Actor
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, probably forever known to movie fans as "McLovin" from
Superbad, is easily the most unlikely superhero one could imagine, but that's what makes his portrayal as the "Red Mist" in director
Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass so interesting. In the same way casting Mintz-Plasse as the Red Mist flips the expectations of the viewer as to what a superhero should be, so too does
Kick-Ass flip the expectations of what a superhero
movie should be, which is precisely what drew the young actor to the role.
"There have been a million superhero movies out there, but this was something completely different and quite original. These are kids who don't have any powers, but they're still committed to the life of being a superhero. Now, I'm hearing people say, 'This film is changing the superhero genre because it says that you don't need anything but sheer will to be a superhero.' I don't think we set out to do that, but something special happened along the way. Otherwise, the film is very violent, bloody and has kick-ass action."
However, as much as he loved portraying a superhero, Mintz-Plasse admitted that wearing the uniform of a superhero is not all it's cracked up to be.
"At first, the costume was cool. In fact, it was the coolest I ever [saw]. But after 12 hours a day in red spandex, it was very uncomfortable. You sweat a lot and the cape cut under my arms and cut off my circulation. You know, capes are tricky. They had to tie it under my armpits, and honestly you never really think about how Superman or Batman dealt with the uncomfortable, heavy cape. It did make me feel good that Batman goes through the same thing as me. The disappointment is I didn't feel powerful in the costume. I was actually the butt of a lot of jokes."
Kick-Ass also stars
Aaron Johnson as Kick-Ass,
Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl,
Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy and
Mark Strong as mob boss Frank D'Amico.
Kick-Ass opens April 16th!