Doug Jones who has played the physical role of Abe Sapien in both films will also be playing the voice of Abe in 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army.' He explained how that came about and how he drew from his past to augment his performance.
"When I was presented with the role of Abe Sapien, I was told that they were looking at a celebrity, bigger name voice-over situation. It's very hard to get an A-list actor to put on that much make-up and not be recognized at all so the studio thinking was get someone who will do that and then get a name person to do the voice. Unfortunately for the actor, he's put into a situation like that. As an actor I go into a role expecting to play the role, period. And that includes all of him," Jones said, recapping the casting of the first film.
"So being told they wanted to do a voiceover I put my hand up and was like, 'Woo hoo. Can we not do that?' So my name is thrown into the voice hat as well. Guillermo [said], here's a voice I would like to affect if you want your name considered for the voice. And that was a little bit of Niles Crane from 'Fraiser' mixed in with a little bit of HAL the computer from '2001: A Space Odyssey,' so what that gave me was I effected a voice that wasn't that far from David Hyde Pierce in the first place.
"So by the time the film was finished and they heard everything back again no one had any complaints about my voice. I was given lots of thumbs-ups, but I got a phone call from Guillermo Del Toro telling me that David Hyde Pierce voiced over my role," Jones continued. "I asked him on the day at that moment was it a performance issue. Did I fall short in some way that I can learn from this moment? He said,'Absolutely not. You gave us every bit the voice of Abe that we needed.' The studio was remembering, 'weren't we talking about doing a celebrity voiceover thing and don't you owe us a session with David Hyde Pierce.' They are the ones who sell the film, have to market the film, they have to do what they to do, and it was already out there before I got the role so I understood what they wanted to do."
Of course there was some consolation in that situation.
"Part of that conversation on the phone with Guillermo was if we get the chance and the blessing to do 'Hellboy 2,' I would like your voice to be Abe, I would like to bring it back to you again. So what happened in the meantime between 'Hellboy 1' and '2' were a couple of animated films: 'Hellboy: Sword of Storms,' 'Hellboy: Blood and Iron,'" Jones said. "Of course those are voice performances. There are no visuals because it's animated. What happened was they did offer it to David Hyde Pierce because that would be consistent. David Hyde Pierce politely declined and this was following his declining excepting a credit in the first film, he didn't do any press, he didn't show up at the premiere. When asked why he said out of respect for Doug Jones."
Apparently Pierce had become quite a fan of Jones' work.
"What happened was, he came in to do his voice session, heard my original performance in his ear, saw my performance on film, said, 'Why am I here?' to himself. He did his job. And he did it very well but in the end he didn't want to steal any limelight from me," Jones says. "In the world of Hollywood that is unheard so David Hyde Pierce has my ultimate [makes angelic harp sound] respect. If I ever meet him, he's getting a kiss on the cheek. I love him for what he did. And of course, no one ever would have begrudged him taking a credit in the film because he did work. That was a decision on his part."
When the time came to make the sequel, with Pierce already bowing out of the animated features, there was little hesitation on the part of the studio.
"They just gave it to me so that was a nice transition piece to now hopefully get into 'Hellboy 2' and Guillermo did live up to his promise, he kept my voice in 'Hellboy 2'."
Even though this time his entire performance was going to be used, he "played the role the same both times. In both films, without having to try and mimic anybody, and the difference was a certain confidence this time that my name wasn't in a hat with a bunch of other celebrity names and I felt like I was auditioning every day. There was a confidence this time that my voice was in place and that's what we are using. Thank heaven."
The funniest scene in the film may very likely be Abe and Hellboy commiserating about their love lives over a few cans of Tecate beer while singing along to Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You." That was perfect for Jones who is "a huge fan of Barry Manilow. I am happy to admit that. Not embarrassed about that at all. So when Guillermo told me about this scene, he was tossing around song options and artist options. And when that came up: Barry Manilow's 'Can't Smile Without You.' Heaven!"
Jones exlpains that both his character and Hellboy are having problems with the ladies at this point in the movie.
"Hellboy of course having his domestic issues. 'Liz is mad at me. I can't satisfy her. Whatever is going on there.' Abe is going through, 'My heart is beating for the first time ever. I am feeling things I didn't know were there. I'm an intellectual being. I am not [makes noise] he's very confused," Jones said.
"So going through these moments, and for Abe Sapien especially it was a throwback to my high school days when I had my first puppy love crush. 'Is she going to notice me or not?' And at that time of my life, Barry Manilow was on the radio singing 'Can't Smile Without You.'
"Seriously, and that was the song I would turn up and go, 'I know I can't smile without her. Why doesn't she notice me?' You know, going through all that, so how perfect and how full circle in my life that this song would come up in a scene where a throwback to high school. It was just great. Who better to button up that scene than Barry Manilow? Then when the song starts playing you can't help but sing along. Right? I've always wanted to be in a musical and this is as close as I've come."
If musical fishmen are what you're after, look no further than 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army', currently the #1 movie in theaters everywhere!
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