'Cliffhanger' got me in the best shape of my life, working at 10,000 feet up in the mountains. And everybody was great. I lived in Italy for seven months doing that movie. It was a great vacation.
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 RookerAs the actor, you can't be worried about the scene that you're going to playing two days from now. You think about what's going on, right now and in the moment. That's what you worry about. Everything is right then and there. In the end, all of the pieces come together, thanks to the editing and James Gunn.
Michael RookerThere's always room. That's what the directors usually want. They want the performer to bring themselves and give what they have to give for the role. The smart ones allow that to happen because then it becomes even more organic within the performer's imagination. It becomes even more real. It's not always a given in other films, but when Gunn works, and we all work together in a collaborative way like that, it becomes a given that you bring it. It becomes a lot of fun.
Michael Rooker