Christopher Gorham is thrilled that one of his projects isn’t held up by the coronavirus crisis. After his latest live action TV pilot was put on hold, Gorham is hoping the release of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War will also emphasize a message of heroes fighting together at a time when the world needs it.
Wrapping up the epic storyline that’s been progressing through the DC’s animated films since 2014, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War was just released on digital and will be available May 19 on DVD, featuring Gorham’s voice as the character he’s been playing throughout the animated film series, Barry Allen / The Flash.
The movie brings together a huge cast of DC characters to fight against Darkseid, with several dramatic and action-filled twists along the way. And according to Gorham, Barry Allen not only plays a significant role in defeating the threat in this film, but the Flash goes through something in Apokolips War that Gorham calls “substantial emotionally” as well.
Newsarama talked to Gorham about the evolution of Barry Allen during the DC films, what fans can expect from Apokolips War, and whether he would like to play the character again sometime.
Newsarama: Chris, how are you doing? Glad this movie is coming out so you can talk about it a bit?
Christopher Gorham: Yeah, and to watch, frankly! It’s nice to have some new, original content. And it’s such a good movie.
Nrama: You’ve been doing this character for awhile. This film is now touted as the finale to the story that’s been crossing into various films over the last few years. Did you know going into it that it was an ending?
Gorham: I did not know that going into it. I only found out it was the end, like, three days ago. So I was really late to this party!
But it wouldn’t have changed my approach to it or anything.
And frankly, I’m really happy with the ending. It’s a great bookend to how the whole thing started. It’s a complicated ending. It leaves things up in the air. And it’s, poetically, I think, an appropriate ending for this madness that we’re all living through right now.
So I feel very satisfied about the whole experience.
Nrama: The great thing about DC creating an animated universe through these films was that fans could see a progression over the years. Do you feel like your character evolved over that time?
Gorham: I feel like he did. You know, he wasn’t the focus very often. So I think there were things happening in the background, and every once in awhile, there would be a character moment for the Flash.
But this film, while the screen time isn’t a lot, he has a massive impact on the story. He is a very, very important piece.
And so what he goes through as a character, his arc in this episode, is substantial emotionally.
Nrama: In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War?
Gorham: Yeah, in this film in particular. I can’t say more without spoiling it.
But he’s a very important part of this film. And you find out he’s a very important part of this entire series of films.
Nrama: Doing both live action and voice work on these films, how does it compare to you? And would you want to do more, whether in the DC Universe or elsewhere?
Gorham: It’s a completely different process from the audition experience through to the making of it — a voiceover compared to on-screen work is very, very different.
That being said, I love it. It’s always very exciting to see how the finished product is so much bigger than all of its individual pieces.
You go in and you record your lines — line by line, all at once, by yourself, with the voice director. And then you walk away.
And then eight months, 12 months later, you come back and get to see what they put together and do some “oofs” and some “pows.”
And then four months or six months later, you see the whole movie with the music and the effects. And you get to hear all the other performances.
It’s always so rewarding to see it all coming together, particularly with this series of films, because the movies are so good.
Nrama: They can certainly go bigger than live action. Are you often surprised by what you see in the final product on these DC animated films?
Gorham: Yeah, I think what always surprises me, just because we don’t get all the detail in our voice script, is just the creativity and the inventiveness and the way the action is so character-based and just really well-done.
It always makes me smile.
Nrama: Are there other projects that you want to tell fans about that you have coming up? You’re supposed to be doing something called Work Wife, right?
Gorham: Right before the world shut down, I was about to film a comedy pilot for ABC called Work Wife, with Angelique Cabral and Tone Bell — based off the working relationship of Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa.
So it’s really, really funny workplace comedy where I play a stay-at-home dad, which is the role that I’m living right now because there’s no work. So I’m in deep, deep character study right now.
And we’re just waiting to see if we’re going to be able to make this thing or not. But hopefully, we get to make this show, because I think people are going to be hungry for something to laugh and smile with when new shows start coming out.
Let’s face it — things are really difficult for a lot of people right now.
Nrama: So much of what we’re watching now takes on a new perspective after this crisis. Do you think the idea of superheroes fighting together against a common threat has any message for us in the midst of all this?
Gorham: Well, yeah. We’ve already been seeing it — we’ve seen so many portrayals of all the superheroes standing in a row, celebrating the doctors and the nurses and the folks working at the grocery store and the meat-packing plants.
Really, I think it’s one of the wonderful things about the Justice League and one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about playing Barry is that he is a believer in working together as a team. He is a believer in people from different backgrounds with different skills working toward a common cause.
And that is exactly the type of teamwork that we need to get through this period. We need everyone to be working together as a unit.
The fact that these films celebrate that is, I think, really special.
Nrama: Do you think this is the last time you’ll get to play the Flash? Or do you hope you’ll play him again?
Gorham: Yeah, I would love to keep doing it. It’s a blast.