With his commanding voice and awe-inspiring magnetic screen presence, the actor Benjamin Baron Davis He is known for portraying complex characters in film, television, performance capture, and theater. He’s probably best known from video games as Dutch van der Linde, the complex, compelling and charismatic gang leader in Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption saga. He also happens to be a long-time friend and collaborator of the filmmaker James Gunn appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Play as the unfortunate OrgoCorp security guard Bletelsnort. After his time in the Marvel Universe, Davis jumped to the DC Universe, playing crime boss Rupert Thorne in the latest episode biocommandoThe critically acclaimed adult animated series gave him the opportunity to work with Gunn, who is now co-head of DC Studios.
Before the film was released, beat It was a pleasure chatting with Davis via Zoom. During our conversation, Davis reflected not only on his friendship and professional relationship with Gunn, but also on his own personal fan base. Additionally, Davies has considered the possibility of reprising his role as Rupert Thorne in a live-action film.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Taimur Dar: I’ve made no secret of how much I love James Gunn’s work. I think he’s one of the best filmmakers.
Benjamin Baron Davis: There is no doubt about it. James is just a genius. You have an advantage over me because I haven’t seen my episodes yet, other than a few clips we’ve seen.
Taimur Dhar: Most people know that many of the actors in his projects are true friends of James Gunn. In fact, you are such an actor. I remember seeing you post a photo on Instagram of you going to New Orleans for dinner in 2009.
Benjamin Baron Davis: That was Pascal Manale in New Orleans. They got great shrimp.
Taimur Dar: I’d love to know how you and James Gunn first met and became friends?
Benjamin Baron Davis: When I moved to Los Angeles at the turn of the century, I joined a theater company then called Zootopia. At that time, there was an excellent actress in that company named Jenna Fisher. Jenna Fisher was married to James at the time. My first memory of meeting James was a show I did for Zoo Zone called ” Master and Margaret. We had a party and Jenna’s husband was there. Rumor has it he just sold the script to scooby doo. I think as a very self righteous serious actor this is the stupidest thing I have ever heard and I want to meet the guy who just sold him the script scooby doo. That was the first night I actually remember meeting James. I was lucky enough to be his friend and know all of his brothers. Sean [Gunn] My husband and I are also very good friends. If you don’t know this, the Gunn family is just a bunch of talented, beautiful assholes that I’m extremely jealous of. This is a blessing.
It’s a little surprising to be an artistic collaborator. It’s no surprise to see James’ success and his continued success. Believe me when I tell you, even though he has done more than many people will ever do in their lives, he is just warming up. At the time, he was still working on an independent film with Jenna at Troma called stupid love. Looking back from where we are now, it seems pretty amazing. But at the moment we’re just a bunch of fools trying our best.
Taimurdar: You play Rupert Thorne in the film biocommando. While Rupert Thorne may not be known to the public, he’s definitely a major figure in the Batman mythos. I grew up watching the Batman animated series in the ’90s, and he was voiced by –
Benjamin Baron Davis as John Vernon!
Taimur Dar: It seems you are indeed somewhat familiar. How much did you know about the character of Rupert Thorne before this project?
[Benjamin Byron Davis holds up copy of Detective Comics #469]
Benjamin Baron Davis: This is the first time it appears. Got this on eBay after I pre-ordered. This is issue 469, 1977 detective comics This is the first appearance of Rupert Thorne. Yeah, I kicked that guy’s tires. When they sent me the side dishes, I didn’t know at first that it was from James. I only know part of it. This character is called Thorne. I grew up in the 80s and I was more into Marvel. But I’m a huge comic book fan. In 1986 The Dark Knight Returns I was already a high school student when I came out. Funny thing is, on the other side of James announcing my participation at New York Comic Con, I called a childhood friend of mine Ben Levin Just saying, “I don’t actually work with Batman. But I play a character who has met Batman. [Laughs]. That feels cool. The ego is very happy about all this.
Taimur Dar: One of the many things I admire about James Gunn is his ability to find the humanity in the most horrific of characters. Even someone like Rupert Thorne, at some point in the series we find out that he has a wife and two kids. Was that background given to you and informing your performance?
Benjamin Baron Davis: I haven’t seen the episode yet, but the script, like all of James’s scripts, is beautifully written and very evocative. I did know the entire script, and I really enjoyed working on it the day we recorded the episode Allen [Tudyk]. I think Alan and I were in the same building, but we were in different rooms, connected through a Zoom call that James was also on. When your director is James and your scene partner is Alan Tudyk, it’s hard not to have a great day. All you have to do is make sure your jaw is off the floor and focused on the task at hand. The day I recorded it, we were on an actor’s strike, so we had to get it done. In fact, the same day I recorded Rupert, I went from there to Sony to do some ADR for him. Borderlands. As for the Hollywood days, it was a very nice thing to be bouncing around town working on two different projects. I will never stop being a fan and I will never stop pinching myself how lucky I am.
Taimur Dar: At a press conference with producer Dean Lorey. I asked him to what extent the character designs were based on the likeness of the actual actors. He admitted they didn’t really have the actors in mind for their designs, but there were enough similarities that it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for the actors to portray them in live-action. When you first saw Rupert Thorne in animation, could you immediately imagine yourself playing him in live action?
Benjamin Baron Davis: Look, I’m a fan like everyone else. I know James’ idea of having actors follow characters through different mediums. When I booked this role, I never thought this could be my destiny. But I will say that when I went to do the ADR and saw what he looked like, I was like, “Well, that definitely doesn’t look like me!” All in all, if James Gunn and Peter Safran When they want me for anything, they know how to find me and they find me a pleasure to do business with. Both of them. The first time I worked with Peter was at Bellko Experiment. Rupert Thorne in particular is a character in that regard, and if I ever get the chance to revisit and explore that character, that’s something I’d be happy to do. If I had more to do, I would consider myself lucky. should [James Gunn] If you want me to show up and play “Big Guy #2” in any context, I’ll show up too.
I’m a friend of his, but I’m also a fan. James always finds a way to find the humanity in stories that others would be horrified by or look away from. For those of us who feel isolated, weird, excluded, or outsiders in our own lives, having a storyteller like James put these stories into the world that are ultimately about finding family and surviving trauma And our wonderful life. Even when you look back on something don’t get oldwhich is the crudest and most terrifying. Yet somewhere he cares about the humanity of all creatures great and small. He’s a really good storyteller and a really nice guy.
Taimur Dar: Glad to hear you mentioned don’t get old Because I’ve definitely gone down the James Gunn rabbit hole exploring some of his early works, e.g. PG porn. Don’t you think you’ve seen that?
Benjamin Baron Davis: I’ve seen it all! I booked a little thing with peter [Safran] It wasn’t until years later that I learned that James was also a producer on the film. I booked it through an amazing director named Andrew Douglas. James began working with horror directors on comedies for Xbox. I think that speaks again to him and his Troma roots. No snobbery. If I remember correctly PG porn Because he had time and he didn’t want to just sit. So he did it. The same thing happened with the photos you found while we were having dinner in New Orleans. He’s working on a movie that I wish more people knew about Excellent. This is a wonderful movie. By the way, peacemaker Credit is a Excellent I mentioned it when we were doing it. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The idea of everyone being exhausted by the end of the opening credits is James’ humor, both lowbrow and highbrow. This is his jurisdiction.
Taimur Dar: Needless to say, the film’s soundtrack biocommando Absolutely top notch. I assume you don’t have a particular favorite song?
Benjamin Baron Davis: not yet. I was the kid who knew music primarily through the soundtrack. I would get acoustic albums, which would introduce me to all the bands I didn’t know. James didn’t set out to become a studio head. He aspires to be a rock star. That was his goal from the beginning. It’s amazing that his musical tastes were so established and cherished by so many. His brother Sean made some mixtapes for me that I still listen to today. biocommandoeven just the opening track puts a smile on my face. All this. That episode saw Sean playing a GI robot.
Taimur Dar: Episode 3 totally destroyed me!
Benjamin Baron Davis: It’s incredible how much humanity there is even in a character like this. The second episode makes me want to go back and watch it Elsa Lancaster like the bride of old [Bride of Frankenstein] movie so I might go back and watch it. But it’s true, I think about the cosmic monsters James brings Biocommando; Eric Frankenstein longs for this isolation that these monster stories tell. There is that famous scene in the original work Frankenstein In the movie, the little girl throws flowers into the water, and the monster sees you take some pretty little things and put them into the water. He picked up the girl and did the same thing. His intention wasn’t to drown a child, that’s just what ended up happening because the monster was an idiot. But he also has a soul. James and his ability to find soul in characters that others would be afraid of is definitely part of his work. It’s also a framework through which you can view the successful legacy of Universal’s monster movies.
Taimur Dar: I’m so excited to not only chat with you, but also to share our mutual admiration for James Gunn.
Benjamin Baron Davis: I’m so glad we were able to meet and talk to James. I’m a big fan of his. I’m a huge fan of all his material. I’m happy to be a part of it.
biocommando Now available to play on Max.
