In “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” Fraser plays a security guard for Warner Bros Studios. Charged with kicking a just-fired Daffy Duck off the lot, the duck leads Fraser on a wild goose chase before ultimately pairing up with Fraser in a race to find the mythical Blue Diamond before Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the diabolical head of the Acme Corporation, can get his hands on it and take over the world.
Catching up with Brendan Fraser at the World Premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures family comedy, “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” I had the opportunity to find out what’s so attractive about starring opposite cartoon legends Bug Bunny and Daffy Duck.
BRENDAN FRASER (‘DJ Drake’):
You’ve worked with CGI characters before. Do you enjoy that type of work?
I embrace it. I mean CGI and new technology for films has come so far in such a short amount of time that it’s almost doubled itself every two or three years – about every increment that I made a movie. The funny thing is that as sophisticated as the technology gets, the less sophisticated you have to become as an actor. All you have to do is just believe in what’s there, then the audience will, too. It’s asking actors to do what they’re supposed to do in the first place, which is just use their imagination.
You’ve got a lot of guts taking on these different legacies – “George of the Jungle,” “Dudley Do-Right” and now the Looney Tunes characters. Is this a trend for you where you really just want to take on things you have to live up to?
It’s a pleasure. They have been absolute staples for the last 60 years and they will be for the next [hundred] years. Because they are digital, they’ll be around for a long, long time to come. They are going to outlive the careers of their contemporaries. To be included alongside them – literally – on a screen is some kind of funny badge of honor.
Wrestler Bill Goldberg plays one of Steve Martin’s henchmen. What was it like to throw a punch at the famous wrestler?
When you throw punches at actors you stop, you pull it, and it looks like you pulled it. When you throw punches at cartoon characters, they are not there so you can swing through. It looks like you really decked them. When you throw a punch at Goldberg, it’s a brick wall. I tried to stop at first because I didn’t want to hurt him, and then I thought, “No, no, it’s the other way around. I don’t want to hurt myself.” He’s like, “Go ahead and hit me.” I’m like, “Come on!” So I did and there was noise like dropping an anvil on him and I went, “Ouch...”
Now that you’ve beaten up on The Rock and Goldberg in films. Does it feel good to have those bragging rights?
I’m just glad that I have bragging rights to working with Bugs and Daffy (laughing) and that I punched Goldberg and walked away (laughing).
Interview with Steve Martin / Interview with Bill Goldberg
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