Across animated movies and live-action television, Liam McIntyre has definitely been building an impressive list of DC superhero and supervillain performances. In addition to appearing as Weather Wizard on the Arrowverse’s The Flash, McIntyre has portrayed Captain Boomerang and, in the upcoming DC animated movie Justice Society: World War II, Aquaman.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, McIntyre spoke about getting to fulfill a childhood dream by portraying the heroes and villains he grew up reading and watching, bringing Aquaman through his complex character arc in Justice Society and giving Captain Boomerang a proper send-off in last year’s Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
You got to be one of the DC Universe’s biggest Australian characters in Captain Boomerang and now you get to be the King of the Seas, Aquaman. How did that all come about?
Liam McIntyre: I was lucky enough to get the nod for Captain Boomerang and that was such a fun experience, those guys are such a blast to work with. For an actor, it’s the coolest moment when one of the creative teams takes you aside afterward and says, “No promises but we’re thinking about putting Aquaman in something and I want to talk to the guys about you. How would you feel about that?”
And there are points in those conversations where I’m like, “Has anybody said no? Like, Batman? No, no, no, not for me.” [Laughs] When somebody asks you if you want to be part of the Justice League, the answer is always yes. And so they were like, “Let me talk to the guys,” and I think there was some strong arm-twisting and thank goodness they decided to give this crazy kid a chance, and I got the call about being Aquaman. It’s so exciting for me because it’s not only a cool animated character but I have a one-year-old son and one day I’ll be able to show him and there’ll be a significant chance of him caring. It’ll be great.
There’s a lot of layers to Aquaman in this movie. How do you catch all that nuance in the booth with your performance?
Luckily, I’ve got a team of really great creatives that are always watching over me and they’re able to nudge me in the best directions. But yeah, imagine me [being offered] Aquaman and all the things that come to my mind with what that means and then getting the script and realizing this is going to be a fascinating journey; it’s not what I expected at all. And it was good for me too because it forced me into a more interesting version of Aquaman that I may have possibly been just in my performance going from what you might expect it to be to a greater version of it, which made me rethink it either way.
It was a challenge in the best way in that he has a really interesting dilemma on his hands that he’s wrestling throughout his arc. And to try to mesh his good heart with his specific challenge in this is one of the cooler experiences I’ve gotten as an actor, which is really fun. I had a great time wrestling with this dilemma that we throw him in.
With this, you’re working with voice director Wes Gleason again. How has that been?
He’s just a gem. It’s nice when a person is so genuine; he is a genuinely lovely person and that makes every interaction good. He’s extremely trusting. He’ll let me do any kind of thing, like, “You got any ideas? Try something with this line! What would you want to do?” and sometimes he’s like, “That’s amazing!” and sometimes he’s like, “Let’s keep that in mind but try to do it a different way!”
He’s just really specific and helpful, and he’s always up for the best of everything. So, if I have a cool idea, he’ll go down that rabbit hole with me and, if I’m on the wrong path, he’ll set you on the right path. I’ve been so proud of the work that I’ve done with him, and I don’t always say that, but he’s a real gem and always so fun to work with. It feels like a real partnership, and I think it reflects in the work that he’s helmed. I think he’s done some absolutely incredible movies. It’s a joy to go to work with him, and I’ll do it anytime.
In regards to previous work, I really loved your performances as Captain Boomerang. I was wondering if you could speak to that and giving him one last send-off in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
That’s one of those really fun characters that I got to create and it was so much fun. In Suicide Squad [Hell to Pay], it was a lot of fun to play him, and I got to bring some things, like, I’m so proud of our English-Australian rivalry scene that we had. It was so great. To give him a full journey is rare, and I can say how much I did with him and how much fun I had but it really just comes down to the writing and the animation. I just have to make sure I don’t ruin anyone else’s job and do the best I can with it. Anytime you get to play a legendary character from this universe is a great honor. I’m just really proud that the ones I’ve been a part of are received so well. It doesn’t all come down to me, but I get to bask in the glory of other people’s genius. It’s just been fun to take him on that ride.
As someone who’s gotten to play heroes and villains in the DCU in both live-action and animation, what is it about getting to play on that canvas as an actor?
It’s great, you just get to be a kid; the Peter Pan in me, I just never want to grow up and keep playing make-believe. To me, I was bullied a lot as a kid and these types of stories I grew to just feel like you can be a superhero, you can be more than yourself. You can be unassuming Clark Kent and a mild-mannered reporter but also the most powerful man in the world. Batman was my guy growing up, and I think I still have my movie stub from the 1989 Batman from when I was a kid. I’ve always loved DC’s cast of characters.
Back in the day, I just finished Spartacus and I got the call for The Flash, and I sort of pinched myself because it was a little bit of [my] childhood becoming real. And to be in this part of the universe as animated movies, I never dreamed I would someday get to play Aquaman. It’s the best. The little kid in me is just over-the-moon and couldn’t be happier. I’m just so lucky to have this little experience in my life in my time on this world. It really means a lot to me.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Justice Society: World War II stars Stana Katic as Wonder Woman, Matt Bomer as The Flash, Elysia Rotaru as Black Canary, Chris Diamantopoulos as Steve Trevor, Omid Abtahi as Hawkman, Matthew Mercer as Hourman, Armen Taylor as Jay Garrick, Liam McIntyre as Aquaman, Ashleigh LaThrop as Iris West, Geoffrey Arend as Charles Halstead/Advisor, Keith Ferguson as Dr. Fate and Darin De Paul as Roosevelt. The film will be released digitally on April 27 and on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on May 11.
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