‘Shazam!’ Star Zachary Levi Compares Billy Batson to Spider-Man

Devout DC Comics fans know all about Billy Batson, which makes them excited to see his big screen debut in Shazam! For fans who aren’t as familiar with the character, star Zachary Levi revealed just how much he has in common with Peter Parker.

“I’ve been a comic fan since I was a little kid but I don’t know it nearly as well as probably everybody sitting in these chairs,” Levi shared with ComicBook.com during a Shazam! set visit. “There are two characters that I can think of in all of comics, including DC and Marvel. And it’s Billy Batts and then Peter Parker. Those two, to me at least, you get to go on this journey of, instead of it being, ‘Oh, I have to save the world again?’ and then whatever that is, it’s like, ‘I get to save the world again?!’”

Parker earned his powers when he was a teenager, causing him to both be excited by his abilities and terrified about having to use them to save others. Similarly, 14-year-old Billy Batson is imbued with the power to turn into the heroic Shazam, allowing him to use super strength and the power of flight to do anything he wants, including saving the day.

Levi went on to detail that he feels similar to Batson, as he was regularly excited to come to work every day to play a hero we all dreamed we could be.

“As a nerd who loved and lived this world for so long and still, to some level, that I don’t have to restrain myself with the f-cking coolness factor is so great,” Levi confessed. “I have to act so little, I just get to be me on so many levels and it’s great. It’s really, really fun.”

Unfortunately, it’s not all fun and games, as the action-packed shoot led to countless complex sequences which, at times, hindered Levi’s freedom on set. The actor also revealed some personal details regarding bodily functions that many teenagers likely wondered about when seeing the impressive costume.

“It’s a pain in the ass doing some of this sh-t, it’s painstaking. It’s little by little and little by little and all the action, how it’s all put together,” he actor admitted. “The suit is very, very tight and, to be perfectly honest, I can only do number one in it. You’ve got to take the whole thing off to go drop a deuce and that’s a pain in the ass. But these are the prices you pay to be a superhero? F-cking sign me up! It’s great, it’s great.”

Fans can see all the fun Levi had when Shazam! lands in theaters on April 5th.