd be playing something, if James Gunn could convince Marvel Studios and Disney to cast me. He's involved with the casting too, but if he could convince them to go along with him and agree with getting me on the roster, then yeah, I would have voiced Groot. Not a problem. Groot is an awesome character.
Michael RookerYeah, my role is gonna be a character by the name of Yondu. And there's gonna be more of Yondu. Yondu is gonna be even more handsome. Perhaps maybe Yondu will add some more bling to his teeth and wear some more jewelry. I don't know. It's gonna be a lot of fun. I've got my fingers crossed that we'll flush out the character even more.
Michael RookerThat's very cool. Absolutely! You want to know where this guy came from, but you also want to know about the relationship between him and Quill, and how they ended up living together, for the last 18 or 19 years, without killing one another. He's a strong young man, and it's because of Yondu.
Michael RookerWell, I think that's been my career. I always choose stuff that's the same, yet different. These projects just happened. I didn't plan it out that way. I just happened to be free, and the director, Dan Pritzker, decided to do his film again. I say again because we did it seven years ago. A lot of the actors were not available, so he just couldn't wait anymore and he recast everything. Me and two other characters are the only people involved with the new one, who were involved with the previous one.
Michael RookerYou know how it is, somebody will see your work and like it and remember it, then decide to make it a role in their film.
Michael RookerYou forget about it, after awhile. You forget that you even have it on. It becomes part of you. You get used to it, even the teeth and the contacts, which bothered the hell out of me. It ends up being something that is part of the role, and part of the thing that you're doing. After awhile, it just feels pretty damn awesome.
Michael Rooker