Actor Michael Rooker of the AMC series The Walking Dead will greet fans at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con
(Photo by Wizard World Comic Con)
Actor Michael Rooker of the AMC series The Walking Dead will greet fans at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, a gathering of thousands of superhero, science fiction, fantasy and horror connoisseurs that takes place Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Rooker, who played the lead in the 1986 movie "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" and is the model for a virtual U. S. Navy SEAL in the "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" video game, will appear with Walking Dead co-stars Norman Reedus, and Jon Bernthal.
As Rooker steered his Ford F-150 pickup truck along Interstate 5 near Los Angeles Sunday afternoon, he answered questions via cell phone about the unaccountably captivating anti-hero Merle Dixon that he portrays on the wildly successful, over-the-top science fiction action series.
“How many fingers do you have on your hands,” Rooker said, when asked to count Merle’s character flaws. Oddly, Rooker said, the character’s profound political incorrectness and general irascibility are part of what makes him interesting. “He’s got a heart; you know it’s in there somewhere. But the things he says and does are not to our liking,” Rooker said. The acting challenge “is bringing out those flaws and making them real.”
Meeting Merle
Merle’s cult character status is based on compelling but brief appearances. In the first two seasons, Rooker said, Merle was onscreen a mere seven minutes. Walking Dead fans met Merle in a desperate moment during season one, as an army of cannibalistic zombies stormed a department store where a band of fleeing humans had taken refuge. Merle, the gun-toting, methamphetamine-snorting, unrepentant, redneck bully of the group, did not handle the stress gracefully.
A racial-epithet-studded tirade and one-sided fist fight that alienated his companions led to Merle being handcuffed to an iron pipe on the store roof and abandoned to the baking sun and ravenous ghouls. After a strained soul-searching soliloquy in which Merle vowed never to beg for mercy, even from God, he escaped the trap coyote-style by gnawing off (or, in Merle’s case, sawing off) his hand. Merle then disappeared.
The character, Rooker said, is finding more time in the spotlight during the current third season of the show.
Putting Merle in context
So, does Merle have any redeeming characteristics? Rooker said that at the very least, Merle has the virtue of family loyalty; he fears for the safety of his brother Daryl played by Reedus. “When he finds out his brother is still alive, that’s pretty much all that’s on his mind,” Rooker said of his character’s motivation.
- What
“People who are watching see themselves in those situations,” Rooker said. “It causes them to debate. They ask themselves: ‘Would I be able to share? It’s something I’ve been taught since childhood … but if I share my water with you, I might die.’”
Rooker said that Merle is, in part, a product of his zombie-infested environment.
“The things that Merle does, the actions that he takes are based on what he’s gone through in the apocalypse,” Rooker said. “He’s been through quite a lot.” Plus, Rooker hopes viewers realize that the out-of-control Merle they met on the department store roof was high. In season three, the steam punk prosthesis-wearing Merle has mellowed ... some.
“He’s way calmer and more intelligent,” Rooker said. “He can express himself without screaming curse words and what not. He’s no longer on drugs.” And, Rooker said, “he’s well appreciated” by other humans for his survival skills.
What do zombies want? What do we want from zombies?
Asked what do zombies want, Rooker said that what little is left of a predatory zombie’s brain, is devoted solely to finding fresh meat – human or otherwise.
Asked what the television audience symbolically wants from fictional zombies, Rooker said that Walking Dead fans don’t tune in for the animated cadavers per se; they’re interested in how the cast of characters “respond to the horror and the loss of society.”
“Zombies have been in cinema for a long time,” Rooker said. “They are a dark image coming out of the corners, a base instinct. Everything, every human, every insect fears being eaten.”
Worse yet, Rooker said, is the knowledge that in The Walking Dead construct, death isn’t the final fate. Unless actions are taken to prevent it (a bullet through the brain) death can lead to zombiehood. “It’s a horrifying thought,” Rooker said. But, he added, “It’s cool to be involved in something that potent.”
Meeting Michael
Rooker, Reedus, and Bernthal will visit with general admission fans at a Walking Dead booth during Comic Con. Note: Reetus will only appear on Sat.(Dec. 1) and Sun (Dec. 2). Fans with regular tickets can purchase individual photo opportunities and autographs with the actors. The Walking Dead trio will speak at a question-and-answer panel discussion Sunday (Dec. 2), from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Look for Comic Con admission details below.
A special $319.99 Walking Dead VIP pass, provides fans with a three-day admission to the convention, guaranteed seating at the Walking Dead (or Boondock Saints) panel discussion, a photo opportunity with all three cast members, and other souvenirs and perks.