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Sean Gunn Talks Rocket Raccoon and says ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ will mold Guardians’ Next Chapter

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is still stealing our hearts in the theaters and we got to sit down with one of the stars of the film, Sean Gunn, this weekend at Heroes & Villains Fan Fest London.

The man of many talents talked to us about the future of the Guardians, which will definitely be exciting! He also talked in detail about what it’s like to be Rocket Raccoon’s motion capture stand in.

We got to see much more of Kraglin in the second movie, are you similar to Kraglin in any way?

Hmm, I definitely think I’m similar to every character I play. One way or another. Yeah, I think there are times when I’m certainly a little quiet. I’m very deliberate, which I think Kraglin shares. He’s pretty measured and pretty cerebral which I think are also things that I would say about myself.

He sort of has a grill happening. Is that the only altercation they have to make to your physical appearance?

He does. He has some scars as well. So there’s a little bit of scarring around my left eye and up and around my forehead and I have the tattoos which require some applying. All told it’s maybe an hour or so worth of makeup which is great especially considering what some of the other actors have to go through.

As Yondu’s right-hand man there was a really great scene at the end, when they have The Ravager funeral. Kraglin was just full of joy and it was great. How do you think Kraglin will be involved going forward? Will he stay with the Guardians or will he go off on his own?

I kind of have no idea, and just like the fans, I’m excited to see where his character goes. There’s no outline or anything yet even for the third movie so. I kind of have no idea what’s going to happen I would certainly be ecstatic to be a part of it. And I’m just interested to see what happens with the character.

So there’s no talk of the next film with James (Gunn) as of yet?

I know that James is being a little bit more patient this time around. Partially because some of what happens with the guardians is dependent on what happens with them in Infinity War. And even though my brother’s a producer on Infinity War, those movies aren’t finished yet so until we kind of see where everything lands there that’s going to have some bearing on what happens with the Guardians. So it’s a little bit of a wait and see but I’m sure there are a lot of ideas already in the works.

That leads me to my next question! Can you tell us anything about Rocket’s role in Infinity War? 

I can’t say anything about that. But we started in January, I’ve been working on and off. We’re going through the end of the year at least. I can tell you that Rocket has some very cool stuff to work on and I’m ecstatic to be a part of it. And that’s all I can say.

When you go in to do Rocket what is the process that you follow scene to scene?

First of all, I prepare for a scene just like any other character I’m playing. So I learn the lines, I learn the scene. I know what’s going on, and I have some idea as to how it fits into the larger story. I simply put on a gray tracksuit that I wear every day. It makes it easier for them to paint me out if they use the reference take. And when we go onto set, my task is to keep my eyes where Rockets eyes would be throughout the take! So I actually squat down. I get down on my hands and feet. And as Rocket moves, I move so that when we shoot the scenes the actors are looking at a human face rather than at a tennis ball or a blank space. We do at least a couple of takes with me in them, so that the animators have a visual reference for how Rocket moves. And then I step out and continue to do the scene but I do the lines from just beyond where the camera is. So it’s a whole process, so for ever shot that you’d usually do, we have to do two extra ones which is a very painstaking process.

Who’s your favorite person that you’ve worked with on the Guardians franchise?

I mean that’s a hard question because I just met so many great people. If you’re talking just actors I have so much love for the whole Guardians family. And I love the new people I’ve been working with on Avengers. Dave Bautista’s become a very close friend of mine and Rooker’s obviously like my dumb older brother. But I can’t really pick a favorite and if you’re talking about who I’m working with there are people like Simon Hatt associate producer and John Blake the makeup artist and all these people that I’ve met up and down that I just think are so great to work with I feel very fortunate.

The Hollywood Reporter recently referred to you as Marvel’s secret weapon. How does that make you feel?

I’m very flattered by that. I describe it differently I think of myself as more of the utility infielder for Marvel. As the guy you can plug into different places and hopefully, I do a good job. I’m very flattered by all of it I know that my colleagues have said very very nice things about me in the press and panels that we’ve done and I could not be more honored by that because I have so much respect for them.

Thank you, I am honored to have talked to you today as well!!

Catch Sean Gunn in Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 2 in theaters now! And look out for Avengers: Infinity War in out in April of 2018.

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