The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild continues the hilarious escapades of the sub-zero heroes as they create more prehistoric pandemonium. Eager for a little independence, the thrill-seeking possum brothers Crash and Eddie set out to find a place of their own, but soon find themselves trapped beneath the ice in a massive cave inhabited by dinosaurs.
They are rescued by the one-eyed, adventure-loving weasel Buck Wild, and together, with the help of some new friends, embark on a mission to save the Lost World from dinosaur domination.
Star Trek and Mission: Impossible star Simon Pegg reprises the role of Buck in this movie, a character he first lent his voice to in 2009's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. It's been quite a run, but this adventure sees the unhinged weasel take centre stage for a wacky, high-stakes adventure.
Talking to us earlier this month, Simon reflects on his tenure as Buck Wild, compares the role to his previous action movie characters, and explains his approach to playing a larger than life protagonist who's small in stature. He also weighs in on the madcap mammals' very detailed Wikipedia page.
Check out our interview with The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild star in the player below:
I was quite surprised looking back at the history of the franchise that you've now been playing this character since 2009 -
[Laughs] Yeah!
- so what is it like for you to keep returning to this franchise, especially when it is such a beloved, iconic property?
It’s a delight. I’m very attached to Buck just because I love the character and I played him first the year my daughter was born. I watched these films with her as she was growing up, so I have a special affection for Buck. Any chance I get to play him, I’m always really happy, you know? When I heard they were doing a film called ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ [Laughs] I was thrilled.
You’ve played a lot of action heroes in various films from Shaun to Benji and even Gary King, so how do you think Buck compares to them when it comes to how he deals with these high-pressure, crazy scenarios he finds himself in?
[Laughs] I think Buck is probably the most capable of all [of them]. Maybe Benji might just have him pipped just because Benji is sane. Buck has this tenuous grip on reality which is part of his charm. His daughter’s a pumpkin, his babysitter’s a cucumber, he speaks to skeletons. He’s so capable Buck. He’s utterly courageous. What he lacks in sanity, he makes up for in sheer moral power. He’s a delight to play in that way and is like the friend everybody needs.
Buck, of course, is a larger than life character, but very small in stature particularly in this Ice Age world; how much thought are you giving that in the recording booth bringing him to life?
That’s a good question. You always record the voice first in animation, as you know, and the animators then animate to your performance, but when I first played Buck way back in the day, I was given animatics of him and shown how he moves, how slithery he is, and how his jaw sticks out. I think you look at the picture you get given and start to form a characterisation around the visuals. He’s such a beautifully realised character. Just to look at him - as you can see, I’ve got him with me now - it was very easy to find him. I’ve loved playing him so much, from the very first appearance through getting to sing Figaro with Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo for Collision Course and now being in this new adventure. It’s something I really look forward to.
I'm not sure if you're aware, but Buck has his own Wikipedia page and that thing is detailed. It took me a good while to get through it -
Really?
[Laughs] Yeah, so is it quite intimidating having that history and feeling like you need to remember it or do you just know the character at this point so you don’t really need to revisit it?
Yeah, I feel like I know Buck. I feel like I know how he would react. I don’t know how much of anything Buck remembers anyway. His brain is a mystery to everybody, but it’s lovely that he’s kind of become a part of the Ice Age Universe and dynasty as such a popular series of movies. There’s a meme I saw of Buck which is somebody’s dog with a leaf over their eye and it says, ‘If you don’t know who this is, we can’t be friends.’ I was so thrilled to see he’s become part of the cultural subconscious in that regard.
Finally, The Book of Boba Fett is streaming at the moment and there’s a lot of talk about cameos. I know you’ve mentioned being interested in maybe playing a live-action Dengar down the line, so what are the odds that happens in this season or somewhere in the future?
Not in this season, but you just never know. I’ve put many things out into the universe in the past and they’ve oddly come back to me. I occasionally throw out these little cultural boomerangs and we’ll see [Laughs].
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild premieres on Disney+ on January 28.