Video:Michael Sheen Tron Legacy Interview
with Rebecca MurrayMichael Sheen has a great sense of humor which makes him one of the most enjoyable actors to interview. Catching up with him at the 2010 Comic Con in support of 'Tron: Legacy' proved that even early in the morning, his wit is razor sharp.See Transcript
Transcript:Michael Sheen Tron Legacy Interview
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con.
Michael Sheen - Tron: Legacy
Everybody loves Tron so how tough is it to live up to that original with this?Michael Sheen: "I didn't really feel any pressure about that. I just kind of really enjoyed the prospect of it. I'm still kind of riding the wave of euphoria about being in the sequel to Tron, because when I was 11 and I watched the first film, I just loved it. It blew me away and it kind of changed my 11 year old view of the world and what cinema could be, and just being carried away and transported into another world. And so I'm still kind of feeling that as being a part of it. If someone had come up to me at the end of the film when I saw it as a kid and said, '27 years from now you're going to be in this...,' I've still got that 11 year old boy inside going, 'Woohoohooo!'"
Tell me about life on the set of Tron because to me it seems like it's a world that would be so cool to get into.
Michael Sheen: "Yeah. Well I think especially for my stuff that I was doing, because I think for a lot of time the guys had to be on a soundstage with just one or two of them and green screen and wearing those weird little costumes with the white spots on them and all of that. And I got to come into this and it was about 10 times as big as this, Daft Punk up in the booth there playing music for me, hundreds and hundreds of people in here all looking amazing in these amazing costumes and amazing hairstyles and lots of makeup, and I got to kind of just sashay my way around in 6" heels, which I'm sure you know that feeling - and you know how good that is. A young girl from Wales, it's just great."
Tell me about your character in this because you're new to the series. We didn't see you in Tron.
Michael Sheen: "No. Although, weirdly, I am in the original Tron, I'm just slightly on the edge of frame in every shot. I think they're going to add that in CG. Like Back to the Future when he goes back and watches himself in the first film, I think we'll probably do that in the next one. And you'll see that Castor is just hiding around the corner going, 'Look at me in my heels.'"
It's like a Where's Waldo thing.
Michael Sheen: "Yeah, yeah exactly. But I play a character named Castor and he owns the nightclub here. It's at the top of a mile high tower in Tron City. He's the owner and the entertainment and he kind of has his finger in lots of pies. He kind of knows everything that's going on. He makes it his business to know what's going on in the Tron world, so people come to him to kind of get information when they're in trouble."
Is he a good guy or a bad guy?
Michael Sheen: "You know they're kind of relative terms, aren't they? Good, bad, evil, psychopathic... I don't know, it's hard to tell. I think he's a good guy but I'll leave that to you when you see it."
What are fans going to get out of this movie? There are so many big budget, big effects movies out there, what makes Tron stand apart?
Michael Sheen: "Well they're going to get a package with a lot of money in it when they come to cinema as well. That's not something that Disney's shouting out loud, but I can let you know that. You get a free foot rub as you're sitting in the cinema. It's now 4-D. It's 3-D on the screen and the added dimension of a foot rub in the cinema. So, that's great. Avatar didn't have that. And I think what they're going to get if they are fans of the first film, if they've seen the first film, then you're going to have everything that was great about the first film kind of times a million. I think a million. We did do a survey and it is exactly a million times better than the first film. But if you haven't seen the first film, you're just going to get the best of cutting edge technology. Everything that has been exciting about big scale cinema over the last few years, this is taking a step further again. You've got Jeff Bridges not once, not once ladies and gentleman, but twice. Two Jeff Bridges'. And one Michael Sheen, so you don't get much better than that. I'm like in a Jeff Bridges sandwich in my scenes, nestled between two chunks of Bridges bread."
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