Believe it or not, it’s not easy being the world’s cockiest supervillain.
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But when it comes to playing Doctor Doom, an actor must step their self-confidence, assuredness to intolerable levels. And while Doom’s latest on-screen actor, Toby Kebbell, isn’t speaking in the third person, he’s certainly growing into Doom’s trademark persona. As Kebbell gets ready to bring Doom to life in 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four film, he promises that the villain’s grandiose attitude is one thing that the film is not rebooting. Below, Kebbell spoke with ComicBook.com about stepping into Doom’s metal boots, perfecting the Doom voice, and the multiple costumes he’ll wear this August.
Which got you more interested in Doom first, the comics or the script by Trank?
We’ll I’ll tell you this, I’ve been a huge fan of comics. But if you were to ever ask me what comics character I’d ever play, I don’t think I’d have ever picked Doom. So when the script came in, and I was reading for that part, I just fell in love. It’s that ego, you know?
Is that fun to play around with?
Oh god yes. Doom is the ultimate bad guy. Look, I have three older brothers who were also all into this stuff. So while my initial knowledge of Doom was limited, if I don’t do this right – I’ll never hear the end of it from them.
[Laughs]
They’ll execute me! But seriously, my older brother is a HUGE Doom fan. He’s been asking me, “What’s your Doom voice?” So when I did it for him he thought it was rock solid, I even think he said “Yeah, you won’t get crucified for that one.”
Is there a better vote of confidence?
Was it hard to step into such a big ego?
Yes. [Chuckles] Absolutely. It’s also especially hard because the rest of the cast is so damn nice. It’s a real conundrum because they’re all bonding and I’m sitting there on the sidelines going, “but I want to be in the Fantastic Four, too!” And that’s the beauty of it. Sure, we’re all friends and stuff, but it made me want to shine even brighter as a character.
So it’s looking like the movie is playing closer to hard science rather than dealing with anything mystical. Doom’s a character that usually mixes both. Are we too early in the life and times of Doom to get any magic?
Well right, because in the comics he has that thing with his mother and doesn’t get into magic just yet. We’re not going down that road yet. This is more proto-Doom, and he’s a character that’s so incensed with his rivalry with Reed that it sends him down this spiral.
The best part of it all is though, is that Kinberg’s a huge fan and Trank is a MASSIVE fan, so the script lays down the sequence of events so perfectly.
But will we see magic down the line? I couldn’t tell you.
[Chuckles]
What was it like stepping into the suit for the first time?
It’s 35 pounds! There was a lot of talc-ing that needed to be done. Seriously.
Outside of that, I had a group of guys whose job it was to make sure I didn’t fall over. It’s honestly the greatest thing to do during filming. But, there’s a thing with another suit, that’s very exciting that is just the coolest. My 12 year-old self was just overjoyed. The crazy thing about it was that it had microphones on the inside and was almost insulated in a way.
Was there a voice modulator in the helmet, or did you use the Doom voice you mentioned earlier?
Oh man, it’s my Doom voice all the way. The microphones were put into the costume, the second costume, because I can’t hear anyone in that thing. I’d have people come up to me asking if I was fine, and I had to do my best lipreading. I’ve gotten quite good at that now. So I talk into the mic and it reverberates over these super loud speakers.
Now – recently there’s been a lot of hullabaloo about a Fantastic Four/X-Men Crossover. Let’s say it DID happen. How do you think Doom would react to Mutants?
You know – I don’t think he’s phased really by anything. That’s how arrogant he is. He’s lucky that he has both brute force and the brains to tackle any threat. But personally? I’d be super excited to see it happen.
What is the moment in the movie for your character that you’re excited for fans to see?
The group goes on a journey to a special location and then the journey back. The location is phenomenal.
If I were to say…..”Negative Zone”…
Negative? [Chuckles]
A Negative Zone? Possibly. Depends on how it works out. But, it’s phenomenal.
