James Spader details Ultron, contrasts him to Red on ‘Blacklist’ and Joss Whedon
Avengers: Age Of Ultron star James Spader spoke exclusively with Total Film about playing the Marvel villain Ultron, a particularly interesting topic after the new Avengers trailer was revealed Thursday.
“There’s a humerous aspect to him, which is something that drew me in from the very first conversation I had with Joss [Whedon],” Spader revealed. “In many ways he’s a child, this character, because he’s a brand new being who’s just come to be. And yet, through artificial intelligence, he has an incredible capacity for knowledge. So he’s a very powerful, smart child.”
Contrasting his character on The Blacklist, Spader drew fundamental differences between the morally ambivalent Red and the Avengers bad guy. “Ultron takes abrupt turns in scenes.” He explained to TF. “Red isn’t pyschopathic but Ultron is. Yes, he is psychopathic. He’s really batshit crazy!”
On director Joss Whedon, the Stargate says “Besides being just a lovely person, his directions are very precise..”
The first trailer for Avengers: Age Of Ultron features the “deranged voiceover” from Spader which begins, “I’m going to show you something beautiful – everyone screaming for mercy…” before a sinister restyling of the Pinocchio tune “I’ve got no strings” kicks in.
Read the full interview with James Spader in the latest issue of Total Film, on sale TODAY
Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) with Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Andy Serkis, and Samuel L. Jackson and opens in theaters May 1, 2015.