Sean Gunn Says He’s ‘Too Old’ and ‘Retired’ From Playing Rocket Raccoon in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

Sean Gunn has proclaimed himself “retired” from doing the on-set motion capture for the fan-favorite “Guardians of the Galaxy” character Rocket Raccoon. The actor explained that he feels he’s aged out of standing in for the Marvel character due to the physical demands of contorting himself into the shape of the small animal on a recent episode of The Brandon Davis Show.

“Since I’ve turned 50 a couple of years ago, I am retired from playing Rocket,” he said. “Not that they’ve called. But if they did, I don’t think that I could do the motion reference anymore for Rocket. I think I’m too old.”

He continued: “Everyone thinks it’s my knees, but it’s really my feet and my ankles. I’m in a catcher’s crouch, and I’m pivoting a lot on my points of contact with the ground. I’m doing a lot of pivoting in my ankles and feet. And over the years, I think it had a little bit of an effect on my physiology.” He also noted that it “hurts after a while.”

While Bradley Cooper famously voiced the character, it was Gunn who performed the aforementioned on-set motion capture for the animated raccoon. Gunn did this for the character in all three of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, the first of which premiered in 2014. The sequel, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” followed in 2017 and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” premiered in 2023.

On-screen, Gunn also played the Marvel character Kraglin Obfonteri in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”