With Sweet Tooth set to premiere on Netflix this Friday (check out our review by clicking here), we were recently fortunate enough to catch up with star Neil Sandilands. As the sinister and mysterious General Douglas Abbot, he's a highlight in the series and no stranger to playing a comic book big bad.
Many of you will know the actor best for his work as The Thinker in The Flash, so while we had Neil on the phone, we had to ask what it will be like for him to see Peter Capaldi play the villain in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. It is, of course, commonplace in the DC Extended Universe for multiple actors to take on the same role (Sasha Calle will follow Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, for example).
"I think it’s marvellous. If you could take something like The Joker who has been embodied by so many performers, when you get handed something like that, it’s a gift," Sandilands explained. "I think we all, as actors, are in a sense finite to what you can actively bring as a vehicle or vessel. Another Thinker may explore other avenues that I didn’t necessarily think of and vice versa."
"It’s fascinating to see what other people bring to it and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it. I might look at his performance and go, ‘Holy Moly, mine is fairly pedestrian!’ In that case, it’s always good to applaud and cheer. You can become a cheerleader for other people’s interpretations."
While Gunn has said Capaldi isn't actually Clifford DeVoe, both villains hold the "Thinker" mantle, and the similarities are apparent. It's great to hear The Flash alum talk so positively about seeing another actor pick up where he left off by putting a different spin on this character, and trust us when we say that Abbot is someone who could definitely give DeVoe a run for his money in terms of sheer villainy.
You can find Neil on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, while we'd also recommend checking out his new album, Sangoma Sandilands & Jou Pa se Posse MAANSKYN, here (a physical copy is also available for pre-order at this link).
Check back here a little later this week for our full chat with the Sweet Tooth star!