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Recently, Brian Tyree Henry has played a vehicle in Transformers One (Megatron) and a character obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. One of the most memorable parts of Bullet Train is Henry's character, who brings up Thomas more than anything.
For Henry, the decision between the two IPs was tough: “Both are made of steel — both are pretty cutting edge,” he pondered. “I'm going to say Transformers.”
Why? This is because Transformers turn into various things, whereas Thomas is a one-trick pony. He also dubbed the Transformers “more mature.”
As for his favorite Transformer, the decision is easy: “I want you to answer that question,” he tells me. “What do you think?”
The answer is obviously Megatron, the character he voices in Transformers One. While his playful answer may seem vain, he smiled when explaining, “He is a badass.”
Going into the booth for Transformers One
Voice-acting is a different ball game than live-action. For Henry, he finds it to be an “absolute delight” because he can show up to the studio in sweatpants with crumbs on his face.
“You also have to drop [your] ego at the door,” he said. “You go in there, and you are in this booth for however many hours over [the] course of a year and are developing this character based on what is on the page and what comes out.”
Transformers One is an origin story for Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry). A prequel allowed Henry to explore different tones of the character. He imbued parts of his own younger years into his performance.
“I felt that D-16 and Orion Pax were at that point in their life, early 20s — it felt like they were in their early 20s, I don't know what that is in robot years — but it felt like that point where they were trying to figure out what kind of men they wanted to be in the world and what values they stood for. But, also, their friendship was so deep and so close, and didn't know much about them.”
He attempted to harness the emotions he was feeling in his 20s. Henry confessed that he was “hardheaded” and “crazy” in those years. Megatron, known as D-16 for the majority of Transformers One, is still developing his worldview.
Henry wants to take viewers on a ride as D-16 slowly turns into Megatron. He wants you to feel the disillusionment “coming through” the screen.
Throwing it all at the wall
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Relying on his imagination was key to developing Megatron. Henry calls this part of filmmaking the “most fulfilling” because “you have no clue what [will] stick. So you try to throw everything at the wall.”
His only instrument to do so is his voice, so he hurls it all at the wall. Henry believes that his voice is enough to do that. It does not sound like he got to record with co-stars Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Keegan-Michael Key. That makes his work all the more impressive.
What to expect from Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse
Coming up, Henry will reprise another voice role, Jefferson Davis, in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Henry cannot say much about the upcoming threequel — it does not sound like even he has heard much about it — but he promises that Jefferson is “on a wild ride.”
Family is the heart of the Spider-Verse movies. Miles Morales is separated from his reality at the end of Across the Spider-Verse. His reunion with Jefferson is one of the most anticipated moments of the upcoming movie.
“He will do anything for his son, and that love for his son is the most fulfilling and most powerful thing that he has,” Henry explains. “So, who knows? I'm still like, What is gonna happen?”
Transformers One is in theaters.
