Daniel Robert Epstein talked to Hellboy star Ron Perlman and got a few tidbits:
Daniel Robert Epstein: Besides Hellboy what has been necessary for your work in terms of reading comics?
Ron Perlman: Well, Frank Darabont is a really close friend of Guillermo’s and they share a boyish passion for comic books. The first time I ever met Frank was in a comic book store here on Melrose in Los Angeles. In aisle three we had a long, wonderful meeting and he told me I had to read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and everything that Alan Moore wrote. Then Watchmen came up because [Hellboy producers] Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin have the rights to make the film version of that. They were pushing for me to play the Comedian.
Perlman is also into a graphic novel about Charles Fort by Peter Lenkov and Frazer Irving:
Ron Perlman: I got into Frank Miller’s stuff because I’ve become pals with Mike Richardson who is the publisher at Dark Horse. Mike and I are actually talking about taking on the character of Charles Fort, which Dark Horse published a graphic novel about [Fort: Prophet of the Unexplained] and is a real character out of history. He’s another investigator of all things mysterious, unnatural, unexplainable, turn of the 20th century guy. So I’m steeping myself in that.
Yep. I read that bit about Ron Perlman and the Comedian yesterday. I can “hear” Perlman in the role in my head, but I’m not sure I can visualize it. Before he’s scarred, Edward Blake is supposed to have the kind of leading man good looks that doesn’t make me think of Ron Perlman.
If you check out the last disc in the Ulimate Superman Collection entitled Bryan Singer’s Blogs – there’s a hilarious joke that Singer plays on the cast by pretending to be fired on Superman Returns and have already been replaced by Darabont. Hijinks ensue.
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Coat