INTERVIEW WITH CLIFF ROBERTSON:
Your character, Uncle Ben, was killed in the first “Spider-Man” movie...
He died but he comes back. He’s resurrected. And a wonderful thing happened, Sam Raimi said, “You don’t know it but you’re going to be in ‘Spider-Man 3.’” And I just finished another film, a Stephen King film called “Riding the Bullet.”
So you’ll be in "Spider-Man 3", too?
That’s what Sam Raimi told me when I finished the sequence in this one. So it’s always good to be invited to the party.
Did he give you any details?
No. When we finished this one he came up and locked my neck in his arms and he said, “Hey buddy, you don’t know it but you’re going to be in #3, too.”
What’s the set like when you're working with Sam Raimi?
He’s down to earth, high intelligence, but down to earth, and he conveys a great concern for not only the film but the people. And you feel like he is a kind of special uncle, and that’s the kind of uncle I’m supposed to be in the movie.
That’s a great feeling.
Yeah, I kind of get to be Sam Raimi. (Laughing) An older Sam Raimi.
How is Uncle Ben different the second time around?
He’s the seminal uncle so he can’t be different. He has to maintain his integrity. He remains loyal to his self, but he’s in #2 so something has to have happened. (Laughing) But I’m not going to tell you what.
What’s your character in “Riding the Bullet?”
He’s rather enigmatic, as you would imagine. He’s kind of hard to figure out, and I’m not sure I figured it out. He’s interesting.
So you already played him and you still haven’t figured him out?
(Laughing) I’m still working on it.
Were you a fan of Stephen King’s work?
Well, anybody who has read any of his books is. He’s a brilliant writer and I admire the life he lives. He has kind of eschewed and avoids the glitz. He retired up to Maine out in the country and I like that kind of isolation. I’m a writer, too, so I can appreciate it.
ADDITIONAL "SPIDER-MAN 2" RESOURCES:
Interviews from the "Spider-Man 2" World Premiere - JK Simmons / Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Sam Raimi / Producer Avi Arad / Writers Miles Millar & Al Gough / Musician Christopher Carrabba from Dashboard Confessional
"Spider-Man 2" Photos, Trailer, News and Credits
