Seth Green was a werewolf in Buffy and Dr Evil's son in Austin Powers. Now he is stepping into Benny Hill's shoes in the remake of "The Italian Job". He tells you what attracted him to the role, and why his film is better than the remake of "Get Carter".
What attracted you to "The Italian Job"?
I got really excited about it because the script was just so good. It was sharp and fun, and had great style. Although the movie's different than the original, it's got that same jubilance to it where you really get excited about siding with the criminals.
Who do you play?
I'm the Benny Hill character, Lyle. Part of my job is to create the biggest traffic jam in Los Angeles. In the original, Benny Hill just replaces a big reel-to-reel, magnetic tape thing that all of the traffic lights run on. But, in the modern day, the traffic system is controlled by a far more complex and technologically intricate system. So my character's job is to break into that and then govern it with my computer.
Is your character different from Benny Hills'?
Benny Hill's character is this twisted sexual deviant who professes his love for obese women, which I thought was so funny. There was nothing like that in this movie, so I thought it would be fun to play my character as someone who had no social graces, yet was embittered by the fact he was universally refused by women. You know: how dare they not see his relevance as a procreator?
Do you use the new or the classic Mini in the movie?
Charlize Theron drives a classic Mini. The movie starts out with the perfect heist and we're double-crossed from within our own crew and spend the rest of the movie trying to recapture our treasure. So we utilise the new Minis, which actually had to be souped-up for the purpose. But the reason that they get the idea for the new Minis is because Charlize has the classic one.
Are you nervous about the British reaction to the film?
I certainly hope you guys like it. Everyone brings up "Get Carter", but that was a poor telling of a classic story. I think this is a really great telling of the story. I certainly appreciate the national love of "The Italian Job", and it's completely warranted. But I don't feel like our movie will compromise anybody else's. Because even if you hate this version, you've still got that one.
