SAN DIEGO – “He isn’t a villain, he’s a good man that makes a mistake,” Rhys Ifans said at Comic-Con last weekend.
The Welsh actor was speaking on his role as The Lizard in forthcoming comic flick “The Amazing Spider-Man,” but out of context for the weekend, the comment could mean a little bit more.
Ifans was celebrating his 44th birthday last Friday when he suddenly found his name in the headlines for more than one reason. He was arrested an cited at the convention center for allegedly trying to force his way through security when a member of his entourage proved to not posses the proper credentials. The guard he tried to push past made a citizen’s arrest, then police arrived to issue a misdemeanor and he was cited. Ifans was still free to attend the “Spider-Man” panel discussion.
But the “Notting Hill” actor had spoke to HitFix earlier that day, and praise the humanity of this latest incarnation of the “Spider-Man” franchise. Appropriate.
He said that director Marc Webb has elevated the film into ” something much more domestic and human than what we’ve seen. It’s one of the great archetypal stories,” Ifans explained. “Spider-man is a school boy that’s looking for his parents. This particular reboot really addresses that.”
As for The Lizard: “He has access to a science that can enable him to become a complete and whole other person,” Ifans said. The choices he makes cause him to bump up against “moral and ethical questions which he chooses not to address.”
Check out the complete interview above.
“The Amazing Spider-Man” arrives next summer.
Check out HitFix’s other “Spider-Man” interviews from Comic-Con, including Emma Stone and Marc Webb.