Post by ~*lyssiesgirl*~ on Aug 9, 2005 15:33:35 GMT
Prepare To Meet Thy Doom
Julian McMahon is the metal faced menace
He's an unprincipled, unscrupulous cad in Nip/Tuck, and now as the megalomaniac Victor Von Doom, Julian McMahon really gets to cut loose. We spoke with the handsome villain of Fantastic Four and got an idea of how to find the 'heart' of a bad guy role, the importance of heavy boots, and the demands of an actor's life.
What's your take on Victor Von Doom?
At the beginning, I looked at him as a good businessman. We can all be pricks, but the guy's after what he wants, and he also runs a billion-dollar empire, and he expects and demands certain things. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. And I don't think that I've got to find something nice about the guy, because that's not what I was trying to do. It's just 'business is business', and he's doing what he needs to do to get it done.
With a name like Dr Doom, though he pretty much has to go into Supervillainy?
Yeah! Weren't the bells ringing a little earlier? "Dr Doom ? hello?!!"
You have to find humanity in that character, otherwise?
I guess it would be down to the actor that wants to play it, but personally, however villainous you?re going to be, whether it's a serial killer, or the devil, or whatever, I think you have to find moments where the audience is really going to connect with you, find some kind of feeling towards you ? whether that's "Oh, we understand now, because he had a horrible childhood", or "He's being mean because of this", but you also have to find moments where you ingratiate yourself in the audience's heart just a little bit, because that will help them take a fuller journey with you. It puts them in more of a dilemma, and that to me is what a movie experience should be about.
Doom in the comics has a tragic backstory, but at the same time he is very much cut from the megalomaniac, cackling, evil villain's cloth, but you've all chosen this very realistic approach to it.
Well, in the cartoons, and the comic book, you've got this cackling freak, and when you see Dr Doom he's leaning over machines, but that's not the Dr Doom we're putting on the screen, because we wanted we wanted a more realistic person to attach yourself to. I didn't want that over-the-top caricature. I wanted it to be based very much in reality, someone that you can see. This guy would be in the papers, that guy who's got a big personality, he's very wealthy, he's got a lot of power, and he likes the limelight ? and uses it.
So when he goes evil and metallic, that must make the headlines?
Ah, but at the same time, the Fantastic Four are becoming the Fantastic Four. So all of a sudden, all around the world you've got people who can fly, and stretch, and go invisible, and? become a big Thing. He's overshadowed by their fame, and their fame turns him in a way, into the villain that he becomes.
He wants the limelight?
I think so- you know, from his viewpoint he funded the whole trip to outer space, and spawned the whole idea, and blah blah blah. You know when you've had one of those weeks, where you got six calls, and they all sucked? This is one of those multiplied by a hundred. You just feel like everything's going against you, and you think "What is going on? Why am I such a loser this week?" Then you have a good week, but this is his bad week - in this very short period of time, he loses his fame and dignity, he loses his looks, he loses his girl, he loses his money? this is a bad week!
We've just caught him at a bad time?!
(Laughs) Yeah, you've caught him at a bad moment in time ? any other time you catch him, he's in a great mood!
Another thing that takes him over the edge is this Reed, Sue, Victor love triangle, where Victor's actually Sue's guy initially. How much of that is played out before the transformation?
Firstly I'd say that Sue is Victor's girl, because he's very much the guy who likes the girl on his arm ? he dictates that that kind of stuff. That's a part of the problem with their relationship ? he looks at her as a trophy, and something he can band around town so that he can look like the man that he wants to be.
How was the costume? We caught the weight of Doom's mask on set, and that thing was heavy. You've also got that cape, which looks amazing, but you must have been sweltering?
Oh it was. Plus I was under fifty pounds of prosthetics, so with that helmet and that cape, that was heavy ? but it makes you feel like you?re it. There's a certain strength that you have to carry yourself around with, that I felt like Victor would have. It feels like every step you take, the ground trembles just a little bit when you're wearing that much weight. It helps you get into it, big time.
You came onto Fantastic Four quite late.
Yeah, and the only reason was I was shooting Nip/Tuck at the time, and I just couldn't get out. So yeah, I got there at the last minute, which meant coming up with things very quickly. I would have loved more time, but you know, the opportunity arises and you have to take it. When you get that kind of situation, you think "God, how much do I have to correct?" But you just have to relax, and know that your instincts are gonna kick in, and your intuition's gonna kick in.
How is it having that last minute lifestyle? Do you feel that your life isn't your own sometimes?
Well it's not, you know? And the nature of the beast is that you have to be ready to go at any time, and that breeds an uncertainty in your life. It's hard, you have to find people who are willing to lead that kind of lifestyle - like nannies, for instance - willing to work from three o'clock in the afternoon to four o'clock in the morning, because that's what you need. It's difficult, it's weird ? there's no set regime, you know, there's nothing normal about it. Lunch doesn't ever take place at the same time, or this or that, and it's flying by the seat of your pants. But I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't want to, and if I didn't think there would be great benefits ? as long as you make sure to find the time to enjoy it all, it can be great!
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Source: empire online.co.uk
Julian McMahon is the metal faced menace
He's an unprincipled, unscrupulous cad in Nip/Tuck, and now as the megalomaniac Victor Von Doom, Julian McMahon really gets to cut loose. We spoke with the handsome villain of Fantastic Four and got an idea of how to find the 'heart' of a bad guy role, the importance of heavy boots, and the demands of an actor's life.
What's your take on Victor Von Doom?
At the beginning, I looked at him as a good businessman. We can all be pricks, but the guy's after what he wants, and he also runs a billion-dollar empire, and he expects and demands certain things. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. And I don't think that I've got to find something nice about the guy, because that's not what I was trying to do. It's just 'business is business', and he's doing what he needs to do to get it done.
With a name like Dr Doom, though he pretty much has to go into Supervillainy?
Yeah! Weren't the bells ringing a little earlier? "Dr Doom ? hello?!!"
You have to find humanity in that character, otherwise?
I guess it would be down to the actor that wants to play it, but personally, however villainous you?re going to be, whether it's a serial killer, or the devil, or whatever, I think you have to find moments where the audience is really going to connect with you, find some kind of feeling towards you ? whether that's "Oh, we understand now, because he had a horrible childhood", or "He's being mean because of this", but you also have to find moments where you ingratiate yourself in the audience's heart just a little bit, because that will help them take a fuller journey with you. It puts them in more of a dilemma, and that to me is what a movie experience should be about.
Doom in the comics has a tragic backstory, but at the same time he is very much cut from the megalomaniac, cackling, evil villain's cloth, but you've all chosen this very realistic approach to it.
Well, in the cartoons, and the comic book, you've got this cackling freak, and when you see Dr Doom he's leaning over machines, but that's not the Dr Doom we're putting on the screen, because we wanted we wanted a more realistic person to attach yourself to. I didn't want that over-the-top caricature. I wanted it to be based very much in reality, someone that you can see. This guy would be in the papers, that guy who's got a big personality, he's very wealthy, he's got a lot of power, and he likes the limelight ? and uses it.
So when he goes evil and metallic, that must make the headlines?
Ah, but at the same time, the Fantastic Four are becoming the Fantastic Four. So all of a sudden, all around the world you've got people who can fly, and stretch, and go invisible, and? become a big Thing. He's overshadowed by their fame, and their fame turns him in a way, into the villain that he becomes.
He wants the limelight?
I think so- you know, from his viewpoint he funded the whole trip to outer space, and spawned the whole idea, and blah blah blah. You know when you've had one of those weeks, where you got six calls, and they all sucked? This is one of those multiplied by a hundred. You just feel like everything's going against you, and you think "What is going on? Why am I such a loser this week?" Then you have a good week, but this is his bad week - in this very short period of time, he loses his fame and dignity, he loses his looks, he loses his girl, he loses his money? this is a bad week!
We've just caught him at a bad time?!
(Laughs) Yeah, you've caught him at a bad moment in time ? any other time you catch him, he's in a great mood!
Another thing that takes him over the edge is this Reed, Sue, Victor love triangle, where Victor's actually Sue's guy initially. How much of that is played out before the transformation?
Firstly I'd say that Sue is Victor's girl, because he's very much the guy who likes the girl on his arm ? he dictates that that kind of stuff. That's a part of the problem with their relationship ? he looks at her as a trophy, and something he can band around town so that he can look like the man that he wants to be.
How was the costume? We caught the weight of Doom's mask on set, and that thing was heavy. You've also got that cape, which looks amazing, but you must have been sweltering?
Oh it was. Plus I was under fifty pounds of prosthetics, so with that helmet and that cape, that was heavy ? but it makes you feel like you?re it. There's a certain strength that you have to carry yourself around with, that I felt like Victor would have. It feels like every step you take, the ground trembles just a little bit when you're wearing that much weight. It helps you get into it, big time.
You came onto Fantastic Four quite late.
Yeah, and the only reason was I was shooting Nip/Tuck at the time, and I just couldn't get out. So yeah, I got there at the last minute, which meant coming up with things very quickly. I would have loved more time, but you know, the opportunity arises and you have to take it. When you get that kind of situation, you think "God, how much do I have to correct?" But you just have to relax, and know that your instincts are gonna kick in, and your intuition's gonna kick in.
How is it having that last minute lifestyle? Do you feel that your life isn't your own sometimes?
Well it's not, you know? And the nature of the beast is that you have to be ready to go at any time, and that breeds an uncertainty in your life. It's hard, you have to find people who are willing to lead that kind of lifestyle - like nannies, for instance - willing to work from three o'clock in the afternoon to four o'clock in the morning, because that's what you need. It's difficult, it's weird ? there's no set regime, you know, there's nothing normal about it. Lunch doesn't ever take place at the same time, or this or that, and it's flying by the seat of your pants. But I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't want to, and if I didn't think there would be great benefits ? as long as you make sure to find the time to enjoy it all, it can be great!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: empire online.co.uk
