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June 18, 2013: Chris Meloni on Playing Colonel Hardy in "Man of Steel"

Christopher Meloni spoke with Vulture.com about his role in "Man of Steel" playing Colonel Hardy, and the training he had to do for the film. Here's part of the interview...

Before it was announced which character you were playing, fans speculated that you might be Lex Luthor. Was there a part of you that wished you were?

Sure! Of course. You want to be recognized as a franchise name, but Colonel Nathan Hardy, I enjoyed his arc. I thought it was an important arc. And when they told me he was named after a Navy SEAL who had lost his life in combat, I was really honored and I felt kind of a sense of importance and duty or something to approach it respectfully. It really added a sense of gravitas to what I was doing, because I felt like I was carrying along a real person. And the Air Force gave me all the information, if my character was what he was, where he was, what his educational trajectory would have been, what he would have accomplished, so that helped. And I researched my guy, because they were using his name out of a sense of respect, to honor him in a small way.

You almost died in hand-to-hand combat with Faora, but Superman saved you ...

I had her. [Laughs.] He didn't need to swoop in. I had her right where I wanted her.

Faora says a good death is its own reward, and Hardy's last words indicate that he agrees. What about you?

You know, that's one saying I've chewed over in my head since I shot the film. Hmmm. I guess it is. I guess if you are a warrior, that's your credo, and a good life and a good death is its own reward.

Did you have to train a lot for those scenes?

We did some weapons training - shooting guns, making transitions from one weapon to another. I just had to make sure I didn't shoot my stunt guy that was sitting next to me - which I almost did. I pulled out the weapon one time, and it went off. It was loaded with blanks and exploded out, and it put a hole in the seat. They were cheap seats, come on! [Laughs.] And I didn't hit him. He's a stunt guy, stop crying! Come on!

Read the complete interview at Vulture.com.