The Watchmen trailer is pretty incredible.
"I saw it a few days ago. I was like, 'Oh my God!'"
Were you watching dailies as filming went along?
"No! I never watch. I think maybe [Zack Snyder] would have done it but, no, I certainly didn't ask. I've seen during re-recording, sound-wise - I've probably got more to do - so with the two bits that I've done so far has been like when the scientists are poisoned and that's when I have my CGI Bubastis and that's basically all I've seen. And it's f--king exciting."
" And that choice of music [in the trailer]…. Zack, just the way he's set the world of Watchmen up with the opening credits, he's got all this sh-t that he's come up with in his own head. The man is a genius. My opening shot in the opening credits I think is going to be me walking into Studio 54. I walk in the streets and I'm like you've got Jagger and Bowie and suddenly no one is looking at Jagger and Bowie. I walk in like, 'All right boys.'"
And that's just the opening shots?
"Yeah, it's like five minutes of explaining the world of Watchmen so people will get why Nixon is there. He is f--king out there. People forget, you know, and I think I read something - I certainly talked to Zack - he's hoping people cut him a little bit of slack because the other directors were going to make an adaptation of the novel. This is by far the most faithful version. You know, he fought to get them to...all he's ever been about is serving the integrity of the novel because he's a fan himself and he's known the book for so long. He was scared when he heard someone else was going to do it and knew the version they were going to do because he just didn't want to see that. He fought to get the job and I swear it got the director it deserved."
Looking at just the panels in the graphic novel compared to what's in that trailer, those sets are perfect.
"Well, yeah, I mean that's, again, the integrity of like keeping the color palette there. Actually, when you look at pictures in the novels as well it's like, 'Oh my God!' I mean I think I'm the one who doesn't look particularly like my character. I think people will think I'm quite young for him, really. Veidt is meant to be in his 40s and he's meant to be a physical specimen. It kind of makes sense."
Did you buff up?
"I did but I'm back to my skinny self again now. I put on a bit of weight, but obviously you have the costumes. But Patrick Wilson looks very similar and Malin [Akerman], with the wig on, looks hot - she's very, very similar as well. They all do. Billy [Crudup] is dead on. Jeffrey [Dean Morgan] is f--king spot on. He is f--king awesome. They're all brilliant. Again, upholding the integrity of the novel didn't mean casting, luckily for us, these huge stars because it would have been so expensive."
And it wouldn't have been the right way to go.
"It just wouldn't have been right. Maybe as Ozymandias, maybe as my character you could have done it. I don't know. He's the one person you could maybe have cast a big name because he's meant to be world-famous and stuff, but it would have taken everybody out of the novel."
Exactly. So how did it feel to put on the costume?
"I'm standing there, slightly more bulked up than normal but still standing there, just standing there in a onesie, covered in talcum powder with plastic bags on my hands. My suit was the tightest. It took half an hour to get on. And it's roasting hot."
Were you stuck in it, once you had it on?
"They had these electric drills they converted into like cold air blowers. We had like those on the set. You get hot and it's like rubber. It takes a lot of getting used to. But the first couple of days you're like, 'Oww, I hurt!'"
Did you take it home with you?
[Laughing] "No. No, I didn't. They're so expensive..."
Did you keep any souvenirs from the set?
"No, in case they needed re-shoots. You can't take anything."
But there weren't any reshoots?
"There were not. But you know we signed a contract in case they do another one, which God knows we all hope they don't because what's the source material?"
I would trust Zack Snyder to come up with something.
"I would trust him to do it too. I would only do it if he did it. I don't know how I'd get out of the contract, but I'd only do it if he did it. How could you…? I find it weird that, I think that Guillermo [del Toro] is a brilliant director but how do you step into Peter Jackson's shoes for The Hobbit? He's producing it and he's still involved. You have to have the f--king right director."
Are you ready for the Watchmen fans? [The interview took place the night before the Watchmen presentation at Comic Con]
"No. I'm a little bit worried because they know it so well and you know I might not explain the backstory.
Your reaction to that the idea of why I did that is a really cool reaction to me."
It helps me understand his motivations. I think they'll get it. Just don't talk about it too much...
[Laughing] "Yeah. I'll toss it out there pretty early on and then I'm not going to explain it again."
How much are you actually allowed to say about the film? Are they letting you say pretty much anything you'd like?
"I think we're going to get a briefing. Things like the ending and stuff you can't really be talking about, but I think it's an ending that everyone will be happy with."
It differs from the novel?
"Uhhhh, does it? Well, it does and it doesn't, you know? It's like certainly there's the whole hoo-ha about, you know, 'Veidt gets killed in the end, you know it's going to be a complete f--king travesty, blah-blah, a Hollywood ending...' All I'll say is that it's not necessarily going to be that, but it's an ending that everyone will be happy with. It's an ending that upholds the integrity of the novel."
