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2008 Movie News Archives

February 29, 2008: “New Frontier” Interview with Phil Morris

Interview with Phil Morris, voice of King Faraday in Justice League: The New Frontier.

Q: I have to ask, is it good to be the King?

A: It's great to be the King, for 75 minutes. King Faraday is such a unique character. He's one of the only human heroes in this that is completely human. He has no extraordinary abilities. He has the power of his altruism for America which is a very powerful tool for him. He has a sense of absolute righteousness that is incontrovertible for this character, and I think that makes him a very heroic individual.

Q: I like Faraday because you can't tell for sure if he's a good guy or not until the end.

A: I think it's genius to play it as ambiguous as they do and I think it plays on our political paranoia, especially in the time that Darwyn is dealing with, the 50s, McCarthyism, we had a healthy paranoia going on in this country and Faraday reflects a little bit of that. But he's right. There is an alien presence. It is from Mars. Is it here to assist us like Clark/Kal-El/Superman, who he's aware of, or is it a darker presence. And he doesn't know that, so it's up to him to discern it and to stop it if it is in fact dark and negative. So there's a lot on his shoulders. But he doesn't have a red cape, and he doesn't have billions of dollars in Gotham City. And he doesn't have a ring from the Guardians of Oa. He knows his life can be snuffed out by these super powered beings, yet he doesn't blink. That's strength.

Q: If you could have played one of the superheroes in New Frontier, obviously other than Faraday, who would you most want to play?

A: I would loved to have played Hal Jordan, or Batman/Bruce Wayne. I relate to Batman. I'm a kung fu instructor. I've been doing kung fu for 20 years, very few people know that. In training the martial arts, especially kung fu, which is a very ancient art, you learn to have a certain respect for violence, aggression, the dark side of life, the things that can hurt you, how to skirt them and keep yourself safe. I train to keep my family safe. I don't train for competition or movies. I train to know a certain incontrovertible truth. I think that would help me playing Batman, or Hal Jordan with his reverence for the Guardians. I just think both of those characters are so incredibly human with extraordinary abilities. Superman is a complete alien. He's human by adoption, but he is an alien presence, so to play him doesn't thrill me as much as it would to play Hal or Bruce.

Q: Was it interesting for you having to have conversations with "The Martian Manhunter" given your character on Smallville?

A: I thank you for that question. I love that question. I did this before I got John Jones from Smallville. I did this, recorded everything and finished all the scenes before I got cast on Smallville. So that's even more surreal. So I had scenes kind of opposite myself in a way prior to having played John. And it is such a phenomenal experience for a comic book fan, which I am ... deeply ... deeply. I have some of Darwyn's The Spirit with me waiting to be read. But playing John Jones opposite Tom Welling was every bit as fulfilling, if not more so in some ways than King. Because of my connection with Faraday and this project, playing John was even a greater honor. For a comic book fan, rank and file member, now I'm playing King Faraday, now I'm playing John Jones, then I'm gonna go to Legion of Superheroes and play a villain there ... I mean it's just a wonderful world to be a part of.

Q: What villain are you playing Legion of Superheroes?

A: I play Imperiex.

Q: Will you be returning to Smallville any time soon?

A: I hope so. That's more a question for Greg Noveck than for me. I don't think they'd set this guy up, and I think we played it well, for them not to return to him before the end of the season. What I hope they'll do is a show with me prior to the season finale and then hit me in the finale like they did last year. So that's what I'm hoping for because I'm just a guest character, not a regular. I'm at their behest.

Q: How do you feel about Martian Manhunter having been to Krypton on Smallville since that isn't part of the comics at all?

A: It's useful. I think for the purposes of Smallville it's incredibly useful. His Earth parents are gone. His father has passed and his mother has gone away. The other members around Clark in Smallville are all his peers. There is no mature presence, human or otherwise, to help him objectify what he's going through. As much as Justin Hartley as Oliver is good for him, or Supergirl is a good foil for him, or a relatable point, there's no one like John who's been here on Earth for a couple of generations prior dealing with the same identity issues as Kal-El/Clark, and being the last of his species to inhabit and adopt this world. So he can come at Clark in a way that no one else can come to him. He can bring refreshing and objective points of view that no one else can bring. I think Clark realizes that. He needs not to feel so alone. And I think that it enlivens his being to know that, yes, I am doing the right thing. I am in the right place. I have something extraordinary that I must tap into. I cannot be like these people because I am not like these people. And it's going to take somebody like John Jones to reveal that to him. Who else is going to come at him who he's going to believe like that? There's no one. Not even another Kryptonian.

2008 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2008 organized into various categories:

“Superman Returns” & Sequel/Reboot Movie News:

“Justice League of America” Movie News:

Christopher Reeve Movie News:

Direct-to-DVD Animated Movie News:

Other Movie News:

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2008 Movie News Archives

February 29, 2008: “New Frontier” Interview with Phil Morris

2008 Movie News

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