Metal Heads
Nickelodeon March 2005
Ewan McGregor plays Rodney Copperbottom, a robot in a world of robots who heads
to the big city to realize his dream of being an inventor.
NM:How long did it take you to record the lines
for your character?
EM:It took me by surprise how many recordings there were. I did maybe four hours
of recording every month for a year and a half. The story would change or new
scenes were constructed, so I was constantly going back to do more.
Was it hard to get back into the character each
time?
Every time I went back to it, it was easier than the last time because I got
to know the character more.
What is Rodney like?
He's a little robot who's a dreamer. He comse from a really small town and is
driven to go to the big city to become and inventor. He wants to do something
that matters.
Was it hard to play such a straight and earnest
character?
I'm very straight and earnest myself, so not really.
Is your life anything like Rodney's?
There's this scene where he's at the train station leaving home [to move to
the city]. I had the same situation when I was leaving Scotland to go
to England to become an actor. It was more or less the same scene, except my
mom wasn't trying to get me to stay!
Did you improvise your lines at all?
The more I worked on it, the more I improvised. But to begin wiht, I was kind
of straight [with the script].
What kind of accent did you use?
I made Rodney kind of a generic, standard American. There's not a hint of Scotland
there. And if there is, it's my mistake.
What's hardest about doing an American accent?
The biggest thing is that in britain, we pronounce the word been, as "bean"
instead of "bin." You guys say "bin," like, "I've bin
away," or "He's bin to prison." We'd say, "He's bean away."
You have to be careful with those beans.
If you had your own robot, what would you have
it do for you?
I'd have it do the bills and all that boring stuff. It would make me coffee
and food so I could just play with my cars on my lunch breaks.
In the movie, Rodney often fixes the robot played
by Robin Williams. Are you good at fixing stuff in real life?
I'm not a mechanic, but I'm not bad at tinkering with stuff.
What would be on a Ewan McGregor sandwich?
Turkey breast, lettuce, tomato, mustard, salt, pepper, and a pickle.