Smallville: Conoce a Metallo
Por Natalie Abrams 1 Octubre, 2009 06:08 PM ET
Brian Austin Green es realmente una máquina de maldad en Smallville (Oct. 2 8/7c, CW).
En el episodio del Viernes, el pobre John Corbin (Green) es arrollado por un autobús. Y eso da lugar a la creación de Metallo, el icónico súper villano de DC quien se la tiene jurada al Borrón, aka Clark Kent (Tom Welling). Metrópolis y sus habitantes, especialmente Lois Lane (Erica Durance), no están seguros con él en las calles.
Green habló gentilmente con nosotros sobre todo lo de Metallo, incluído quién lo creó, por qué odia al Borrón y si regresará de nuevo en esta temporada.
TVGuide.com: Háblanos sobre el gran cambio de John Corbin a Metallo.
Green: Es uno muy desagradable. No es nada que él haya pedido. Como verás, el tipo se baja de la acera y se despierta siendo quien es. Hay una parte de él que lo disfruta y se da cuenta de que puede usar lo mejor de sus habilidades y utilizarlas para lograr lo que quiere, pero al mismo tiempo, no es lo más feliz del mundo el estar funcionando con kriptonita y ser un robot. No es lo que ha pedido, y creo que hay mucha ira que viene de eso.
TVGuide.com: ¿Cuál es la participación de Zod en la tranformación de Corbin en Metallo?
Green: Por ahora, no tengo ni idea. No sé quién es responsable de ello completamente. Hay un poco de insinuación de que él puede estar involucrado, pero no lo sé seguro.
TVGuide.com: ¿Por qué fue creado Metallo?
Green: Creo que fue creado porque había ese desprecio inicial por el Borrón con el que empezar y que alguien conocía. Al mismo tiempo, estaba esa tecnología que estaban intentando de comprender y de darle sentido, así es que parecía la oportunidad perfecta. Es el perfecto conejillo de indias para ese tipo de experimento, con su odio hacia el Borrón y su pasada experiencia con él.
TVGuide.com: ¿Por qué va tras el Borrón?
Green: Por su hermana, por la pérdida de su hermana. Está llevado por esa ira de '¿Quién te crees que eres? ¿Quién te da el derecho de controlar la vida de las personas y de cambiar su destino?'. Para él, este es el hombre que lleva el peso del mundo sobre sus hombros, pero no cree que tenga el derecho a ello, y no está realmente entrenado para el trabajo. Es por culpa de él, al menos para John, por lo que su hermana se ha marchado. Su hermana era su mundo.
TVGuide.com: Hay un flirteo entre John y Lois. ¿Te vas a interponer entre Lois y Clark?
Green: No creo que haya nada que se pueda interponerse entre Lois y Clark jamás.
TVGuide.com: ¿Te han apuntado los productores la posibilidad de que Metallo regrese más adelante esta temporada?
Green: No. Me figuro que están esperando hasta que el próximo episodio salga al aire para ver si a la gente finalmente le gusta el personaje o no. Le estaban dando vueltas a algunas ideas cuando estuve grabando, pero está completamente en el aire en este momento. Quién sabe, puede ser.
TVGuide.com: ¿Te gustaría volver?
Green: Completamente, me encantaría. Pasé un tiempo fantástico trabajando en la serie e interpretando al personaje. Lo único que al final era realmente como un grano en el culo eran las prótesis. Lleva cuatro horas de maquillaje todos los días y una hora el quitarlas. Pero al final realmente mereció la pena.
Brian Austin Green: From Terminator to Smallville
IGN talks to the actor about playing Superman villain Metallo and whether The Sarah Connor Chronicles could return.
by Eric Goldman
October 1, 2009 - In the past two years, Brian Austin Green had managed to completely overhaul his image, thanks to his terrific work as Derek Reese on the late, great Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Green is currently in the middle of a two-episode stint on Smallville, playing reporter John Corben – who will make his transformation into the classic Superman villain Metallo in Friday night's new episode.
I spoke to Green to find out what it was like playing a supervillain, and what the future could be for Metallo. We also spoke about Sarah Connor, and whether the show could possibly return again, in one form or another.
IGN TV: I'd imagine it has to be exciting to play a supervillain.
Brian Austin Green: It's pretty bad ass. It's the only reason I even thought about doing it. To me, the fact that my seven-year-old son knew the character and was excited about the possibility of me doing it, I thought, "Yeah, this is why you do something like this." You have the opportunity to bring to life a comic book character that people have only read and made their own choices and judgments on. I get to sort of create somebody that hasn't existed physically before, so it's fun. It's a little nerve-wracking, because you kind of have that feeling at the end of, "I hope it worked…" It's similar to how I felt on Sarah Connor. It's like, "Alright, this is this new brother to Kyle Reese, who everybody loves. I hope it works! People are either going to like it or they're going to hate me and it'll be death threats. It'll be one or the other." Because I know people take it very seriously. I'm hoping that Friday night people aren't disappointed and that the Metallo that they have even a glimpse of, or partially in their mind, they see enough of him on the screen that they're happy with it.
IGN: You mentioned your son knew who Metallo was. Were you pretty familiar with him beforehand?
Green: Not really. I loved the Superman movies, but I didn't read the Superman comics that much. But I had heard of the character. When I heard Metallo, I was like, "Oh yeah, that's the kind of cyborg guy." Which I giggled to myself about, just coming off of the show I was working on. I was like, "Of course, yeah. The cyborg! That's perfect. That worked out well." And then I brought it up to my son and was like, "Hey, Kass, do you remember Metallo?" And he was like, "Yeah, he's got a Kryptonite heart! He's the only one who can really fight Superman very well, because Superman can't handle being around him." I told him, "I might end up playing this guy on this show Smallville - the Superman show. Should I do it?" He was like, "Yeah, you should do it!" He was really excited about it. [Laughs]
Sarah Connor I loved doing, but it's not something he could necessarily watch. And you know what, honestly, after finishing Smallville, I don't know if it's something he could watch either at seven. But I'll give it a shot and maybe because it's me, it won't be terrifying for him. I showed him pictures already. But to me, that's really exciting, as a parent, to be able to do something that your kid looks at. How many chances do I get to be a hero for my kid? The older he gets, the more he's going to hate me and want to separate himself from me and think I'm ridiculous, and then hopefully come back around. But these are those cool things… I'd feel the same way about doing a voice in a Pixar film or something like that. That sense of, "My son gets to watch this and really enjoy it! And he can tell all his friends, 'That's my dad!'" There's something really cool about that.
IGN: We met John last week in the season premiere. How would you describe him? Obviously, he has some major sore spots…
Green: [Laughs] Yeah, he's pissed! He doesn't like The Blur so much, which involves the loss of his sister. I just think he's one of those guys that feels like, "You know what, things are supposed to happen for a reason and when you step in and you change that in any way, you're going against what is natural and what is right. This man that you saved ended up being the one that killed my sister, so you are one of these people that is just completely offsetting the balance of what is right and what is wrong and what's supposed to happen and what's not." I think the blessing that he finds in being rebuilt is that he realizes he can physically, on his own, right a wrong, in his own mind. He has the chance of defeating somebody that was undefeatable and invincible in his own mind. It's that ultimate payback for him. It's that ultimate, "I can really do this for my sister, who I know is watching and who I know loved me and who I miss horribly. I can somehow make this right." I think he almost becomes poisoned by it.
That was kind of a big thing for me in playing him was that this guy, in being rebuilt… It's one thing to be rebuilt, but still be human - to have machine parts. It's another for the core of you to be rebuilt. His heart is removed and it's replaced by kryptonite and fluid. So he no longer bleeds blood. He no longer pumps blood. There is nothing really left of him that is human and it almost poisons the person that was there to begin with. Over time, there's less and less of John Corben and there's more and more of this kind of killing machine. He becomes more and more like a shark in the way that he thinks. It's very Terminator-ish. It's very mission-oriented. It's very, "Get out of my way. I need to do what it is I want to do and I don't care what you say. Nobody can stop me." He's vicious. And I think if they continue on with the character, he'll become colder and colder and they'll be less and less of the person that we initially met.
IGN: What was it like having all the makeup and prosthetics on?
Green: It was a lot of work. It was four hours every morning and an hour to an hour and a half for removal. It was a lot of work, but they did just a fantastic design job and a great job building it. It was really tough to do, to build a prosthetic that had solid parts in it. It was fantastic and helped beyond words playing the part. Having the limited mobility of it and having to change the way that I walk and do normal things that I would do, it's really helpful in a situation like that. Invaluable.
IGN: You mentioned where they could go with him moving forward. Have you talked to the producers about the possibility of returning?
Green: They talked to me about the possibility of him coming back. I think the reality is that what we see this Friday is really a prototype. It's kind of the first stab at rebuilding this guy. Ultimately, he's a machine and he can be rebuilt again and made better and they can fix problems and streamline joints and movement and give him more abilities. There's obviously an opening for making Metallo the Metallo from the comics and really making him a machine. But hopefully that will be a slow development, and hopefully it will happen. If they called me, I'd definitely go back.
IGN: When we spoke early on in your run on Sarah Connor, you were very candid about fan trepidation about you joining that series, but you ended up getting a great reaction on that show. Do you think that's helped change perceptions of you and put you on the radar for a role like Metallo?
Green: The response so far has been really nice, in the fact that people have seemed to be genuinely excited to see what I do. It doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking for me, because I know I'm still one mistake away from being the a**hole from 90210 again. It's definitely a tightrope. I very much appreciate the fans of this genre, because they're incredibly giving and supportive and loving. As it was on Sarah Connor, it's important to enjoy what I'm doing as an actor and have fun with the character. But at the same time, be aware that these are characters that I'm choosing to play that already have fans. I'm not creating something new, so within that, I don't want to step out of the box of what people have grown to love about these specific characters.
I knew signing on to play Metallo that there are a bunch of people that really love Metallo in the comics. He was an important character to a lot of people, so I don't want to f*** with that. I don't want to be the guy that makes a mockery of what they grew up watching or reading. I want to be the person that they watch the episode and they go, "Yeah, damn, that's what I read. That's awesome. I'm so glad that he did that. That was how I felt when I read this issue." I want to kind of hold on to that childhood love for people that grew up with the character. So there's stress, but it's okay. I love the audience and I think, hopefully, we'll be doing this for a long time. Hopefully the audience will continue to have faith in me and I'll continue to deliver things that make them happy. And if not, then I'll do commercials… [Laughs] Or I'll sell cars! I don't care.
IGN: Now I have to tell you, I'm personally still in mourning over The Sarah Connor Chronicles…
Green: Yeah, so am I!
IGN: There's obviously a lot of people still hoping it can somehow return…
Green: I talk to [Sarah Connor Executive Producer] James Middleton all the time and I really hope that it returns. And I know that a lot of people from Warner Bros., all the way through, really wish and hope for the same thing. And the end of the day, we have some of the greatest fans ever. I so appreciate the people that are fighting as hard as they are to bring the show back. And of course, I would love for it to happen. Ultimately, if it doesn't, I'm also really proud of the fact that we have two amazing seasons of television on DVD and Blu-ray, that people can watch from start to finish. I'm proud of every episode. I can watch the whole thing and say, "Yeah, I was a part of something that was really big and really much bigger than television is used to." Maybe it just wasn't the right time… But everyone did their work and it paid off. It's because of the fans that it went two seasons, it really is. So it was a joint effort and it was kind of one of those sort of fun, global crossovers between us making the show and the fans watching the show. There was this really large group of people that made it happen and we made two amazing seasons so far. Let's hope for the best and keep our fingers crossed for more… And if not, we can still be happy with what we have.
IGN: Thomas [Dekker] mentioned in an interview the possibility of a straight-to-DVD Sarah Connor Chronicles movie. Has James talked about those possibilities with you?
Green: Yeah, I've heard that possibility. If anyone can make it happen, James Middleton can do it. He loves the show. Our cast, we miss doing the show. I know everybody would be back in a heartbeat to do it. So I'm sure right now, it's just sort of a number crunch. It's just sitting with the right guys and making sense of it, where they can afford to do it and do it right. That's the tough thing. I'm sure we could go anywhere and get a straight-to-DVD deal, but if we don't have the right amount of money, we can't make it the right way. And I don't want to make a straight-to-DVD just to say we did it and have it not be what we were making. So it's going to take a little work, but I think there's a really good possibility of it happening. The fact that people are still buying the DVDs and there's the demand for it… I know there's a billboard that's driving around Burbank saying, "Save the show. Bring it back." That's amazing. Those little things, they're all little things, but they become something bigger. And I think if enough people just kind of keep putting that energy out there, something will happen. I think we have a really good chance.
[Editor's Note: Spoilers for the final two episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles follow]
IGN: Storywise, I assume it must have been exciting for you on those last two episodes. First, you had what I think was one of the most shocking deaths in TV history, followed by such a cool way to bring him back, that didn't feel like a cheat.
Green: Yeah, they actually came and told me about it before we shot it, when they first came up with the idea. John Wirth and Josh Friedman pulled me aside and they're like, "Hey, we need to talk to you." They kind of ran down the story for me and I thought it was great. I thought it was a really brilliant television way of handling it. And it was very realistic. It was shocking, because it was another of those highlights on the fact that this show is… We are dealing with the very real factors of what this is and it's not just science fiction where we can all outrun bullets and every time we shoot a gun, we hit exactly what we're aiming for. This is real and it doesn't always work out that way.
I think the death was really cool and I loved being in those tunnels [in the finale] and shooting that last bit. I thought we really set ourselves up for something unique and incredible, if we get the chance to come back and finish it. And hopefully we will. Hopefully, we'll pick up in those tunnels and we will have Derek and Kyle and Allison and John [Connor] and John Henry running around. I think it can end up being a really amazing finish to it all.
IGN: It must have been interesting for you to see the reactions people had for that one week before the finale aired. Everyone I knew who watched the show, myself included, were so bummed that he was dead.
Green: I knew they would be, but I knew it would go from one week to the next. So ultimately, I was waiting for the finale. Everything was just leading up to that. So it was like, "Hey, feel whatever emotion you want to. I know by the finale it will be worth it for everyone." And it was. People loved it.
IGN: Lastly, I have to commend you on your performance as Bumblebee on Saturday Night Live this past week – which I realize ties into the whole robot/cyborg thing you've been doing.
Green: [Laughs] I appreciate it. That's awesome.