Scrubs star joins stellar voice cast for all-new DC Universe AnimatedOriginal PG-13 Movie

From the trauma of war in Oliver Stone films to hospital humor onScrubs, John C. McGinley has covered the acting gamut. But in hislatest role – as the voice of Metallo in Superman/Batman: PublicEnemies – McGinley finally gets to delve into a characterization hehas rarely been offered: pure villainy.

McGinley voices one of the featured villains in Superman/Batman:Public Enemies, a blockbuster blast of super heroes and villains alikethat includes the voices of Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tim Daly(Superman), Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), Allison Mack (Power Girl),Xander Berkeley (Captain Atom), Ricardo Chavira (Major Force), LeVarBurton (Black Lightning), CCH Pounder (Amanda Waller) and a host ofothers.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set torelease the all-new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies on September 29,2009 in a Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and asingle disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packedmovie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as wellas available for download that same day.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is based on the popular Jeph Loeb/EdMcGuinness comic series/graphic novel. Animation legend Bruce Timm(Superman Doomsday, Green Lantern) is executive producer. MichaelGoguen (Justice League: The New Frontier) is supervising producer. SamLiu (The Batman) is directing a script written by Stan Berkowitz(Justice League: The New Frontier).

In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncomingtrajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner incrime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuitof Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit help – to staveoff the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncoverLuthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.

McGinley has crafted a well-rounded career in film and television,forcing audiences to instantly take note with his performances inOliver Stone films like Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. McGinley has garnered top-notch reviews for his turns in Any GivenSunday, Office Space, Wall Street, The Rock, Nixon and Point Break,and he is instantly recognizable to television audiences for hisportrayal of the sarcastic, abusive, hilarious Dr. Cox in 169 episodesof Scrubs. Mc Ginley is also no stranger to animation, having spentsignificant hours in the sound booth recording for The Boondocks,Justice League (as The Atom), WordGirl (as The Whammer) and in guestspots on King of the Hill, Kim Possible, Robot Chicken and Spider-Man.

McGinley took a few minutes after his recording session as Metallo todiscuss the pleasures of preparation, the similarities of AndreaRomano and Oliver Stone, his personal commitment the National DownSyndrome Society’s Buddy Walk, and the definition around Hollywoodcasting departments of the “John C. McGinley type.” But enough of ourwords, here are his – a Q&A with John C. McGinley, the voice ofMetallo in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

QUESTION: What were the joys and challenges of getting behind a microphone for acharacter like Metallo?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: It’s a real treat to collaborate with the creative folks once you getin the booth. Ten out of ten times the people on the other side ofthe glass know the character better than you are ever going to – theyhave been working on this for months or years. All you can do is tryto return serve because you are given all this wonderful, precisedirection. I’ve found over the years it is really, really helpful tojust integrate and go. It’s also a treat that the people on the otherside of the glass are pretty much the top one percent of theirindustry, and I get to have this kind of creative input. You get on alot of film sets and everybody is rolling the dice. Everybody isguessing their best. The people in that booth are not guessing, theyknow this stuff backwards. That to me is a huge asset.

QUESTION: What were your impressions of the script for Superman/Batman: Public Enemies?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: The fun part for me showing up on any set is the preparation. A lotof times when you are doing a play or a film, things are going to gowrong. You’re going to lose the light or the sound is going to stopworking. Even in a controlled environment like that booth, which lendsitself to things going right and to things flourishing, there aresometimes things that can go wrong and, thus, compromises will need tobe made. So it behooves the actor to come loaded for bear. If you are100 percent ready and we have to make 40 percent compromises, thenunless you have that other 60 percent ready it is going to kind ofjust go flat instead of elevating it. My favorite thing, which maysound a little presumptuous, is to try to elevate the material.

QUESTION: Did you enter the world of super heroes through comic books or otherwise?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: My earliest memories of Batman are watching the live-action serieswith Batman and Robin. That was the coolest Batmobile and you hadFrank Gorshin as the Riddler and Caesar Romero being the Joker. Asfar as Superman goes, it was more about the Christopher Reeve films. Iwas not a comic book reader. When we played as kids, we were alwaysacting out stuff we saw Batman doing , or the Green Hornet or Aquaman.But that inspiration came from Saturday morning cartoons and notproper comic books.

QUESTION: As a non-comics reader, does voicing a comic character still lenditself to some child-like thrill for you?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: Well, of course, it is big fat privilege to work with these characters– and it is really fun now with Hi-Def. It just kind of jumps off thescreen, and the transfers (to Hi-Def) are so beautiful now andperfect. It’s completely thrilling because the state of the art hasexceeded anybody's wildest expectations. It is astonishing. It is notas fun to see my voice come out of a character as it is reallyrewarding. To be a tiny component in the evolution of animation asthe voice of a character is thrilling.

My son is old enough to hear and recognize my voice coming out of thecharacters, but it doesn't resonate with him yet. My daughter will,and that is pretty cool. Not necessarily to be a killer robot, but wewill see how things evolve.

QUESTION: Actors tend to be very self-critical. Is it easier to watch ananimated film with your voice coming out of a character than it is towatch yourself on-screen in live-action productions?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: If I have a script early enough, I have a room set aside in our houseas a rehearsal space. I set up a camera and I rehearse in front ofthe camera, especially for Dr. Cox on Scrubs, who has these longtwo-page, single-space rants. So it is almost like somebody practicingfoul shots. It sounds simple – go to the free throw line and shoot afoul shot. But Larry Bird shot a million foul shots in French Lickbefore he ever tried for Indiana State or the Boston Celtics. So Ifeel like if you have text early enough, it really is in the actor'sbest interests to go just hash about in front of a lens.

One thing the lens does is it exposes bad habits. Like an X-raymachine taking a picture of a fracture. We all have nervous ticks,things we do when you can't remember a line. But if you watchyourself, you can see for yourself – the camera exposes thoseliabilities like an X-ray machine. So yes, I watch myself on film asmuch as possible because the learning curve just objectively isthrough the roof.

QUESTION: You’ve worked with some impressive live-action directors. What’s itlike working with Andrea Romano in the animated realm?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: Andrea Romano is not dissimilar to Oliver Stone in a lot of ways, inas much as they’re both like a thoroughbred at The Kentucky Derby.They both put on creative blinders like a thoroughbred. Oliver andAndrea both put on blinders and invite you into that narrow creativevision which is the perfect division for the piece. So that you don'thave to do anything, you don't have to guess. Come right inside hereand it is going to be good. When you come in there with Oliver Stoneor with Andrea, it is Nirvana. You will now shine.

QUESTION: We’ve heard the expression, but can you define a John C. McGinley “type”?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: The John C. McGinley type usually is one of about seven differentthings. It is a niche that I fell into, not of my own doing, but itbecame the part in the films where either you are the best friend, theco-worker, the bad guy, the brother who dies and compels the hero intoaction in the third act, the boss, now the father of the kids, thehead of the hospital usually in a position of authority. For a longtime there was a group of us – Ving Rhames, me and about a half adozen other guys – who would be the component in the story. Who wouldreiterate the who, what, where, when and how a couple times throughoutthe movie. You need somebody who can speak the speech without gettingin the way of the speech. The hero is not going to do that. So everyonce in a while throughout the progression of a story, we need to bereminded where the bomb is, when it is going to go off and who the badguys are. So that the hero can do his job. That “type” has paid thebills for a long time.

QUESTION: You’re a bit of a super hero yourself as the national spokesperson forthe National Down Syndrome Society’s Buddy Walk. What’s the essence ofthis endeavor?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY: The Buddy Walk is our national day of empowerment, encouragement andelevation. There are nearly 300 walks that happen in September andOctober throughout the United States – and these are great, greatdays. When you have a child born with special needs, a lot of parentsthink they did something wrong. They beat themselves up and they don'trealize that there is a much larger community out there who also havekids with special needs. This is a day of inclusion, where we wantpeople to know that you have a chance now to be a great parent, whichis what it is going to take. The day is as much about including andloving the caregivers as it is about the kids. We attempt to raisemoney, but that is not really my mantra. It is about coming out andjust getting the love. It is all about introducing people tonutritional intervention and further education. It’s a short walk –not a marathon, just a mile. And it is a lovely day where we include,elevate and celebrate the similarities that the children and theparents have instead of their differences. It’s a very importantcause.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’sofficial website at http://www.supermanbatmandvd.com/