Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Clancy Brown Talks Lex Luthor, Dream Projects and Mr. Krabs Starring in Female Perversion

Heather Buckley is and will always be our go to girl for killer interviews. While some folks are strapped with boring questions they need to ask as a mandate from the higher ups at their magazine, Heather has the trust of those who pass her assignments and love her at the same time, and so is free to mine an often wildly varied past to elicit reactions in a celebrity no one else will. it was with this knowledge we sent Heather off to interview Clancy Brown..The Kurgan..Mr. Krabs..and the quintessential voice of Lex Luthor) for the upcoming LEGO Batman: The Movie.

When asked what Brown brings to Lego Lex he replied: “I try to bring some humor, I try to bring some terror, I try to bring whatever they want me to bring.” But he credits the writers for putting it all there for him; as an actor he “reads what’s on the page.”


Brown also noted this time around the story is completely unique and not based on the game's current narrative, which is what drew him to the project initially. “…That’s what I signed on for, to make a movie. So they were able to…it’s a subtle thing, but if you play their games and see the movie, the Star Wars game is different, because the Star Wars Universe is the Star Wars Universe, and you don’t mess with it, you can make jokes about it, but you don’t…right?” Since the writers were not beholden to such scripture, it broadened the story they could tell. "…Batman is a lot more fungible. You can create different stuff from that."

The conversation then tuned to DUNE, which remain his favorite novels to date. When asked when we’ll see him on Arrakis, Brown replied, “Well, they keep making the movies, and they keep not casting me, like ‘Ender’s Game’, you know, I couldn’t squeeze into that one somehow, and I knew those guys, but I couldn’t squeeze into that one. I love ‘Ender’s Game’. If they ever make a movie of ‘Demon and Freedom’ that would be cool. Yeah, I’m totally down for all of that stuff. I love that stuff.”

But what about his range? And wasn't he in that 90's indie drama staring Tilda Swinton appearing... au naturel?


HB: So you’ve had a very varied career, you’ve played a crab, you’ve been in great films like ‘Female Perversion,' you played the Kurgan…

CB: [laughing] Ahh, look at you, shouting out ‘Female Perversion’!

HB: I think you’re great in it. What roles do you like to play, because you’re incredibly varied. I remember when you were first cast as Mr. Krabs, like, ‘He’s playing a crab.’

CB: [still laughing] ‘Female Perversions.’ Yeah, could you imagine Mr. Krabs in that movie?

HB: Yes.

CB: Really?

HB: Sure.

CB: You’re a dirty girl.

HB: In our slash fiction of it, yes.

CB: I…I…uh, what was the question? Is it hot in here all of a sudden?

Of course, Brown does have incredible range, but how does he choose his roles? “…I don’t like doing stuff I’ve done before, although, I will do that, I love playing Lex, but Lex every time, they sort of re-invent him, so it’s always fun to sort of reinvent with him. I kind of like all of it. I did a movie with Jason Statham this fall, that was fun, I’m playing a Southern Sheriff, I’ve never played a Southern Sheriff before. I just like new stuff, new fun stuff to do.”



I then asked with his Shakespearean background and interests would we see him on stage like his peer Kevin Spacey as Richard III. “I did a show a few years ago, but the hours were screwy and they really messed with my family life, so I think I’ll wait until my son is a little bit older before I go back to the stage.” Brown mentioned, as a kid he saw Welles in Macbeth and it truly transformed and scared him; set him on the rode to love Shakespeare ever since. He then remarked, his daughter just won an award in school for a monologue she did of one of the Bard's pieces. “She was, they do a speech, it’s a competition…But she’s done some Shakespeare herself. Maybe that apple’s not falling far from the tree. She’s probably a lot better than I am.”
au naturel?

LEGO Batman: The Movie hits May 21, 2013.


Heather Buckley is a regular contributor at Idle Hands, Dread Central, Fangoria and several other outlets.
Interview pics by Chandross.com 

For a peek at the after screening Q and A: http://www.paleycenter.org/2013-spring-lego-batman-the-movie

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