Q&A with Richard Siegel

by Chet Bradley

Chet Bradley (CB): Good monrning, Metropolis! I'm Chet Bradley, and sitting here with me today is Richard Siegel, the actor who played Tharok and Brainiac 5 in the movie "Escape of the Fatal Five". [cheers, applause]

Good morning, Richard. So... How did you come to be involved with this project?

Richard Siegel (RS): I knew Jo & Terri-Anne [Sanning] for a while, loved their first flick and, being a LSH fan, I volunteered.  I guess in a kinda roundabout way 'cause we were discussing the Legion movie that might have been and Jo did some photo-manips as well... Thought it'd be fun and it was. [grins]

CB: Tharok is possibly one of the most nefarious super-villains of all time. How did you prepare for such a role? Were there any dramatic influences behind your performance?

RS: I was influenced by [Vincent] Price, Karloff & Lugosi. I think I smoked a cigarette to deepen my voice. Jo did the rest in the mad lad adding the robotic metallic groove.

CB: What are some of your favorite movies? What about favorite actors/actresses?

RS: Do you have 2 hours? [laughs] Here's some flicks: Touch of Evil (1958), Barry Lyndon (1975), Ed Wood (1994), Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Jason and the Argonauts, Bride of Frankenstein (1935), King Kong (1933), Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Shichinin no Samurai (1954), Forbidden Planet (1956), Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, Fellini Amarcord, Superman (1978), Halloween, INSERT COMEDY HERE [laughter], Casablanca, Ghost World (2001), Big Trouble in Little China.

2nd tier? Thin Man flicks, Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Rushmore, Bringing Up Baby, both versions of The Thing, More Errol Flynn: Capt Blood, The Sea Hawk, Charge of the Light Brigade and Gunga Din... Arsenic & Old Lace, Corman Poe flicks, Zatoichi series, The Mel Brooks troika: Producers, Blazing Saddles and "Fronk-en-Stein" [laughs], John Ford flicks, some Bogdonavich: Targets, Paper moon, Whats Up Doc? Kurosawa Samurai Klassics, Truffaut - 400 Blows, Godard - Alphaville, O Lucky Man w/ Malc McDowell, The Brain from Planet Arous, GOJIRA, CE3K, Republic serials: Spy Smasher, Masked Marvel, Flash Gordon serials, Hitchcock-- Vertigo, North by Northwest, Notorious, Hello Norman [aka Psycho], Rebecca, Strangers on a Train, etc, etc...

Damn -- this is too taxing! Thesps: Errol Flynn, the Supermen and Girl, Cary Grant. Ava Gardner, Clint Eastwood, Gene Tierney, Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Vincent Price, Chris Lee, Boris [Karloff] and Bela [Lugosi].

CB: As an award-winning director of photography and director with over 40 independent projects under your belt, you've done features, documentaries, short subjects, and even music videos. Tell us about some of your favorite projects.

RS: Too many hard to say I think "H.R. Pukenshette" was a lot of goody funny. "Flesh for the Beast" was my first horror flick and "THe Wild Card" was a blast to shoot in LA & Vegas.

CB: If you were directing a live-action Legion film, are there any classic stories that you'd like to bring onto the big screen?

RS: Man, got 2 hours? Hmmm...off the top of my head - the classic Mordru two parter, the Death of Lightning Lad, the Trial of Star Boy, the Civil War of the Legion, the Legion Chain Gang.  Sorry no Bizarros unless I get Jim Carrey for Bizarro Number One!

CB: When you finally saw the finished Escape of the Fatal Five trailer, with your voice coming out of the cyborg Tharok, what did you think? Did it meet your expectations?

RS: It blew me away!

CB: What were some of your favorite moments in the movie?

RS: Don't have one - dug the whole thing. I'd love me some Validus' brain throb, though! [laughs]

CB: Would you like to do another Legion trailer? Which characters would you most like to sink your acting teeth into?

RS: Hell, yeah! Hmmm... Mordru. But no Scottish accent though, guys!  Maybe SuperMAN.

CB: Well, whatever you do we're all sure it will be great. Thanks for visiting with us today, Richard, and good luck in all your projects. Oh, and Happy Birthday, by the way! Richard Siegel, everybody. Half-man, half-machine, all-around nice guy! [clapping, cheers].

Join us tomorrow when our special guest will be former Earth President Kandro Boltax who joins us to talk about his new best-selling autobiography.