A conversation with Sean Gunn

Sean Gunn, a St. Louis expat, Saint Louis University High School grad, and member of large, rather-famous showbiz family, will take part as a guest in about a dozen comic conventions this year, many of them under the Wizard World banner. Not surprisingly, Gunn’s been tabbed a guest for all three days of the St. Louis version of the con, which will take place at America’s Center from Friday, April 7­ through Sunday, April 9.

Asked how often he gets to visit his hometown, the affable Gunn says, “not nearly enough, to be honest. My parents still live in St. Louis, but they have five of their six kids and several grandchildren living in L.A. So they come to L.A. a lot, which makes it a lot less pressing for me to get back to St. Louis. One of the reasons I wanted to do this convention was to connect with a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time.”

Gunn’s not shy in saying that the town’s a somewhat-abstract place for him, and when questioned on what changes he’s seen over the years, he says that “I don’t know if I know the answer to that question. When I have gone back, downtown’s a hub of activity, and has things that weren’t around when I was a kid. The art community seems pretty tight-knit. But when I was 18, I went to Chicago for acting school and never moved back to St. Louis, so I’ve never really engaged with the city as an adult. In that sense, I’ve never lived there. But I certainly have lots and lot of friends back there.”

The stint on the con circuit is largely tied to his work in a pair of very, very different types of projects. The first is Gilmore Girls, on which Gunn appeared as Kirk Gleason, a role he reprised in the show’s recent Netflix reboot. And then there’s his role as Kraglin in Guardians of the Galaxy, which finds a sequel coming to movie theaters this year. Members of both fanbases are present in his autograph lines, though he say that “increasingly these days, they’re fans of Sean Gunn. For me, that’s the best.

“Most of the people who are huge fans are Gilmore Girls fans,” he admits. “I have a lot of Guardians fans, as well, and there are those who are fans of both. But I’d say about 70 percent are Gilmore Girls fans and 100 percent of Gilmore Girls fans are… what’s the word I’m looking for? They’re rabid. In a way that I can only compare to sci-fi shows like Dr. Who or Star Trek. They’re a really strong block of fans and I love them. They can be a bit intense, though.”

Whether it be at Wizard World or a competing con, Gunn says that “I always look at them as a great opportunity to meet fans. If they get a picture or an autograph or just want to talk, I’m always happy to meet them. My fans essentially pay my salary when they see my work, and the idea of giving something back to them, face to face, is always a lot of fun for me. It’s still weird to have people come up to you and ask for autograph; there’s nothing in life that really prepares you for that. And that can be an unusual experience. But for me to feel anything other than immense gratitude doesn’t make sense.”

We asked Gunn a couple questions about cons. For starters, does he take delight in the floor itself, the huge vending area full of dealers, shoppers and gawkers?

“I do try to walk around and check out the floor a little bit,” he says. “I’ll almost certainly do a panel at this particular Wizard World, and I also love walking around and looking at the artwork. I love meeting all the cosplayers, the vendors. There’s this whole community of people who go from city to city to put on these shows, and they’re really good people who I get to spend time with and who are… for lack of a better word, are nerds. Now, some of the things they go crazy about, I don’t, but everybody’s a nerd for something. I love that people are passionate about their interests and [cons] are incredibly important for them.”

We also asked about the chances he’s had to meet folks who might not cross his life in other contexts, even as he’s lived life in some higher echelons of the entertainment world.

“You know, I meet people at almost every convention that I can’t believe I’m meeting,” he says. “Late last year at a convention, I met Bob and Susan from Sesame Street. I grew up watching that show every day, and when the convention was over we sat, had a drink, and talked for hours. They told stories about the ‘70s and the guests they had on, and it was fascinating. I’ve met a lot of big celebrities in my career, but I could’ve sat and talked to them for days.”

In order to prep for the Gunn chat, a smoke signal was sent out to Facebook to get a few more, random and delightful questions into the mix. Here they are, if paraphrased.

What are your favorite three hip-hop albums of the past few years?

Whoever asked this question knows I’m a huge hip-hop fan. I listen to more of the old-school, kinda-’90s stuff. But I’ll say this: the best rappers out there right now are probably Danny Brown, Celph Titled, and Esoteric. I think that those are the best three out there.

What are your thoughts about motion-capture suits, and would you want to wear them going forward?

You know, I wore one of those blue-green snap onesies for the first Guardians movie. For the second, and now for The Avengers (which I’m shooting right now, playing Rocket), I’m out of the other one and into a gray tracksuit. And it’s got a little rocket patch on it. It’s not that cool, but a heck of a lot cooler than the green onesie.

What’s the story with The Belko Experiment?

The Belko Experiment comes out on March 17, and it’s a psychological horror thriller about a bunch of people who work in an office building in Bogota, Colombia. One day, the building shuts down and they’re instructed to start killing one another, or else they’ll be killed themselves. As you might imagine, pandemonium ensues! It was so much fun to shoot that movie. We were in Bogota for six weeks of shooting, with an insanely fun set of actors. I’m really looking forward to an audience seeing that. But if you can’t stand blood, it won’t be for you.

Will there be any more real-life short “Films by Kirk?” If so, where can fans get them?

I thought those were the real-life ones! I think Kirk’s only got two short films that we’ve seen. But you never know. I don’t know if we’ll shoot more Gilmore Girls. If so, hopefully there’ll be a third film by Kirk. If not, it’s lost to the ages.

What’s the difference, for you, in shooting the first Guardians film in London and the second in Atlanta?

I love London. Such a great city. I wish I got there more often. But being that I’m based in Los Angeles, it’s an eight-hour time difference, and feels so far away, a world away. In America, I’m more able to see my cat, who I miss. Atlanta’s become another Hollywood in the United States, and every actor working these days goes to Atlanta. It’s a nice place to be and to shoot.

As time wound to a close, Gunn wanted to slip in another bit about cats: “Something I wanted to mention is that one of the reasons I’m doing the con in my hometown is that I try to stay active in animal rescue efforts, particularly cat rescues. There’s a great cat rescue group in St. Louis, Tenth Life. I’ll be hosting a fundraising party on April 8 [Caturday Night Fever], during that evening of the convention, with a dance party at The Luminary. Hopefully, it’ll do a lot of good for homeless cats. And it’s my first time hosting a fundraiser, so I figured a safe place like St. Louis is a great place to start. I have forum, traveling all over the world, doing conventions, meeting people. I want to use that for some kind of good and I want to do as much of that as I can going forward.”