A Wizard interjút készített Ty Burrell-el, aki Sámson Dokit játsza az új Hulkban. Nagyon érdekes riport.
UP CLOSE: TY BURRELL The actor portraying Doc Samson in this summer's 'The Incredible Hulk' talks about Edward Norton's script, making his own action figure and hulking out in NYC traffic
WIZARD: So do you have green hair in this movie?BURRELL: Actually, no. When we meet Samson, he still has his normal, boring hair.
So you don't get irradiated in this movie?Uh, no. [Hesitates] I don't want to give anything away.
So you do get microwaved! Your witness, counselor. How does he meet up with Bruce Banner?When we meet Samson in the film, he's with Betty, [and so] the relationship between Bruce and Samson already has these high stakes. I think all the parts in the film are written with a lot of complexity and psychological nuance. That love triangle also gets the same treatment. [Screenwriter/star] Ed Norton doesn't just paint over it with one color. It's really an interesting relationship that lays great groundwork for the future.
How would you describe Samson?He's very similar to the comics. Here's a guy who's perfectly smart and very well intended. But he has a blind spot because of that hubris. He feels like he can help everybody through [psychology]. He really believes he's the smartest person in the room, and feels he can use that to help people. Yet that's also his weakness.
Are there scenes of Banner on Samson's couch?So to speak, yeah. There are moments in the film where we're definitely feeling each other out. Their relationship is incredibly complicated. You see their potential for being friends and also why they could be adversaries.
You had also worked with Edward Norton in "Down in the Valley."Actually, the stronger connection comes from a play that we did in New York, "Burn This." The dynamics in [our characters'] relationship have a lot of similarities to "Hulk," where one is a good guy, very well meaning, but he can also be full of himself without knowing how destructive that can be. And once again, in the play, I didn't get the girl. [Laughs]
It sounds like a nice dry run.
Yeah, a dry run for the rest of my life!
How would you describe Norton's approach to the Hulk?As far as the script, he has really taken it on with his famous attention to detail and depth. He's giving this as much care as he's given any of his films. He's just completely dedicated to it. Edward has shown he can play very, very complicated characters, with the duality of our nature as a central theme. This really fits beautifully into that. He's written a very complicated script and he's playing it with that same nuanced conflict about a guy who's burdened, just like the comics. I think he also wrote a script that has a real sense for how exciting these movies can be. I think the action comes out of the script really naturally. It's really organic to the story.
With action sequences come computer effects—was there a lot of talking to a ping-pong ball?Oh, yeah. There's a sequence where I'm basically screaming from over 200 yards away at a guy wearing what looks like a crucifix made of tennis balls that is supposed to approximate the size of the Hulk. It's a big guy doing the actions of the Hulk, but I can barely see him. He's running around doing circus moves just to keep my attention. And I can hear [director] Louis Leterrier over the megaphone making the sounds and grunts.
[Laughs] It's a challenge. You just have to use your imagination, which is what we're doing all the time and why we got into acting in the first place.
What do you think will be the film's signature scene, the one everybody will be talking about?Well, there's more than one scene, but I think it's about the transformation from Edward to the Hulk. The technology has gotten to the point where they can actually use Edward's acting on the face of the Hulk. I just think it's changing the way the action feels now. The transformation still contains humanity, and it encapsulates the duality of the whole film, the intellectual side of the film and the fun, massive action part of the film. I think it's a thrill to see the way they're doing it.
Are you getting an action figure?There's something in my contract about an action figure, but I have no idea if that means there will be one. If not, I'll make one myself out of gum and bailing wire. [Laughs]
Does this film set up Samson to have a big role in a sequel?Yeah, it does. The stuff we can look forward to in the sequel is as complicated as the comics. Edward has really laid fertile soil for a friendship-slash-enemy situation.
You live in New York City. Ever "Hulk out" in traffic?I have hulked out once. My wife and I were in a crosswalk, and a guy backed his van and just missed my wife. I freaked out and slapped the side of his van. He got out of his truck, screaming. I have no skills for that. I'm not a native New Yorker. I'm like a super-neurotic, shy Northwestern type. And I just clammed up. I had nothing for him. I was stone faced and we just stared at each other. He screamed and then got back in his car. I've spent the last few years thinking of what I should've said, but that's the way it goes.
