Paul Giamatti: Rhino Is ‘One Of Several Bad Guys’ In ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’
Paul Giamatti has revealed that his character, Rhino, is just “one of several bad guys” in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
The 46-year-old also discussed Rhino’s — a.k.a. Aleksei Sytsevich — costume, which some fans weren’t too happy with because of the more realistic approach (the first still shows Giamatti wearing an Adidas tracksuit with barbed wire tattooed on his forehead).
“In the comic books of old, he had this suit on that made him look like a rhinoceros, and it made him super strong,” Giamatti told the Toronto Sun. “If there was a bank vault he would just run right through it. Butt through it with his head. And he was not very smart.”
The Golden Globe winner said the final version will be updated, although he wasn’t supposed to say anything.
“And I have a particular kind of suit, but I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about it. He’s a Russian mobster. Russians are always good villains. I have an ability to just destroy things,” he said. “My accent is pretty hammy. I loved doing it. it seemed to me like an opportunity to be as over-the-top hammy as possible. It was really fun.”
The John Adams star also discussed how things have changed since the early days of superhero portrayals, and said he actually liked the “hamminess” of the old characters.
“In the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, when they made those crappy superhero serial things, it was all the worst actors in the world. Now it’s all these revered British actors. It’s hilarious. It’s all flip-flopped,” Giamatti said. “These things are kind of operatic, so you need big old hammy actors sometimes. But I personally like doing stuff like that and I liked comic books when I was a little kid.”
Giamatti also confirmed previous suggestions — including a promo image hinting at the Sinister Six — that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would feature more than one villain.
“(Rhino is just) one of several bad guys in the movie. I believe there’s a lot of stage-setting for the next film. There are several villains in this movie, and some of them are more foreground and important,” he said. Jamie Foxx (who plays Electro) is and stuff. A couple of us are more hanging around the background because I think there will be a bigger deal.”
The next film, The Amazing Spider-Man 3, will be released in theaters on June 10, 2016, Sony announced in June. A fourth film will be released May 4, 2018.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swings into theaters May 2, 2014.
[Photo credit: Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock.com]
