From the trauma of war in Oliver Stone films to hospital humor on
SCRUBS, John C. McGinley has covered the acting gamut. But in his
latest role – as the voice of Metallo in
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES – McGinley finally gets to delve into a characterization he
has rarely been offered: pure villainy.
McGinley voices one of the featured villains in SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES, a blockbuster blast of super heroes and villains alike
that includes the voices of Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tim Daly
(Superman), Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), Allison Mack (Power Girl),
Xander Berkeley (Captain Atom), Ricardo Chavira (Major Force), LeVar
Burton (Black Lightning), CCH Pounder (Amanda Waller) and a host of
others.
Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to
release the all-new SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES on September 29,
2009 in a Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a
single disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packed
movie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well
as available for download that same day.
Here's a bit from McGinley about the movie and playing Metallo:
* On the script for SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES: "The fun part for me showing up on any set is the preparation. A lot
of times when you are doing a play or a film, things are going to go
wrong. You’re going to lose the light or the sound is going to stop
working. Even in a controlled environment like that booth, which lends
itself to things going right and to things flourishing, there are
sometimes things that can go wrong and, thus, compromises will need to
be made. So it behooves the actor to come loaded for bear. If you are
100 percent ready and we have to make 40 percent compromises, then
unless you have that other 60 percent ready it is going to kind of
just go flat instead of elevating it. My favorite thing, which may
sound a little presumptuous, is to try to elevate the material."
* On his first exposure to the world of superheroes and/or comic books: "My earliest memories of Batman are watching the live-action series
with Batman and Robin. That was the coolest Batmobile and you had
Frank Gorshin as the Riddler and Caesar Romero being the Joker. As
far as Superman goes, it was more about the Christopher Reeve films. I
was not a comic book reader. When we played as kids, we were always
acting out stuff we saw Batman doing , or the Green Hornet or Aquaman.
But that inspiration came from Saturday morning cartoons and not
proper comic books"
* On working with voice director Andrea Romano: "Andrea Romano is not dissimilar to Oliver Stone in a lot of ways, in
as much as they’re both like a thoroughbred at The Kentucky Derby.
They both put on creative blinders like a thoroughbred. Oliver and
Andrea both put on blinders and invite you into that narrow creative
vision which is the perfect division for the piece. So that you don't
have to do anything, you don't have to guess. Come right inside here
and it is going to be good. When you come in there with Oliver Stone
or with Andrea, it is Nirvana. You will now shine."
* What is a John C. McGinley type: "The John C. McGinley type usually is one of about seven different
things. It is a niche that I fell into, not of my own doing, but it
became the part in the films where either you are the best friend, the
co-worker, the bad guy, the brother who dies and compels the hero into
action in the third act, the boss, now the father of the kids, the
head of the hospital usually in a position of authority. For a long
time there was a group of us – Ving Rhames, me and about a half a
dozen other guys – who would be the component in the story. Who would
reiterate the who, what, where, when and how a couple times throughout
the movie. You need somebody who can speak the speech without getting
in the way of the speech. The hero is not going to do that. So every
once in a while throughout the progression of a story, we need to be
reminded where the bomb is, when it is going to go off and who the bad
guys are. So that the hero can do his job. That 'type' has paid the
bills for a long time."
Check out these four new images:
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMEIS comes to DVD on September 29, 2009. Visit the official site at www.SupermanBatmanDVD.com.
