Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon sent the Irishman a copy of his hit documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which chronicles the lives of die-hard gamers who compete for world records, to get into character as obnoxious Bobby Pellitt.
Gordon admits he wanted the character to look like Donkey Kong champion Billy Mitchell.
He tells WENN, “I think not only the wardrobe, the posture and the confidence, and being stuck in the ’80s were influenced in some way by Billy. It was wonderful that Colin was open to the role and really breathed life into it.
“At the first meeting, we talked about giving him a belly and a clubbing enthusiasm – and Colin wanted a comb-over. As soon as we saw the first attempt at that I knew it was right. You should have seen all the takes that Colin did. It was like channelling a demon.”
