Michael Rosenbaum on auditioning for Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Although Michael Rosenbaum may finally be a part of James Gunn's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY series thanks to his role of Martinex in the sequel, his relationship with the franchise goes all the way back to the beginning when he auditioned for the role of Star-Lord. While speaking with THR, Rosenbaum discussed his frame of mind when he had to audition for the role in front of his good friend James Gunn.

Yes, I was nervous as shit (laughs). You’re sitting there with one of your best friends who’s directing a huge movie, who knows your ability and said, “I wanna see your take on Peter Quill.” Now the pressure’s on. I just had to shut it off … I remember coming up with my own dance for the Star-Lord dance scene. I had a great partner, it felt really organic right from the start … I was privileged to be one of the few people that got to screen test. I was so honored and grateful that James had me audition.

Chris Pratt wound up taking home the role, and doing a magnificent job, but Michael Rosenbaum wasn't disappointed in the slightest. "You know," said Rosenbaum, "I didn't really care about getting the part. I didn’t know anything about the Guardians comics. I just wanted to do a good job for James." Although Michael Rosenbaum didn't have a huge amount of screen-time in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2, James Gunn has said that we'll be seeing more of Martinex and his pals, including Sylvester Stallone's character, in future Marvel movies.

Rosenbaum also opened up about his friendship with the late Carrie Fisher, which began while Michael Rosenbaum was filming the first season of Smallville.

Carrie’s assistant reached out because Carrie’s daughter wanted a signed photo of Lex. I said, "Tell her I want a signed picture from Return of the Jedi!" Carrie actually sent the photo, which I keep in my office. It says, “Blow me — Carrie.” At the time I was filming the first season of Smallville and living in a hotel. She said, “Why are you living in a hotel? I have these little bungalows at my house, Meryl Streep stays there, Richard Dreyfuss stays there, you could, too … it’s got its own kitchen, you’d never have to see me. So I stayed there for three months and I wrote like crazy. She really showed me the way when it came to writing, and she never asked for anything, she just said, "Buy me a gift when you’re done." So I bought her a skylight for her living room.

Rosenbaum remembered Carrie Fisher as an amazing person whose house was always open to everybody, in fact, he recalls one moment when Michael Keaton, Tracey Ullman, Nicole Kidman, Carrie Fisher and himself were all laying on Fisher's giant bed just laughing and talking. Fisher then tried hooking Rosenbaum up with Nicole Kidman. "It was never gonna happen," said Rosenbaum, "but I'll always remember that." GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is now playing in theaters.