The actor discusses his experience playing the villain in the Iron Man sequel
One character I am really looking forward to seeing interact with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. I feel like the most interesting adversaries in comics are those that create non physical obstacles for the hero. That is exactly what Justin Hammer does in the comic. However, I was slightly disappointed upon discovering that the Rockwell did not consider his character to be particularly threatening in the film, which he indicated in a recent interview.
I’m a rival to Tony Stark. I’m a weapons dealer. He’s [Justin Hammer] kind of more of the plucky comic relief, but he’s got a little bit of an edge. He’s a little pissed off...He’s a little more Salieri than he is the plucky comic relief, but Mickey Rourke is really the bad guy...[Justin Hammer is] a cross between the agent character in Entourage and Salieri and maybe Bill Murray in Kingpin.
I had envisioned major sparks flying when it was announced that they would have Justin Hammer appear opposite Tony Stark in the upcoming film.However, based on actor Sam Rockwell's description, it hardly seems threatening. However, Rockwell does expand on why he decided to be a part of the upcoming film, and it is not just because of all that money.
It’s a really good group of actors, actually, when you think about it. I mean, you’ve got Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Junior. Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson. Not to mention a lot of other actors. Gary Shandling. Jon Favreau and I worked together on a movie called Made, and he’s a lovely guy. He’s really good with actors, really good director. The Marvel guys are great guys. Kevin and Jeremy, they’re really low key and very helpful. Justin Theroux, who’s a friend of mine, wrote the script,. We did theater in Williamstown back in the day, and he wrote Tropic Thunder, so it’s got really good pedigree behind it.
I still have hope for the portrayal of Justin Hammer in the upcoming film. Who is your favorite Marvel villain and why? Has there ever been a character portrayal on the big screen that you really did not like?