Bryan Cranston Leads the League of Freedom in ‘Supermansion’
In a world full of heroes, there are bound to be a handful that aren’t exactly the best and brightest. Let’s face it: some of them are pretty terrible. Can the world survive these bumbling do-gooders when they’re nearly as bad as the villains? If anything, it’ll be a very fun ride as the folks from Robot Chicken and Bryan Cranston have collaborated to create the animated superhero comedy Supermansion.
Titanium Rex is the leader of the League of Freedom, a government-sponsored superhero team once a symbol of pride and prestige has now become a bloated expenditure. Currently in its fourth incarnation, Rex has difficulty finding any interest in getting to know his teammates; powerful though they may be, his fellow League members display a level of ineptitude that creates more harm to those they attempt to save. Despite their utter failure as heroes, Titanium Rex has nothing to live for but the League of Freedom.
As producer and star of Supermansion, four-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston undoubtedly has the chops to tackle the manic complexities of Titanium Rex, a legendary super hero who can’t come to terms with his mortality. “Well… the character is very animated”, Cranston smiles. “I like this guy. He is a man who is past his prime. No comments. (smirks) But he still wants to feel relevant in the world and still feel important. That’s the thing that’s relatable about anyone. At each intersection in your life you reassess, you think “I still feel virile, I still feel alive, I still feel young!” yet you really aren’t.”
With a diverse and prolific background in voice acting, Cranston shared his initial experiences in learning the art and nuances of comedy, which occurred purely by accident during one dramatic night in grade school.
“I think we’re drawn to it at a very early age. As you learn create sounds that get attention, from the first time you told something that made people laugh you went “Oh my god, that felt good!” You got a laugh! Then you start to hone it and craft it.
I remember when I was in elementary school there was a play I did and I replaced one word mistakenly. I didn’t mean to do it. One word, it changed the entire trajectory of the play from a drama to a comedy. And everybody was laughing, and they were laughing at me because I made a mistake. It was SO embarrassing, and SO abjectly frightening for me at the time. Look at this! (plays with the Titanium Rex prototype figure) Yet in retrospect and I went “Wow!” One word and the power of that… Now you start practicing on… “Oh, so misplace the word on purpose… OHHH! Look at that, it surprised everybody!” […]
Doing all those things that give you the leeway to create was also the case here. Do the script as written then go crazy. Do whatever you want. It’s rewarding, personally and professionally.”
After all the nominations and awards for his work in television the last fifteen years, for Bryan Cranston the world of animation remains an energetic and entertaining respite from more daunting roles. His love for the craft, however, will always be given the absolute regard and respect it deserves, be it in front of the camera or in a soundproof booth.
“At first you think this is a good job to do because you don’t have to memorize anything, and you don’t have to wear makeup, and you don’t have to do your hair […] there’s none of that. Yet you think “Oh good!” I can just say these words and that’s it. Then you realize no you can’t just say the words. You still have to dive in, you still have to dig in and start pulling the innards out of the cushions to figure out where else you can go.”
An obvious fan of animation and Comic Con, Cranston genuinely enjoys the commiseration among fans as they keep his finger on the pulse of what’s fresh and exciting and what works.
“It’s fun. The fandom within animation is so strong, it’s so dedicated but very honest! If they feel they are being pandered to […] if they feel you’re lying to them in any way, they’ll tell you immediately. They help us when we create, to keep working harder, to find honest storylines and storytelling. So it helps create the verisimilitude of the genre. BOOM!”
Cranston drops the mic once again! Help him and the entire cast of Supermansion help you laugh, by watching their season premiere this fall on Crackle!
