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June 1, 2006: “Superman Returns” Bad Guy Rob Flanagan

I met up with English-born Australian actor Rob Flanagan on Wednesday to chat about his role in "Superman Returns".

Please note: If you're trying to stay spoiler free, you might prefer not to read this report, as I discuss certain scenes in "Superman Returns".

"Superman Returns" is the first big-budget Hollywood film for the 41 year old actor, who has made numerous appearances on various Australian TV shows such as Water Rats, Stingers and Home and Away.

Superman fans will recognize Rob as the man behind the gattling gun and the man who shoots Superman in the eye from the "Superman Returns" trailers and TV spots.

During our discussion, Rob revealed that he'd actually auditioned for the role of Riley, one of Lex Luthor's henchman. And though he was one of the final two actors being considered for the part, ex-Rugby League star and NIDA trained actor Ian Roberts eventually landed the role.

Standing well over 6 feet tall, Rob trains regularly at the gym located at Fox Studios in Sydney, which is where he first met Bryan Singer and crew a day before his above-mentioned audition. While he didn't land the role of Riley, Rob heard that Bryan Singer had remembered his audition and kept him in mind for a scene involving a bank robbery. After the filming hiatus in September, Rob finally got the call from his agent telling him he'd been cast in the role of "Bank Robber/Gattling Gunman".

It wasn't until Rob arrived on set that he realized the magnitude of the role he had to play. Rob never saw a script, he was simply taken to a monitor by Bryan Singer, and shown the mapped out pre-vis footage for the sequence.

Between filming the sequence both in the studio and then on location in Newcastle (2 hours drive north of Sydney), Rob's time on "Superman Returns" totalled roughly 3 weeks, for what he describes as being around a 10 minute sequence.

An action-packed sequence, Rob did do most of his own stunts, with 2nd Unit Director Brian Smrz (well known Stuntman, Stunt Director, Second Unit Director who has worked on films such as Signs, Minority Report, Unbreakable, and Mission Impossible II), guiding him through the process to ensure the best possible outcome.

The costume for Rob's part originally had him wearing kevlar protective gear, including a helmet and headwear, but Bryan Singer, concerned that the wardrobe made him look more like a terrorist than a bank robber, did away with the coverings, much to Rob's delight. Rob also revealed that the gattling gun was pretty much the real thing, moving, shaking, expelling shells... the only thing it didn't do was fire bullets.