The animated series TRON: Uprising, premiering on Disney XD on June 7th, takes place after the 1982 feature film and before the events in TRON: Legacy. Produced in CG animation with a 2D aesthetic, the series follows the heroic journey of a new character named Beck (voiced by Elijah Wood), a young program who becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution inside the computer world of The Grid. You can watch the first episode here.At a press day for the show, actor Lance Henriksen â who voices General Tesler, the eccentric power hungry dictator that is Cluâs main henchman, tasked with bringing order to Argon City and taking down The Renegade, aka Beck â talked about what he likes best about this animated series, what he enjoys about bringing such a villain to life, whether he likes playing the hero or the villain more, the voice-over work he does in video games, and whether there could ever be a Millennium movie. Check out what he had to say after the jump.Question: What do you like about this animated series?LANCE HENRIKSEN: What I like the most about it is that Iâm computer illiterate, but I get it. Charles Bean is a brilliant director. I come in with an idea and try to do it, but I fall on my face. And then, he says, âWait a minute, there was a little moment in there. Letâs try that moment and expand in that direction.â Because Iâve done a lot of theater, I know what power is and how megalomaniacs are, since Iâve certainly played some. That opened it up and expanded it. When you get into TRON, you have a very fundamental story. Iâm not saying itâs Red Riding Hood, but itâs as fundamental. Itâs power, itâs rebellion, and metaphorically itâs like what people are doing in America right now, with getting mad at the government and the bankers. I find that Tesler is so frustrated and twisted about the power that he wants and what heâs willing to do to get it. Itâs very much like a megalomaniac politician. So, the details of the world started resonating. I donât change any narrative. Thatâs written in stone. Theyâve got the formula. But, in order to personalize it, I just have to give it the energy it needs. Clu is really Teslerâs enemy, but itâs the unspoken enemy. Tesler would never relay that to Paige because that would be his undoing. Heâd get deres-ed, like anybody else. There are also very strong women in this. Usually the male control and domination that tends to be in our genes gets around a powerful woman who has the ability to make choices different from guys, it throws you off and you get frustrated. Iâve done a lot of video games and stuff, and Iâm getting better and better at it. I donât have a prejudice about it being a different medium. Whatâs it like to bring a character to life by yourself, in the recording booth?HENRIKSEN: Nobody does this alone. Charles Bean made the experience for me. I was very happy to keep coming back to do more. Thereâs a pathetic nature to Tesler, too. He canât do everything. He would love to be a real good fighter, but heâs only got a couple of tricks and, once you get on to them, theyâre not as successful. Is Tesler just a pure villain, or is there a level of heart?HENRIKSEN: Not a drop. Not even for himself. Thatâs what makes him a tragic figure. Thereâs something weird about Tesler. If the series goes on, I will have no input. Thereâs not a word they want to hear from me. Thereâs nothing more terrifying than an actor who comes with an idea. Itâs fine when itâs intimate and youâre in the booth, working the narrative. But, I love doing it. My daughter says that Tesler has got the best wardrobe because he has a cape. That makes him capable. What are you working on now, video game wise?HENRIKSEN: Iâve been working on Mass Effect lately. They redid the end because a lot of people were upset that it ended so abruptly. Iâve already been in the booth, so they could work their way out of that. I did a big monologue about something. Is there any chance of their ever being a Millennium movie?HENRIKSEN: Thereâs a big push on it, right now. Theyâve written a book with interviews from everybody that was on the show, including [Frank] Spotnitz and me. That show was awhile ago. Ever since 9/11, the world has changed so radically that, if Millennium was made today with those characters, it would be a far more interesting show than the limited palate they had with serial killers. I love the idea of a non-judgmental character like Frank Black. He wanted to know why and how all these things happened, but he knew that judging someone for what theyâd done was just going to get in the way of finding out things. Imagine that kind of morality and focus, like a master chess player, able to draw in details like beads on a string. It would be much more interesting now than it was then. I loved doing that show. The most important relationship in the show, for me, was between Frank and his daughter, and that actress is getting married now. I think itâs going to happen. I really do. I believe that. I would do it. Thereâs no reason not to. What would you want to see happen?HENRIKSEN: I want to keep moving the pressure in on Frank Black, in regard to a terrorist plot that keeps building and building and building. Youâll be gasping for air, wondering what the hell is going to happen to this guy. Iâm looking forward to it. Itâs crazy, if they donât give it a shot. It doesnât have to be a $30 million movie. Thereâs a lot of fans out there, in 65 countries, just pounding on the door. I canât go to any country without them wanting to know when the movie is going to be made. It doesnât matter where I am. Which do you find more fun to play, the hero or the villain?HENRIKSEN: It depends on the material and the narrative, and what theyâve done and what theyâre after. I just read a script that Iâm probably going to do in England, called The Fifth Girl. Itâs incredibly complex. Sometimes they hire me because they think everybody is going to believe that Iâm the bad guy in the story, but it ends up that Iâm the good guy and you just didnât get it. They did that on purpose in Jennifer 8. Or, I am the bad guy. It really depends on the script. The Fifth Girl is a knock-out because it doesnât use any of those cheap shots. Itâs more of a psychological drama, so it allows you to go over the terrain of the movie, never knowing until the very end, how it all adds up. Itâs really good. I really like playing good guys, of course. Although, people make mistakes in their lives, and you could say that the mistakes make us who we are, by how we respond to them. I just donât want to play boring good guys, but I donât have that problem, anyway. Iâm not Tom Cruise. I donât have to look that good. Iâm always going to have a problem because Iâm thought of as someone edgy, but Iâm not. Iâm a cupcake. TRON: Uprising will air on Thursdays on Disney XD, starting on June 7th.For more on TRON: Uprising, hereâs our interviews with Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Bruce Boxleitner, Paul Reubens and music composer Joe Trapanese.
Lance Henriksen Talks TRON: UPRISING and the "Big Push" for a MILLENNIUM Movie
Lance Henriksen TRON: UPRISING Interview. Lance Henriksen Talks Disney XD Animated Series TRON: UPRISING and the "Big Push" for a MILLENNIUM Movie.