‘Shazam’ Star Confesses Love of Superman, Details ‘Grounded’ Film

Going from The Walking Dead to Shazam! is a major step for the career of Cooper Andrews, a passionate actor who started his film career operating a boom pole.

As his character on AMC’s zombie show survives into a ninth season, the actor is gearing up to hit the big screen with a DC Comics role. It’s a different level of exciting for Andrews, though. The 33-year-old Samoan actor grew up a fan of such properties, so joining a live-action adaptation is literally a dream come to life.

“You know, I was drawing Superman since I can hold a pen, hold a marker,” Andrews told ComicBook.com. “I’ve known about Captain Marvel, Shazam!, just as long. And knowing that I got to be part of the DC Universe, it was way more exciting than if I had been part of the Marvel one. But this movie, what I like about itl I think this has been said, but I’ll say it again. When I first read the script, this was my thought: This has a feeling of Big meets Superman.”

In Shazam!, Andrews plays Billy Batson’s foster father Victor Vasquez. “As a far as a role goes, depending on what they keep, this is pretty big for me, this movie,” Andrews said. “I definitely enjoyed working with this cast and this crew. We had, for the most part, there were some long hours. But for some of the days, we had 10-hour days, which was nice. And everything was so well-planned. But I was DC fan, I was a Superman fan when I was a kid.”

Whether or not Superman appears in the film has been a hot topic among fans looking forward to the movie who are also eager to see Henry Cavill reprise his role for the first time since Justice League. Aside from potential cameos, Andrews promises there is much more to look forward to in the first DC Comics movie to follow December’s Aquaman.

“The thing about it is that there’s no massive war,” Andrews pointed out. “There’s something very grounded and real about this script, despite the fact that it’s about a 15 year-old who says a magic word and turns into a superhero. There’s still something very real, something that speaks to everyone, I think, on this one.”

Shazam! is set for release on April 5, 2019. Andrews can be seen in The Walking Dead when it returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018, and its eighth season is set to release on blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 21, 2018.