People have been really moved.
I didnt see that coming.
Especially in a world where the antagonists are a white supremacist organization.
Credit: Mark Hill/HBO
Its really powerful imagery were putting forth and Im proud to be part of that imagery of representation.
I went into it knowing I was playing Cal.
I think his words were, Cal is Dr. Manhattan.
Mark Hill/HBO
We had a long conversation about what that meant.
I remember being on the couch and keeping it cool.
He was very relaxed and matter of fact and thats how I was receiving the information on the outside.
But on the inside I was tearing up the room, I was all over the place.
I couldnt believe that I was going to be the person embodying Dr. Manhattan.
I said, I guess I got to get in shape.
I was only working a couple days per episode and had a lot of free time on my hands.
I was sort of waiting my turn.
It was fun playing the supportive stay-at-home dad who was great with his kids and wasnt conflicted.
There was no conflict centered around him getting back out into the world.
I was hoping that would grow into something more significant.
Cal is a very patient person, so I thought maybe at some point his patience would run out.
I didnt want to get ahead of ourselves.
What was your reaction when you got episode 8 and read it?It was wild.
But at its core its a love story.
Its a really beautiful revelation to step into Dr. Manhattans shoes and play those three versions of him.
Dr. Manhattan has a certain tone and cadence that partly comes from how the character was originally written.
Obviously, hes been performed before as well.
Did you look at [the 2009 Zack Snyder version] at all?I tried not to.
I had it in my memory because I watched the movie when it came out.
I really had to go one step at a time.
If I venture to play a god, Im going to lose.
In my mind, this is a god who wants to be human.
At the same time, hes not an emotionless being.
You also obviously get rather naked in this.
My thought was this is HBO and its Dr. Manhattan so lets step into it and have some fun.
I got into the best shape that I could so I could look good.
Im playing a character who is above shame.
Hes confident in who he is.
It was fun for me to step into that space.
I was joking inAquamanI have a Black Manta suit, inWatchmenI have my birthday suit.
And what was it like shooting those scenes?Walking around naked was so liberating.
It felt really good!
We had an intimacy coordinator thats something HBO does whenever theres nudity involved.
I always had a choice in how we would shoot the scene and what they would show.
They definitely took care of me.
You mentioned Black Manta.
Any updateAquaman 2?We have a date of December 2022.
Hopefully, that will hold.
Black Manta will be back I feel confident in saying that.
Im excited to step into that world again and cause some more trouble.
And anything you’ve got the option to tell us about yourMatrix 4character?Nah.
I would love to talk aboutThe Matrix!
But Im very excited to do it.
Watchmenairs Sunday nights on HBO.
