Interview: Ron Perlman
Hell of a Guy
Prosthetics, gobs of red makeup and even a pair of stubby horns can’t disguise the distinctive face under Hellboy’s skin. Say hello to Ron Perlman, veteran actor, man’s man and the star of Hellboy II: The Golden Army
By Steve Ramos
Being a larger-than-life, mountain of a man allows veteran character actor Ron Perlman to sit back in a cluttered L.A. hotel suite turned noisy press office and command complete attention.
Actors often require privacy for interviews but Perlman shows little concern for the young female publicists working the phones at nearby tables. With a booming voice equal to his rock-hard torso, wide shoulders and chiselled chin, the 58-year-old Perlman drowns out the surrounding activity with a single word.
Well-known actors come off as people who live in a plush world far
different from our own, but Perlman’s macho presence seems connected
with classic images of working guys from ordinary places; coal miners
in West Virginia, or longshoremen in New York City (where Perlman was
born and raised).
He’s best known for roles in Alien: Resurrection, TV’s Beauty and the Beast and as the titular red-skinned demon hero of the 2004 comic book adventure Hellboy, a role he revisits in this month’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
The first film begins in 1944 when a portal to hell is briefly
opened by Nazis, and out pops a tiny red baby demon. Raised by the
kindly Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), head of the government’s
secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, that babe grows up
to be Hellboy, who then spends much of the movie battling the
self-replicating demon Sammael.
In the sequel, a longstanding truce between humans and the mythical creatures that live below Earth’s crust is in jeopardy. Nuada, Prince of the Elves, has an evil plan to tip the balance of power to the underworld by resurrecting the unstoppable Golden Army. It’s up to brawny-but-sensitive Hellboy to stop Nuada and restore peace.
Like the first film, the second is directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth).
Nearly as big and strong as Hellboy himself, Perlman stands tall as a Hollywood rarity — a true blue muscleman. Just don’t call him an alpha male. Trust me, you don’t want to get him mad.
I look at you and I see a classic muscleman, the epitome of the alpha male. Yet, what do we read in the magazines, we live in the era of the “metrosexual,” the sensitive male. Do you feel like a man out of time?
“I got a lot of stuff to worry about, man [raising his trademark, booming voice]. I got two kids and I’m trying to keep out of trouble. I don’t have an answer or an opinion, in fact.”
Do you think of yourself as caught between the fading era of the alpha male and these all-the-rage metrosexual heroes, you know, the Tobey Maguires of the world?
“The term metrosexual has been made relevant by a culture that has way too much time on its hands to examine things that are of no importance. That particular nomenclature is just an offshoot of a world gone mad, a world with its priorities askew. This metrosexual, this is a guy who mostly lives in two places, the eastern seaboard and the western seaboard. I think when you go to places like Sandusky, Ohio, or Rawlins, Wyoming, there aren’t many guys who are picking out clothes for their wife or talking about whether it’s better to have fettuccine or linguini with the morels in their pasta.”
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Ron Perlman dons red makeup and
stubby horns as Hellboy in Hellboy II:
The Golden Army
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Your filmography goes on for miles. Do you think of yourself more as a character actor? Certainly, the Hellboy movies have made you a leading man, although one with devil horns and red skin.
“I do work a lot; so I guess I am more of a character-actor type. I
have a family to support. It’s a job. I’ve done my share of forgettable
stuff. I’ve also worked with incredible talent.”
Incredible, is that a word you would use to describe Guillermo del Toro?
“When you see one of Guillermo’s films, you’re watching moviemaking at
its greatest. You’re seeing images and characters only possible in
cinema. I don’t think there is another medium that would allow
Guillermo the chance to work his magic.”
Is that why you returned to your role as Hellboy, for del Toro? Special-effects extravaganzas are hard work.
“You don’t run from genius; you run towards it. It’s hard, backbreaking work on the Hellboy movies but I wouldn’t miss the opportunity for the world.”
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People may not know your name but they know your face from all the work. In fact, it’s safe to say you have a number of cult followings.
“Yeah, some of the moms still come up to me and talk about Beauty and the Beast. Their sons want to talk Hellboy.”
People recognize you from Hellboy?
“Oh yeah, this face stands out from anything, monster makeup, special effects, anything. Guillermo has made me into a comic book hero and I’m forever grateful.”
Any highlights in your long career?
“I worked with Marlon Brando on The Island of Dr. Moreau, the only time in my life I worked with him. He wore an earpiece for the dialogue, to help make him more spontaneous. I loved being around him and I was so busy watching him I forgot to play my role. So Brando looked at me and said, ‘Hey fatso, it’s your line.’ And I thought, oh crap, he’s talking to me!”
I loved Hellboy but when I look at you, I imagine, what if you worked 50 years ago with directing greats like Sam Fuller and Howard Hawks? I think of what fantastic characters they would have created for that rock of a face of yours. Do you wish you worked in the Golden Age of Hollywood?
“That would be cool. When I’m not working I watch old Howard Hawks and Sam Fuller movies and I always felt like I would give anything to spend 72 hours back in the ’40s. To share a soundstage with Hawks or Fuller, I would have loved that. Those guys were geniuses. Thank you for saying that. It really means a lot to me. You made up for all your crap metrosexual questions. You saved the interview.”
Steve Ramos is a Cincinnati-based entertainment writer and the box-office columnist for indieWire.
HOBBIT BOY
Everyone knows the Hellboy franchise is Guillermo del Toro’s baby, but now he’s stepping into another filmmaker’s prized territory by agreeing to direct the Lord of the Rings’ prequel, The Hobbit, thus taking over Middle Earth from LotR’s maestro Peter Jackson (who executive produces the project).
The Hobbit will actually be split into two movies and del Toro acknowledges his vision of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world must harmonize with what Jackson has already created. “I fell in love with The Hobbit,” del Toro tells ComingSoon.net, “but I’m marrying an entire mythology. It’s like meeting the family of a girl you’re going to marry...you get them all.”
—Ingrid Randoja