Chris Radtke: Is
this the first time you're working with Nic Cage?
Ron Perlman: Yes.
Chris Radtke: Is
he a force of nature? What's it like to work with the man?
Ron Perlman: Well
in my mind he was a force of nature, due to my regard for his work. In particular
Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Moonstruck. I'm a huge fan
of Vampire's Kiss. Leaving Las Vegas. He's very versatile and not like anyone else; he's iconoclastic. I was a little bit
daunted and a little bit intimidated at the prospect of having to step my game
up to be on his level. Having said that, he was so welcoming and so
appreciative of everyone that he was going to be working with on his film. I
think that's just his nature. He's a cool guy. He's a fanboy. He loves the
movies. He loves watching movies. He loves making movies. He has a real journeyman's
approach to it. I don't think anybody told him he's a movie star because he
certainly doesn't behave like one. He's just a blue collar dude who's just
getting it done without a whole lot of falderal, or fanfare.
Chris Radtke: He's
a big comic book fan. Was he psyched to be working with Hellboy?
Ron Perlman: I
guess. I couldn't figure out to what I owed this gesture of largess, being
handed this role without even meeting anybody. The offer just came true. It
turns out he watched Hellboy with his young son and they kind of geeked
out over it. I know he had approval of the cast, so he must have signed on to have me as his best bud.
