Michael (I) Rooker filmography and biography
Date of birth: 6 April 1955, Jasper, Alabama, USA
Michael (I) Rooker biography
Michael Rooker was born in 1955 in Jasper, Alabama. When he was 13 his parents divorced and he went with his mother to live in Chicago. He caught the acting bug while attending college, and began appearing in local stage productions. On first breaking into film, his intensity and "don't-mess-with-me" good looks were highlighted to chilling effect as the title character in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, filmed in 1986 but, due to its controversial nature, not released until 1990. Since that widely noticed and highly praised performance, much of his career has been spent playing brutes, villains and psychopaths. His occasional turns as a "good guy", however, are always well-acted and a welcome change for a talented actor too often typecast.
Michael (I) Rooker trivia
- Studied Japanese martial art of Akido with Fumio Toyoda Shihan prior to
establishing himself in Chicago theatre.
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer was Michael Rooker's first movie
which was filmed in 1986 but was not released until years later.
- He is a graduate of Chicago's Goodman School of Drama
- Ranked #17 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100]
- He unofficially reprised his Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer role for
the music video "All Wrapped Up" by heavy metal band American Head
Charge.
- Lives in Sunland, California.
- He is the only actor to have acted alongside all 3 of the major action
heroes of the 1980's. He appeared with Sylvester Stallone in
"Cliffhanger" (1993), Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The 6th Day" (2000) and
Jean Claude Van Damme in "Replicant" (2001).
- He has appeared in two films whose plot centers around Human Cloning,
"The 6th Day (2000) and "Replicant" (2001).
Michael (I) Rooker quotes
- [on his Henry character] I can bring that role back in a second. I just
rip into the little idiosyncrasies and it's interesting, I've never
said good-bye to Henry. That character, the introverted-ness, the
soft-spoken quality is always there.
- "I don't approach a role by saying I'll be unsavory or unlikable. I
think all the roles I've done have been very passionate people who go
to absolute extremes to make their points."