I spoke with Hollywood star Michael Rooker about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

Domagoj Belancic

14.11.2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

I met the cast of Black Ops 7 at a Call of Duty preview event, and got to chatting with Hollywood superstar Michael Rooker about Call of Duty, mops and war games.

The Call of Duty series is famous for casting well-known Hollywood personalities in its games. Black Ops 7 has once again brought out the big guns. The cast includes Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy), Milo Ventimiglia (This is Us, Heroes) and Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina).

Activision invited me to a preview event for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in London. The three stars provided exciting insights behind the scenes of the blockbuster in a panel discussion.

I then spoke to Michael Rooker in a one-to-one interview, covering his acting talent, video games as art and war games.

«Advances in technology are clear to see»

For Michael Rooker, this excursion into the futuristic wars of Black Ops 7 is nothing new. Back in 2012, the charismatic thespian played grizzled warrior Mike Harper in the direct predecessor Black Ops 2. He fought a terrorist organisation alongside David Mason. He tells me how great it feels to slip back into such an iconic role after all those years.

At the preview event, Activision repeatedly emphasised that Black Ops 7 is the «biggest Black Ops of all time». Rooker also felt the scale of the blockbuster during filming. He remembers his first run with Call of Duty and how much has changed since then: «Back then, we still had mops in our hands and buckets on our heads when we were filming. Today we use realistic replica weapons and helmets.»

He was also impressed by the increase in animation quality. Back in 2012, he was already blown away when he saw how his performance in a motion-capture suit was digitised. For Black Ops 7, things are on a much higher level: «Nowadays, the faces in particular are incredibly well animated. The eyes, the mouth – everything moves naturally and realistically. That’s the biggest difference compared to back then.»

A lot has also changed too outside his realm of acting: «Every now and then, I catch a glimpse of the developers’ screens and have things explained to me. I only notice a lot of it in passing, but the advances in technology are clear to see, even to a layman like me.»

Milo Ventimiglia and Kiernan Shipka ventured into new territory with Black Ops 7. They can’t draw any direct comparison with 2012 tech, but both were impressed by the scale of production during the panel discussion. «I get the feeling that as an actor, I’m just a tiny part of something massive. All those people working behind the scenes – it’s really impressive,» Ventimiglia summarises.

For Shipka, the monster scripts in particular were a big change compared to TV and film. The script for Black Ops 7 was several thousand pages long. Rooker wearily smiles at this – he knows these monstrous scripts all too well.

Either way, all those lines don’t bother the experienced actor. Rooker doesn’t like practising or memorising his lines. He likes to improvise, always surprising both himself and his colleagues: «I just let things happen. I don’t like memorising my lines. It’s why I never know exactly what I’m going to say or how I’m going to say something. It always depends on what the other person is doing. I need that creative freedom when acting.»

«It’s amazing how many ways you can say 'shit'»

The actors had to film a bunch of scenes in motion tracking suits. Getting into the right mood for war scenes in a sterile studio environment and a weird outfit wasn’t easy at all.

Shipka was particularly bothered by the headgear: «We were wearing heavy helmets with cameras attached in front of our faces. That was really distracting. I had to focus on not looking at the camera always hovering just a few centimetres in front of my face.»

According to Ventimiglia, interactions with other actors were also tricky: «We constantly had to make sure our cameras didn’t get caught or touch the others. You have to make sure you always keep enough distance – it’s really challenging.»

The separate voice acting sessions were also a particular challenge for everyone involved. Recording hundreds of lines in complete isolation in a recording booth is exhausting. Especially for an actor like Rooker, who likes improvising and adapting his performance spontaneously based on his counterpart.

In addition to recording audio for the campaign, the actors also had to dub a bunch of lines for the multiplayer across individual sessions. It isn’t enough to just record certain words, sentences or screams once or twice – otherwise interactions in multiplayer quickly become repetitive.

Rooker thinks back to the sometimes absurd recording sessions with a smile: «It’s amazing how many ways you can say, 'shit'.»

Rooker faced an additional hurdle during individual shots, which made him nervous. He had to undergo eye surgery. As a result of the operation, he couldn’t read for several weeks. With a production this big, Rooker’s absence would’ve entailed hours of extra work and additional costs.

He asked his management team for help so he could still record his lines. The next problem: his team was hundreds of kilometres from where the game was being recorded. The solution? His management team read his lines to him over a call.

Rooker looks back: «I was standing in the recording booth with my Bluetooth headphones and talking to my management on the phone. They read my lines to me and I performed them. It went back and forth like that. It’s nice to see how easy we can solve problems with modern technology.»

«Games are much more complex than films»

I’m interested to find out how Rooker feels about games in general. Turns out he appreciates the medium – only, he’s not a gamer himself. Not even Call of Duty: «It’s all too hectic and fast for me, I can’t keep up.»

However, Rooker does see games as an art form. Since his first Call of Duty stint in Black Ops 2, the media landscape has changed dramatically. As a medium, games are more mainstream than ever. Rooker agrees: «Anyone who considers games to be inferior to films or series is wrong. In many ways, games are more complex than films. It’s an extremely impressive art form that involves countless people behind the scenes.»

In his 40-year career, Rooker has worked on numerous films and TV series. I want to know if he could imagine only acting in games for the rest of his acting career.

Before he answers, he has to laugh: «If I only did games, I’d demand a much higher salary to make a living at all.» He thinks about it and says: «But I wouldn’t mind. On the contrary, I’d enjoy it… But I’d need more money.»

«I like shooting»

Military shooters such as Battlefield and Call of Duty are very popular, even though we’re faced with footage of real wars on a daily basis. In our comments, realistic war games always lead to heated discussions.

When asked whether the violence or war theme of Call of Duty bothers him, Rooker waves it off: «No, not at all. I get the script and just play what it says. I don’t judge in advance. If I find something distasteful, I discuss it with the director and the writers who then adjust it.»

Rooker admits that the topic also fascinates him personally: «I like shooting, I’m a marksman. I’ve always been good at it, whether using bows and arrows, axes or firearms. I like portraying characters who are good with firearms. It’s why I love playing Mike Harper.»

Rooker really opens up when talking about firearms. His know-how and passion in this area help him play his roles as authentically as possible.

He also gave a lot of thought to his role as Mike Rooker in Black Ops 7: «I read up on various techniques relating to firearms. Nowadays, for example, SWAT teams hold their weapons differently than in the past. I deliberately decided that Mike Harper wouldn’t hold his gun the 'modern' way, but 'old-school'. That suits him better. He’s an iconic character, part of the old guard.»

«What a dumb question»

Finally, I want to know what Rooker thinks Call of Duty fans can look forward to the most in Black Ops 7.

«What a dumb question,» Rooker replies, a serious expression on his face. «Ah damn, did I mess up the interview on my last question?», I think to myself as Rooker’s gaze pierces me.

But then, release, as Rooker adds: «Of course, people should be most excited that they can play as Mike Harper.» He starts to laugh, thanks me for the interview and then poses for a photo with me.

Well then, Michael Rooker. I can’t wait to shoot at things as Mike Harper in Black Ops 7 – with an old-school weapon grip and lots of ways to say «shit».

I was also able to talk to the development team at the preview event – you can find that article here:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be released on 14 November for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Activision invited me to the preview event in London and covered my travel expenses.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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