Posted in: Paramount+, TV | Tagged: golden axe

Golden Axe: Matthew Rhys & Liam McIntyre Discuss Game, Humor & More

Golden Axe stars Matthew Rhys (Widow's Bay) and Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) spoke with us about embracing the Paramount+ comedy fantasy series.

When Paramount+ announced an animated adaptation of the popular Sega fantasy franchise Golden Axe, it wasn't going to take itself too seriously, with creator-showrunners Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler infusing their humor with a talented ensemble cast that includes now three-time Emmy winner Matthew Rhys (Widow's Bay), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), and Lisa Gilroy (Twisted Metal) as the heroes: the battle dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead; barbarian warrior Ax Battler; and battle sorceress Tyris Flare. They're joined by humanoid panther Chronos "Evil" Lait (voice of Carl Tart) and the inexperienced adventurer Hampton Squib (voice of Danny Pudi) as they take on the quest to defeat Death Adder, who controls the Golden Axe. Rhys and McIntyre spoke to Bleeding Cool about their personal experience with the Makoto Uchida games of the same name, embracing the animated series' absurd quirkiness, McIntyre parodying himself, and recording their lines without playing off each other.

Golden Axe Stars Matthew Rhys and Liam McIntyre on Embracing their Zany Animated Adventure

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about Golden Axe with Mike and Joe's take on the franchise?

Rhys: Liam, do you want to go first?

McIntyre: Yeah, sure. For me, I'm just a huge dork. My best mate had a [Sega] Mega Drive, or a "Genesis" back in the day, as you would know, if I want to translate for countries. So, for me [Rhys laughs] it was absolutely a no-brainer. Plus, I mean, I don't get to do a lot of fun stuff. I'm usually stabbing something or whatnot, so the idea that someone would be like, "He's funny enough to be in something funny," was very appealing. That was my key in that one. What are you?

Rhys: Yeah, I was a child. I played this back in '89 when it came out, so when I first heard it, they were like, "Oh, we're going to do a series of it." I was like, "Oh, it'll be kind of probably sincere to the storyline," and then when I read it, and it was this take, this slightly more a…

McIntyre: Irreverent

Rhys: And very funny take on it, I thought that was such a smart move of theirs to turn it on its head in many ways. When I read the script, I was pretty much all in anyway, because I'm such a nostalgic fool, but when I read the take they had on it, I was like, I'm all in.

McIntyre: That's why I like that, though, because it really lifts up the original stuff. It's really funny, but it very much honors the nostalgia of that as well. I didn't feel like I was taking a piss or anything. It really understood what the game was and was like, "We could do something really fun with this."

Rhys: Yeah, which is true because when you look at it in a more abstract way, and you see what it is and what they used to the creatures they fought and wrote. There's a lot of material there for…

McIntyre: Oh, the magic goblin, Janzu, who's my absolute favorite.

Rhys: It's hilarious. Yeah, it's good.

Aside from the script, was there any personal inspiration, like that, you modeled Gilius Thunderhead and Ax Battler after?

McIntyre: I mean, I got to be Spartacus, so I could just be like, What's the funnest version of him?" So yeah, I've like, "Oh, gladiators? Warriors? Barbarians? Sure! Oh my!" Look, the writing team is exemplary, so I was like, "Tell me what you need. Oh, let's go!" Also, my kid. My son is such an earnest, lovable, stubborn, and delightful human being, and Ax's a big puppy dog. He's always like, "Do you see that?! Do you see that?!" My kid will do something cool, but constantly check in and make sure everyone else is seeing it at the same amount and enjoying it the same way, so a small amount of my kids thrown in there as well.

Rhys: I basically am Gilius [McIntyre laughs]. I'm just an angry small person trapped in the body of a small person.

McIntyre: Yeah, Canadian.

Rhys: Yeah, it worked out great. It wasn't a reach for me. No, I found Gilius kind of frighteningly easy to tap into, because I could relate to the rage.

McIntyre: And the beard.

Rhys: I've kept a beard since.

Two-part question here: Matt, what did you enjoy about working with Danny and building that dynamic with Gilius and Hampton? Liam, you spend more time with Lisa's Tyris and Carl's Chronos, and what did you enjoy working with in that dynamic?

Rhys: Quite cruelly, we're made to record alone. Well, I was made to record alone, Liam, unless there's something I don't know, and you all got together and recorded this together.

McIntyre: [With left palm against his face] DON'T TELL MATTHEW!

Rhys: Yeah, which would be uncomfortable [McIntyre laughs], but we only really got to enjoy…sometimes they would feed me tidbits of what the others were doing, so I could get an understanding and a handle, and have a good laugh at what all the others, not at obviously with, what all the others were doing. It was, like, so many things done so remotely.

McIntyre: Yeah, I have wonderful news for you: I also suffered this impairment. We didn't have a whole party where we just were the no-Matts party. It is the nature of the beast these days that you are; they fit you in. It is cumbersome and often challenging with a lot of actors. I'm sure getting Matthew, Danny, and all these guys- people- in a room at the same time is a logistical challenge. This is the first person from the show that I've met, and it's a delight. He's a delight.

Rhys: Yeah, but also, it's more problematic about egos. When you've got that many egos in one room, microphones will be weaponized.

McIntyre: Weaponized, although to be fair, I find that voiceover is one of the gentlest, most collaborative, every time I have had the pleasure of working with others in that little space. It's almost like an improv troupe, and you just bounce some things around. I would love more opportunities to work with people such as yourself in person.

Rhys: Agreed.

McIntyre: But it is still like, as you say, they feed you the lines when they're so you still get to bounce off everyone and sort of feel it's a fun puzzle. It's just a challenging reality of the voiceover space.

Rhys: Yeah.

Golden Axe, which comes courtesy of CBS Eye Animation Productions, Sony Pictures Television, Original Film, Sega Sammy Group, Important Science, and Titmouse, premieres September 16th on Paramount+

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