[IMG:L]A staple of the big action movie has a wisecracking funny guy delivering a few well-chosen one-liners alongside the tough, badass hero. Comic relief has come in many shapes and sizes, a long tradition that includes Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs to Joe Pesci in the Lethal Weapon films, Tom Arnold in True Lies, Steve Buscemi in Armageddon and Seann William Scott in The Rundown.
Now Anthony Anderson brings his goof-off game in the big budget world of Transformers. What would a giant robot film be without a frantic fat man blubbering in fear in a government interrogation room? Of course, Anderson is capable of his own transformations: his recurring TV character Antwon Mitchell is so menacing he even made The Shield‘s corrupt cop Vic Mackey sweat.
Hollywood.com: Was that interrogation scene really a chance for you to just go wild?
Anthony Anderson: It was fun, yeah, it was. There really wasn’t anything on the page. Michael [Bay] just came in and he’s like, “We have a plate of donuts. What can we do in this room?” And that’s how it was. He just gave me the freedom to play and that’s what we did.
HW: Isn’t that rare to be doing so much improvising on a big budget action movie?
AA: Well, I don’t know. When you have talent such as myself, who’s known for his comedic ability and his improv skills, I think any director worth his weight in salt would want to milk that as best he could. This is our first project together, Bay and myself, but we’ve known each other professionally for quite some time now. And that wasn’t the only time that he gave me the freedom to play and have fun, so I don’t know. I can only speak from my experience on this. I would think the director would want to capture something like that and use as much of it as he could if he could use anything.
HW: You and Michael both have very big personalities. How did you mesh or clash on the set?
AA: You know, it’s just wild. I mean, it’s no news that Michael’s a bit crazy on set but we’re all crazy to do what we do in this industry. He’s a bit of a tyrant but it’s worth it. You see it on the screen. It’s his process. It may not be the process that we as actors are used to or want on a set, but it’s his process to get you to where he needs you to be and to get the performance out of you that he needs. It definitely shows on the screen.
[IMG:R]HW: Did you ever play with Transformers toys?
AA: Of course, of course. Still do. I still have them at the house. I have kids now who play with them and so when I got the opportunity to be in this movie, I just had to do it. I was going to make it happen by any means necessary just because it’s sort of pop icon-ish. To be a part of that growing up thinking that you were Optimus Prime and battling Megatron for peace on earth, or whatever universe you lived in. Yeah, yeah, I did and I still do. I play with my son now.
HW: This is a movie about giant robots who turn into cars and planes, but it also makes heroes out of the military. Do you think there’s a deeper message going on?
AA: It’s a deeper subtext if you put it there and want it to be there, but in my opinion it’s just a summer popcorn film. You want to sit back and be entertained and I think that’s exactly what you get from this. You can read between the lines in anything and form your own conclusion about something, regardless of what it is. In my opinion it’s just great, fun entertainment for the family to go out and see this. It does draw parallels and things of that nature. But what happened to just going to the theater and sitting back and eating a hotdog and some popcorn and enjoying it, and just leaving reality for a while, regardless of what’s on the screen?
HW: Does doing The Shield make you want to show off your dramatic side more?
AA: It does. You know, it popped really early for me in my career in the comedic world and so that’s all I had the chance and opportunity to do. But Hustle & Flow and The Shield were the first two things that allowed me to stretch those dramatic muscles and show the viewing public something that they didn’t know I was capable of. And I’m doing it now with my television show K-Ville on Fox which is a one hour drama about two police officers living in post-Katrina New Orleans. We start production in New Orleans July 17th. It’s me and Cole Hauser. It definitely did whet my appetite to do more, but it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time now but just never really given the opportunity or the chance to portray those characters. And Peter Ligouri who was running F/X at the time, who’s actually the president of Fox now, gave me that opportunity with [The Shield] and has given it to me again with the new television show, K-Ville. So, yeah, it did.
HW: Since TV gave you such great opportunities, what do you prefer, film or television?
AA: You know, that’s like asking me which one of my children I love more.
HW: That was the next question.
AA: My daughter, she’s less of a headache. [Laughs] I love them both. I love being able to dance in both worlds on the film side and on television. Television is more instant gratification whereas with film you put it in the can and it’s nine months, 12 months down the line before it’s released and before the public can get a hold of it and see it and enjoy it.
HW: Are there any characters of yours you would like to revisit?
AA: It’s funny you bring that up. Antwon Mitchell from The Shield.
[IMG:L]HW: Well, they haven’t killed him yet and there’s 10 more episodes left. What would you like to see happen for Antwon?
AA: Wow, you know, redemption. The backstory of Antwon, he was falsely imprisoned for 15 years. I shouldn’t say falsely. They planted evidence on him. When you saw him in season four he was just getting out of the penitentiary. So it’s just redemption. I really would want Antwon Mitchell to be more of a part of the downfall and what’s to come in the season that they’re filming right now, which is the seventh and final season of The Shield.
HW: Do you think Vic will have his downfall or will it be like The Sopranos where nothing happens?
AA: I’m not privy to anything that’s been going on, but I think the house of cards will fall and everybody will go down from the strike team. They have to. They’ve been setting it up for that and you can’t run from that. I think for true redemption, Vic Mackey has to go down.
