I was invited as media to cover this event. All opinions are my own.
Paul Bettany is a funny guy. From the moment he entered the room he captured our attention with a bit of song and dance. After greeting all of us, we began the interview discussing his Vision costume and makeup, Jarvis, and his directing career.
Exclusive Interview with Paul Bettany
Q : Can you tell us about the makeup process and the struggles with that?
Paul: “Yea, it was hot. You come out of your air-conditioned trailers in your costume and makeup and everybody’s looking rather like super heroes and movie stars. And then about 5 minutes later in 105 Atlanta weather, you look a lot less like a movie star.” Adding, “Both me and Chadwick have this special suit that goes on underneath. Which pumps ice-cold water through it. If you can imagine – close your eyes and imagine being inside a gin and tonic. It feels exactly like that.” We all had a big laugh with that. 🙂
Q : Going off that how much of it was like costume and makeup? And how much of it was CGI?
Paul: “It’s mostly costume and makeup.” With hand gestures he describes, “There’s some sort of circuitry, I don’t know how to describe it. Basically, the makeup starts from under my eyes and goes all the way and a bald cap that glues here. What the CG does is continue the lines and circuitry into my eyes.” Q : So, they weren’t contacts? Paul: “No, there were no contacts. They stopped short of that. They think, we’re punishing him enough than to put contacts on him. Poor bastard’s in spanks and a muscle suit.”
How long did it take Paul to get in full makeup and costume each day? Just over 2 hours!
Next, we asked about the relationship between Vision and Scarlet Witch. Paul shared, “I think you find vision on a sort of personal quest. You know in the previous movie you see him born. Which I don’t expect ever to do on camera again in my career. He is naïve and yet omnipotent in sort of struggling with learning about the world. And I think in this movie you find him trying to be more human.”
Adding, “He’s kind of interested in working out how loyalty works. And I think that loyalty probably works through love. Logic doesn’t really afford for loyalty because if new information comes to light, he might well flip and be on Captain America’s side, right? I think in order for him to protect humanity, he needs to understand what love is. He and Wanda both share certain similarities. Which is they don’t know the extent of their powers. And that’s terrifying.” He went on to relate their characters to that of children learning where boundaries are, and understanding the world around them.
Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War. Vision Photo Credit: Film Frame..© Marvel 2016
Q : So you’re a director now yourself. Is it different being on the other end?
Paul: “Yeah, I think more actors should do it. It really gives you much more of a respect for the directors that you work with. You’re obviously taking care of a much larger picture as the director. Your day is just filled with a thousand questions. 99% of which are what color do you want the red shoes to be? What?! Yeah, so it’s been amazing. And I loved doing it, and will do it again. I’ll do a comedy next time.”
Q : Being the voice of Jarvis and now Tony Stark has a new voice in his head. Do you feel betrayed that it’s a woman?
Paul: “That’s a loaded question. I don’t feel betrayed that it’s a woman at all. I definitely feel melancholic at times.”
Q : What was it like being his voice for all those movies and then finally becoming a character?
Paul: “Well, I just love it. I mean, it’s a double-edged sword, of course, because I used to show up for 45 minutes, talk a bit and they’d give me a big bag of cash. Now I gotta got to Atlanta and wear spanks.” He also mentioned it’s nice to come back to people you know and that it feels like family.
Q : So, how do your kids feel about having a superhero in the house now?
Paul: “They love it, actually. My daughter met me as the Vision for the first time and I think she was just three. She just ran up to me and gave me a hug. She knew entirely who it was. I had been very worried what her response would be. And then at the end of the day when I took it all off she had her first ever meltdown. She said, I want purple daddy!”
As I mentioned above, the interview was full of humor, and Paul had us laughing throughout the entire 20-30 minutes. If you missed our interview with Chris Evans, you’ll definitely want to check that one out too. It’s hilarious!
More about Captain America: Civil War:
Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” finds Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in twocamps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.
Captain America: Civil War opens in theaters everywhere May 6th!
New Two-You says
Time spent with even a portion with a person like him would be an honor. Nonetheless, I’d likely never get such an opportunity with my disability (from an accident) being my set-back. There’s those that are going to be quite lucky to see his movie!
Heather says
How fun to interview actors from movies. My family will be patiently waiting to see this movie when it’s out.
Cathy says
What a very cool opportunity! I have to see that movie! So cool!