Video interview from Movieweb with BFFs Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earl Haley/ Assume spoilers:

Jeffrey Dean Morgan
At first glance, the Comedian is an asshole, and there’s nothing redeeming about this guy, and you should just absolutely hate him. And, every time I read the book before we started work on filming, I was fascinated by how I didn’t hate him, and almost how I almost kinda sympathised with him. And there was a couple of moments that I really keyed into that kinda showed this human side of this monster… Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons wrote this book, and the characters are so complex and layered, certainly unlike anything seen in this genre. So as actors, to be a part of this and work with Zack on the ‘unfilmable’ graphic novel not only was a scary proposition but was a challenging one, and a fun one.

"What do you think you, as a 12 year old, would have thought about your character in this film?"

Jeffrey Dean Morgan
I think I as a 12 year old would have been scared shitless by the Comedian but, I would have loved to have dressed up as him at Halloween.

"Is he redeemed by his lonesome fate at the start of the film?"

Jeffrey Dean Morgan
I think Blake stepped over an edge a long time ago. I think a key moment in the timeline of the Comedian’s life is the minute he tries to rape Sally Jupiter… he crosses a line, and he knows it. And hence, the pain. I feel in a way he deserves his fate, and he knows it. There’s no redeeming what he’d done.

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At that point Crudup is whisked off, and in comes the strapping Jeffrey Dean Morgan, best known for his role as heart patient Denny Duquette on TV sensation Grey’s Anatomy, and for wooing Hilary Swank with a dodgy Irish brogue in PS I Love You.
"I was very conscious of that accent during filming PS," he later tells me. "It was a challenge, but I had a great time making it. I filmed and stayed in Wicklow. Man, I could live there. I loved it."
Dressed in a black suit, with open-necked white shirt, and bedecked with several silver skull rings and bling-tastic bracelets, Morgan is sporting a grey-flecked beard, which seems to disappoint two of his adoring female fans in the press corp. "I’ve been off for the past month, so this is me au natural," he explains in his deep voice, lazily leaning back in his chair.
The role of The Comedian couldn’t be farther from Morgan’s hitherto nice-guy screen persona. In Watchmen, the 42-year-old plays a ruthless, government-sanctioned killer and would-be rapist, who thinks nothing of shooting dead a Vietnamese woman carrying his own child. Morgan’s devoted Denny Duquette brigade are in for a real shock.
"Oh, I reckon those fans are just going to have to live with it," he laughs. "Like Watchmen, Grey’s has its own fans who are very specific and they feel very protective of the characters. It will be interesting to see those worlds collide. But I think a lot of those fans won’t see it because they will know what kind of movie this is, and what kind of badass The Comedian is, and realise that it’s not their thing."
Morgan will playing another villain later this year, when he reunites with Hilary Swank for the thriller The Resident, one of five movies he has signed on for since wrapping Watchmen.
"I like to work," he states. "I spent 20 years not working and trying to get work, so I’m not going to complain. I’ll sleep when I’m dead."
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Here’s another interview with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earl Haley.I love these two together. They look like they’re having fun. They should do another movie together.

New interview, new pic. And I bought the Comedian 6″ doll action figure. I have the “variant” special edition, without the mask.  Even though the variant is the limited edition, the masked one was sold out. I will post pics tonight.

And you can ask Jeffrey Dean Morgan a question at TV Guide. And let’s keep it above the waistline!

Do You Have Any Burning Questions for Watchmen‘s Jeffrey Dean Morgan?

Watchmen’ Star Jeffrey Dean Morgan On His Favorite Souvenirs And The Story’s Significance

There are certain accessories that define superheroes — Superman’s cape or Wonder Woman’s tiara, just to name a few. And in the world of “Watchmen,” there is no piece of flair more ubiquitous to the story than The Comedian’s smiley face pin. For those of us who have read the comic, it’s right there in the first panel of page one, and from what we’ve seen of director Zack Snyder’s adaptation so far via “Watchmen” trailers and “Watchmen” posters, it looks to play a major symbolic role in the film as well.So, naturally, you’d assume that Jeffrey Dean Morgan — the actor who portrays The Comedian — got to walk away with the pin that’s become the iconic image of highly-anticipated flick… but you’d be wrong.
“I don’t have the smiley face pin,” laughed Morgan. “I have a domino mask and my dog tags from Vietnam which are pretty cool. I have those two items. I know Zack took my guns — that made me mad, I wanted those puppies [laughs]! But yeah, that’s what I made off with.”
Regardless of not getting the opportunity to bring home a piece of comic book history — or an arsenal of big honkin’ guns — Morgan sees the chance to play a role in “Watchmen” as souvenir enough.

“It’s such a smart piece of literature,” said Morgan. “It’s unlike any comic book that’s ever been written. It takes whatever we know about superheroes and throws it right out the window. I know the ‘Watchmen’ fans are going to go see it, but I hope everybody gets a chance to see it because it does take any kind of preconceived notions we have about superheroesand throws it out right out the window and superheroes movies are a big deal right now.”

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An a new photo from the Munich photocall. First London, then Paris, now Munich. It’s like Eurotrip!

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I’ve been getting so many Google Alerts that when my BlackBerry vibrates I’m surprised when it’s work related. Not too surprised, though…

Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be making some appearances to promote Watchmen. Good thing, since I really haven’t seen WB do much to push this thing.

He’ll be on Good Morning America on March 4 and on The View on March 6.

And he’ll be at the New York Apple store on March 5. So if you’re in the area and aren’t doing anything else, head on down!

WHO PLAYS THE WATCHMEN? Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Jackie Earle Haley

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• by Erik Amaya, Contributing Writer

The darkest visions in “Watchmen” are personified in the Comedian and Rorschach. Both see the world as hopeless. For the Comedian, it is an absurdist land of nihilism. For Rorschach, it is a debauched Hell that will beg him for help. Both are incapable of seeing a bright, beautiful tomorrow and both recoil accordingly when they see the full scope of the conspiracy told in the panels and reels of “Watchmen.”
When actors Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan talked to CBR News about the film based on the classic DC Comics graphic novel by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, both called the chance to play the book’s most compelling and central characters, as Haley described it, “a pinch-yourself moment.”
Haley had been a child actor, most notably in the original “Bad News Bears” and “Breaking Away.” After a decade of unsteady work and a subsequent thirteen years out of the business all together, he returned to films in 2006 with “Little Children” and “All the King’s Men.” Speaking about his whirlwind return, Haley said, “It’s just been incredible: to have been a child actor and to watch that stuff slowly drift away; then to struggle for a few years and find my way in this world, and to have this kind of comeback. When Steve Zaillian called to put me in ‘All the Kings Men,’ it just opened up this door again and I was invited back into this world. It really seemed like an impossibility that just never would happen again. So, I can’t describe how incredible it’s been to practice this craft that’s something that means a great deal to me.”
When the call came to play to Rorschach, Haley said, “I was just flabbergasted.” The actor admits he only read “Watchmen” when the project became a serious undertaking in the last several years. “I wasn’t fully aware of ‘Watchmen’ prior to getting the role, but after hearing the movie was going to get made–and prior to getting the role–I became aware of what ‘Watchmen’ was and who Rorschach was and what the material met to the fanbase,” he explained.

Jackie Earl Haley stars as Rorschach

Haley calls the book “an amazing piece of work” and Rorschach “an incredible character and an iconic character. He’s a beloved psychopath of Comic-Con. I recognized it was something I really wanted to do. And the more I learned about Rorschach and the material it was just like ‘wow.’”
As Rorschach, Haley takes on a deep, scorched voice, which he says was his initial impression of the character. “[The voice] was the first thing I heard when I read the book. I think it was pretty similar on my audition tape. I think it’s shifted a little bit, but it was the first thing that I heard,” he recalled.
Through making the film, Haley did wonder if his vocal choice was the right take. “I remember taking to [director] Zack [Snyder], ‘Should we work on it, should we try some different stuff?’ And we thought, ‘Well maybe,’ but it just seemed to work, so we never re-examined it.”
Rorschach’s other signature feature, his mask, initially proved to be a struggle for Haley. “At first, you’re kind of nervous because you’re taking away your main [acting] tool, which is your face,” he explained.
When asked if there was any difference in how he played the character unmasked, Haley joked, “Freckles? I donned freckles.” He then elaborated, “I don’t think that he throws on his mask and completely changes his identity. But I think when he’s in the middle of an interrogation, it might pump up his adrenaline and his syntax, just like anybody would.”
The mask also allowed for a lot of Rorscach’s fights to be handled by Haley’s “kick-ass stunt guy.” Haley is well versed in Kempo and Tai Kwon Do, though he claims to be “a little rusty.” This aided him in preparing for fight work he did do himself. “I think what helped me with already having some experience with martial arts is that I didn’t need to do what Jeffrey did, which was show up two months before and start with the basics.”

Scene from "Watchmen"

Jeffrey Dean Morgan joked that his training was “just learning how to take a punch and how to not hit somebody, apparently.” The Comedian’s only fight scenes is the film’s opener, in which he is completely outmatched by a masked assailant. “I’m still angry about it,” he quipped. “I was like, ‘just let me hit him one time, for crying out loud!’”
Morgan has been a working actor since the early 1990s, but only came to prominence in the last few years, when he was ready to quit acting altogether. “Before everything hit at once, the television stuff, I was done,” he recalled. “This isn’t working. I made a bad career choice. I put my eggs in one basket. I’m going to be forty soon and I can’t pay my rent. This is ridiculous, what have I done?” Now that things have turned around, he can appreciate the luck involved. “It’s just in this business, a lot of it is luck. There’s a lot really good actors out there that you’ll never get to meet and then there’s a lot of crappy actors that you get to [see] all the time.”
Asked what his fans from “Grey’s Anatomy” will think of the Comedian, Morgan said, “Oh, they’ll be in for a shock.”

Scene from "Watchmen"

Morgan explained the Comedian’s problem with women, one of the central themes of the character. “I think he has deep seeded issues with everyone. He just seemed to connect more with women, no pun intended. It’s kind of who he is, unfortunately.” Those aspects of the character were difficult for Morgan to portray. “There were a couple of moments that were hard for me to do as an actor just because those are vicious hits. It’s not like pushing somebody against a wall, not that that’s right, either. It’s just a smack down. I give [Sally Jupiter] a beatdown and there’s nothing nice about it. We weren’t, obviously, holding back anything and you’re looking at four panels [in the comic] and you’re filling in those blanks with what would be the reality of it and it’s vicious.”
Both actors are appreciative of the roles and the timing of “Watchmen” in regards to their own lives. “I think it helps when good things happen a little later in life. It’s not like Jackie and I are going to be whooping it up with Paris Hilton down on Sunset Boulevard,” Morgan explained.
The higher profile they both have has one other added benefit Morgan was willing to share: “The scripts we get to read are a lot better than they used to be. That’s kind of a cool thing.”
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Here are some more Jeffrey Dean Morgan Watchmen interviews. One video and a couple text.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Watchmen Interview  – I can’t embed this one, so here’s the link.
 

Exclusive Interview with Jeffrey Dean Morgan AKA The Comedian

Well, I can tell you all I’ve seen Watchmen, but that’s about all I can tell you (stupid embargo). Luckily I was able to sit down to a one on one with Jeffrey Dean Morgan who was able to spill a bit of dirt about the film. I was so excited to speak with Jeffrey because he plays one of films first truly evil superheroes ever, The Comedian, who is unlike any other superhero you’ve ever seen before. He’s dangerous, resentful, angry, and of course, smiling the whole way through. The casting in this movie was phenomenal. Jeffrey was literally the perfect man for the role in every way, shape, and sound.
When meeting him, he wasn’t quite the physical presence that he was on screen, he had lost the stash and smoking gun, but had gained a giant skull ring and a black button down shirt. It was so nice to talk to anactor who was happy to be promoting his film and yet not afraid to joke around and be open about how he felt. Although however charismatic and charming he was, he definitely has13 a voice and a way about him that showed he certainly has a powerful and edgy side to him – perfect for the role.
Check out what Jeffrey Dean Morgan had to say about shooting his role as the Comedian in Zack Snyder’s upcoming film, The Watchmen out March 6th…
What’s it like being one of the first truly evil superheroes?

JDM: It’s Awesome. I mean, it’s one of the reason’s I wanted to do this so bad. I’ve been kind of doing the same thing for the past couple of years, that people already know me from, and a sort of chance to play kind of the 180 from this good guy I’ve been doing. It was awesome. It was a hell of an opportunity. The Comedian is The Comedian for God sake, I loved it, it was a blast. It was challenging and hard some days, but the overall experience of playing an evil guy is pretty great.

The Comedian had to be smiling and happy a lot, through some really gruesome scenes. Was there anything extra you had to do to prepare?

JDM: He enjoyed what he did that’s for sure. Ultimately it comes down to acting. There are two schools of thought, or probably more. You can do the method thing, and kind of dive into it and take it home with you, or you can do your job and you try to go home and lead a normal life. I tried to do the latter. I tried to not let this stick with me. I also wanted to enjoy my time making this movie, because the experience itself as a whole was kind of so phenomenal to be part of it. I really did have a good time, even in the midst of putting a flamethrower on somebody. I won’t say that the attempted rape was fun, I draw my line there, but more often than not I really did have a smile on my face. I had a good time doing all the shit that I got to do.

Did the outfit help?

JDM: It did. It was an amazing transformation. You put that costume on, and I would pop the cigar in my mouth — I already had the sweet mustache — and a sort of transformation did occur. I got a lot less friendly, a lot more smart-assy, and a little meaner when I did all that.

At what point did you realize the magnitude of this film that you were a part of?

JDM: I mean I knew, I had kind of been on the internet and seen that it had this kind of rabid fan base that really cared about this project to the point where they hated us already for even attempting to make the movie. The day I think it kind of hit me, where I was like what the heck am I involved in, was when we were doing the Keene Riots. It was the most amazing set I’d ever seen, essentially it was the streets of New York, and there were probably a 150 taxicabs ripping through there. It was just this massive set and there I was jumping off of Archie into this crowd of like 500 hundred extras. Fires are burning seemingly out of control, and I’m thinking “I’m sure something’s going to go wrong, and I’m going to get incredibly hurt.” Just the scale of it I think, it hit me that I was involved in something well beyond anything I’d ever done, and well beyond anything I’ll probably ever do again. I can’t imagine ever doing anything like this again.

ME: They don’t come around everyday.

No, no, and what can you do now? What can I ever do as an actor? How do you go in this genre of film? I can’t. I just did the one. I did Watchmen! I can’t, there’s nothing more.

I mean this in the BEST possible way possible. I think the casting they did for this movie was really amazing, instead of going for the biggest names that are out, they really went for the actors that were best for the roles.

JDM: I think your right. I think that it would have taken away from Watchmen being Watchmen, say if Tom Cruise was in it. Because then you’re losing the essence of what Watchmen is if you put some big star in there. I think Zack mentioned exactly that to the studio, and the fact that they went for it was kind of mind blowing. I think that Zack pulled a hell of a cast together, I really do. I think everybody was so good in it. Yeah, I agree. Thank you, and I agree.

This film is really dark for a comic book movie, in fact it kind of breaks into a whole new genre. What do you think about the R-rating the film received?

JDM: In staying true to this novel, I don’t think that there was a choice. If you’re going to stay true to this, you have to go for it. I think that’s what Zack, that’s what everybody involved, that’s what I did. We went for it. It’s risky trying to open an R rated superhero movie. There’s no doubt about it. It’s never been done before. If it works, we’re geniuses (laughs). It’s the greatest decision in the world. We’ll see. This is unlike anything that’s ever been done before. It’s not Fantastic Four rated R. You know what I mean? It’s so kind of beyond that. It’s such a different movie. I can’t figure out how to describe this film and what kind of genre it is, because I don’t look at it as a superhero movie. It’s much dirtier, and grittier, and weirder, and more awesome than that. It’s kind of hard to nail this one down. If Warner Brothers does there job, and word of mouth does their job. I think we did ours, now it’s just a matter of seeing what happens. It’s out there in the world, and roll the dice man.

Did Zack Snyder pay close attention to detail? Did he constantly use the graphic novel as reference during the shoot?

JDM: The amount of preparation that went in, far before I was ever involved, from production, down to design, down to props was so, I mean these people were fans of the novel too. Zack always calls them like Easter eggs, because in any gi

ven frame there’s something in there that’s amazing. I remember walking one day, and I wasn’t working this day, I think I came in to talk to press, and we were at the prison. I was just walking through the prison, and they had just had some massive fire scene, they were throwing crap down in the prison. The stuff was floating down off the tiers, and I picked up one of the things. They were all newspaper articles from 1980-something that were burned! Someone had actually gone and made all these papers. The year was correct, the month was correct. Stories about Rorschach, or with Watchmen are in these newspapers, and that just amazed me. I’m like, there’s no way the camera’s going to pick up any of this, but yet somebody sat there and did all this friggin’ work.

I wish I could have been on set.

JDM: (Laughs) It was really cool. You could have been, everybody else was there.

In the end, there is the huge question of whether or not it’s right to destroy the world in order to save it. If you had to pick, which Watchmen in this movie is really fighting for humanity, which character do you side with?

JDM: In this movie? (Laughs) I’m like…fighting for humanity? So are we saying like Ozzy here? As the Comedian I would say not Ozzy. As a movie guy, and reading the book I think ultimately, is it not a bad idea? Is killing millions but saving the world, is that fighting for humanity? (Pauses) That’s a good question.

Well I guess that’s kind of the point of the movie! Everyone has to answer it for themselves. (Laughs)

JDM: I know, all right. Well shit I wasn’t ready for it. (Laughs)

With all the stuff that’s added into the movie after filming with special effects and whatnot, how do you keep the big picture in mind?

JDM: It’s hard. You lose track of it some days. That’s where Zack was so great. He always knew what was going on, and if we lost track because it’s hard. Your being very specific a lot of the time, your right. In doing a scene, your very specific about what’s going on, but you can lose track of like you said, the bigger picture. It’s very key, especially with something like this where everything’s kind of so complicated and entwined, that someone at least knows what the hell’s going on. But really we were so kind of well versed in the novel. I mean there would be times when I’d be like, “whoa, wait a minute, but in the next scene I’m doing this.”
There was this weird domino effect with this project; I’d never seen anything quite like it. From Zack, it just dribbled down to the rest of us and we all started, we became these fanboys, these groupies of this novel. Instead of feeling like we were shooting this massive, huge movie that no one had control over. It very much felt like we were shooting this $500,000 low budget, independent film that we’d all thrown in our own money. It had that feel, it had that kind of passion. Again, that will never happen again. I just can’t imagine that kind of feeling ever happening. It was a really special environment to be working in.

It sounds absolutely amazing.

JDM: Yeah, it was rockin.’

Did you see the film?

JDM: I did. I saw it a couple of weeks ago.

What did you think?

JDM: I think it knocked it out of the park.

Yeah, it’s kind of epic.

JDM: Would you mind telling some people that? (laughs)

Like I would MIND telling people about this movie! I just can’t wait to put up my review and see how well this movie does.
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Morgan brings Reynolds swagger to ‘Watchmen’

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has revealed that he attempted to bring some "Burt Reynolds swagger" to his role in Watchmen.

Speaking to Digital Spy at the movie’s world premiere, the actor said that he took inspiration from Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons’s template for his character The Comedian.
"Hopefully [I'llbring] some swagger," Morgan said. "Maybe a little Cannonball Run, some Sharkey’s Machine, who knows? Maybe a little bit."

Discussing his role as a government-sanctioned vigilante, Morgan said: "He’s the dark side of the superhero film we’re doing here. [He's an] alcoholic, nihilist, doesn’t treat women very well. All the good stuff that superheroes probably should do!"

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