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TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011ALL-STAR SUPERMAN: ANTHONY LAPAGLIAThe Continuum kicks off a series of stories on All-Star Superman -- the next DC Universe animated movie, arriving on Feb. 22 -- with a studio provided question-and-answer with Anthony LaPaglia, who provides the voice of Lex Luthor.
Following is an edited transcription:
Question:
What were the challenges of creating Lex Luthor as an animated voice?
LaPaglia:
You have to understand the medium that you're in. As opposed to
(on-camera) acting with another individual where it requires listening
in order for you to respond, here you're having to create the question
the other person would ask you in your head and then respond to it.
It's a much more difficult process because there's a line between it
being real and it being animated. There's a slightly different tonal
quality to the way you say things, or in the way you have to make it
bigger sometimes than you would naturally do in order to sell it. But
not having the visual in front of you -- you're kind of shooting in the
dark a lot.
Question:
Did you enjoy this incarnation of Lex Luthor?
LaPaglia:
Yeah, I did actually. I found it surprising that Lex Luthor was
getting a bit spiritual (laugh). I guess it's kind of like a sign of
the times where he's trying to get in touch with the inner Lex.
(laugh)
Question:
Can you talk about the journey Lex goes through in All-Star Superman?
LaPaglia:
The journey Lex Luthor takes in this film -- in the beginning it's what
you'd expect: he's interested in power and world domination and
Superman is the bane of his existence. And then as it progresses,
there's a slight injection of humanity, which is surprising to Lex
Luthor that he's even experiencing feelings that are remotely human.
So it kind of gives him an unusual arc. He definitely has more
dimension to him in this film.
Question:
What do you bring to Lex Luthor?
LaPaglia:
As a kid, I loved comic books. It's basically how I learned to read
as a kid because my mother would buy them for me to keep me quiet, I
think. I remember one time particularly -- I was 4 or 5 years old, and
I was sick and I had to stay in bed for three weeks, and so she would
buy me comic books every second or third day. And I just created my
own world, sitting under the covers reading Superman, Batman, Silver
Surfer, a lot of the great comics.
Question:
What is it about Lex Luthor that most appeals to you?
LaPaglia:
There's a kind of sarcastic streak in Lex Luthor that comes from that
extreme confidence in his ability to do what he does. I like the
attitude of him. I like that nothing really fazes him, that he feels
like he has complete control over everything, therefore, he can be
relaxed enough to be a smartass. A good Lex Luthor makes or breaks it
for me, I think.
Question:
As you've played so many villains, do you prefer being the bad guy?
LaPaglia:
I've always liked playing the baddy. Some people have a problem with
getting typecast. I'm quite happy with being typecast. I don't care,
as long as you're working. The truth is you could play every bad guy
in a one dimensional fashion, but it's like everything else in life --
everything's different and everyone's unique, so you have to find the
uniqueness in the character to bring it to life.
Question:
You've obviously performed in every medium available, but voiceover is
relatively new for you. Does voiceover work offer you challenges or
joys of acting that you don't get elsewhere?
LaPaglia:
I like the isolation part of it. I like that there's a certain amount
of freedom, and that you're not waiting for somebody else to find
their motivation. It's more challenging to come up with a believable
character doing animation work than it is (in live-action). Acting is
relatively easy because you have a personal one-on-one interaction
with someone, therefore whatever you're doing is a lot smoother. This
requires a bit more patience and you have to suspend the fact that
you're in a sound stage and really commit to the material.
Question:
You had a moment where you weren't understanding Andrea Romano's
direction on a particular emotion, and Bruce Timm was able to draw Lex
Luthor with an expression that depicted that emotion. Have you ever
gotten direction via artwork before?
LaPaglia:
That made me laugh. We were trying to get that particular passage done
right and I didn't quite know how to get it. It's not an uncommon
issue where you have three or four people that have three or four
different takes on what it should be -- it gets a little confusing
sometimes if you're doing it and you're taking in all the different
stuff. You want to deliver what they want but sometimes you're not
sure how to quite get there. And I thought that was ingenious,
actually, showing me the picture through the glass of the expression
on Lex Luthor's face. It made perfect sense -- Bruce is an animator.
That's what he does -- so he was able to show me visually what he was
looking for in my voice. I could actually see Lex's mental state of
anguish. It actually made me think of doing it a different way and
that ended up working.
Question:
How much does a background in the theatre help in the voiceover booth?
LaPaglia:
The theatrical background helps you in doing (voiceover) because
you've already been through a hundred different acting classes where
you've had to sit on a black box and pretend that you were a lemon or
an imaginary cup of coffee or whatever. There's always a part of that
program that requires you to strip yourself bare and be an idiot. And
if you're not prepared to do that, then you have no place being there.
E-mail the Continuum at RobAlls@aol.com
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