Taking over the role of Johann Schmidt, alias Red Skull, leader of the evil HYDRA organization in Marvel's much-anticipated
Captain America: The First Avenger film, Hugo Weaving was director Joe Johnston's casting choice from the get-go. And recently detailing his approach to the iconic character among other things, Read what Weaving had to say below.
“I knew nothing about the Captain America stories, and I have a very limited knowledge of super heroes in general. It’s been an education for me to become part of this world. Johann Schmidt is a German officer who has an interest in a power beyond an Earthly power and, as far as villains go, I think that makes him all the more interesting.”
“There are so many different stories and differing images of Red Skull out there, I just wasn’t sure where to go—do I dive into the comics, or work from the script? I felt that the best thing I could do would be to work off the particular version of Red Skull in the script, as Marvel developed this particular story line for him. No matter how long the character has been around or how many appearances he has made in comics or in pop culture, the only thing that is pertinent for me as an actor is to try and understand what the character is and what he’s trying to achieve. And that is all on the pages of the script.”
“I thought playing Red Skull would be fun to do. When they first showed me the visual images of him, I thought at least it would be a challenge to play such an iconic villain. And getting to work with [director of photography Shelly Johnson and production designer Rick Heinrichs] again [from Wolfman] was an added bonus.”
Captain America: The First Avenger focuses on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull. Starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Stanley Tucci and Hugo Weaving, the film releases July 22, 2011.