Mark Strong talks ‘Shazam’ and playing Doctor Sivana, a ‘proper old school villain’
Collider has a great interview with the villain in Shazam!, done back while the project was filming in Toronto,
The outlet talked with Mark Strong about playing the supervillain Doctor Sivana opposite Zachary Levi’s titular character. He explained that: “I think because he is a proper, in the New 52 incarnation that Geoff’s [Johns] done, he is a proper supervillain. He gets to fly, he can create electric fields in his hands and fire electricity. I love the whole notion that in his eye he has seven sins that manifest themselves at various points whenever they or he wants them to. So, it’s a good, proper supervillain.”
Strong played the villain Sinestro in Green Lantern, who is much more iconic that Sivana. Strong says he gets to make the character his own.
“I feel like because we’ve gone through a whole process of many superheroes now, we’re looking for the slightly more obscure ones or we’re discovering the slightly more obscure ones. I was really surprised to find out that in 1940 when the original comic came out Sivana was in the second edition. So, he is a proper old school villain and as nobody has done it before, I’m really excited at the idea that I get to invent my version of him.”
Check out the full interview here.
Shazam! tells the story of a 14-year-old boy named Billy who, when he shouts the word “SHAZAM!”, can turn into an adult superhero. Asher Angel plays the boy, while Chuck star Zachary Levi plays the adult Shazam. It breakout Jack Dylan Grazer plays Billy’s best friend Freddy Freeman.
Shazam! also stars Djimon Hounsou, Grace Fulton, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Cooper Andrews, and Marta Milans.
Shazam! opens in theaters on April 5th.
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