Marvel’s new show Wonder Man is now streaming, and it shows us what’s happening in Hollywood while the Avengers are saving the multiverse. Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley) team up to get cast in a big-budget superhero movie, and to make everything more authentic, the show brought in two famous actors not just to cameo but to play themselves.
Those actors are Joe Pantoliano, star of The Matrix, Bad Boys, The Sopranos, and so much more, as well as Josh Gad, star of Frozen, Jobs, and the upcoming Spaceballs 2.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Wonder Man filmmakers Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest explained how and why each actor boarded the project.
Those reasons do contain some spoilers for Wonder Man so, best to drop this warning.
Gad shows up in the show’s fourth episode, “Doorman,” which tells the story of the superpowered person who made it so no actors with powers can ever appear in a movie again. Gad plays a particularly slimy exaggeration of himself as the star who takes the doorman, aka DeMarr Davis, under his wing, to both of their detriments.
“There was always a celebrity character cameo for DeMarr to be paired with in that episode, but Josh was the first person we asked,” Guest told EW. “And once he said yes, we got to write it specifically to him. And he just jumped in with both feet. He was so much fun to work with on set.”
“Obviously, he’s so funny and is a bit of a Disney icon,” Cretton added. “To be able to take somebody like that, who is known for being so charming and wonderfully sweet and supportive, and have him play a bit of an alter ego—in a lot of ways, he’s kind of playing the devil in this episode. He’s taking somebody who was very happy with his life, who was very content with where he was, and he planted this seed of power, like, ‘You’re better than this.’ He planted this seed that creates a bit of a monster that ends up in a very tragic place. But because it’s Josh Gad, it’s really funny and really fun to watch.”
Yes, yes it is.
As for Pantoliano, he plays one of Trevor’s most bitter rivals, appearing in multiple episodes, including the finale. Casting him was similar to how Gad came on board.
“We had a list of character actors who are some of the best actors out there who maybe are not household names, but there was such a love from every person at Marvel of so many of these people who’ve meant so much to so many of us,” Guest said. “And Joey just stood out amongst the crop and was the first person we put a call into.”
And once the actor lovingly referred to as “Joey Pants” agreed, the role again became tailored to him. “The wonderful thing about him is he’s got so much to say about [acting and Hollywood],” Guest said. “He’s written several books. He’ll talk your ear off about acting and about his thoughts about why he got into the business and where his love of the craft comes from. And we put all of that in the script, and it’s really incredible.”
See Pantoliano and Gad in all their MCU glory in Wonder Man, which is now on Disney+.
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