Bradley Cooper Relates Rocket Raccoon's Most Emotional Scene in GUARDIANS 3 to His Father's Death

Bradley Cooper recently appeared on The Howard Stern Show, and while there he talked about voicing the fan-favorite Marvel movie character Rocket Raccoon. I love this character and his story arc over the course of James Gunn’s three Guardians of the Galaxy films is such a powerful and emotional journey.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 took us really deep into the character’s psyche and at one point we saw the character’s most devastating moment in his life. The pain and agony that Rocket displays over the death of his friends in the film had audiences and fans in tears.

Cooper revealed that when he performed that emotional scene, he channeled the death of his father to effectively display that tragic pain.

In the flashback scene, a young Rocket attempts to escape from The High Evolutionary, and in the process the villain heartlessly kills his friends, prompting Rocket to let out a deeply anguished scream. When talking about how he delivered that, he said:

"In this last one...I actually cried like crazy watching it and when we did it, there’s a scene where he loses his friends and...talking about my dad...the sound that Rocket makes, the only thing I can relate it to is the sound I remember hearing my own voice when my dad passed away.

"There’s something that you hear. And I remember when we did it in the sound stage. There was some deep truth to the sound that came out of my mouth and I think that’s part of why that moment in that movie is kind of like, 'Holy Sh*t.'"

Cooper added that he "felt very naked after I did that," revealing how vulnerable it felt to be so honest with his performance as Rocket.

The actor also discusses his approach to playing Rocket, and explains how he records his lines and the role that director James Gunn plays in that. Cooper also says he "loves" playing the character, which a lot of fans would like to see in action again one day, which will most likely happen.