Bringing menace from Star Wars to Peter Rabbit
LOS ANGELES — Peter Rabbit has no idea who he’s messing with.
The mischievous critter from Beatrix Potter’s stories battles a younger Mr. McGregor in Peter Rabbit, played by Domhnall Gleeson. The Irish actor, 34, has gone deep into the dark side.
His transplanted city slicker swings a garden hoe and even uses explosives against Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden) in the comedy (in theatres now).
But as feared and fussy General Hux in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, Gleeson is even more dastardly.
“In terms of most evil and most deaths caused, you have to go with General Hux,” says Gleeson. “He obliterated an entire planet, possibly a solar system. Hux had a pretty messed-up childhood — he’s damaged.”
Gleeson, the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, has kind features and manners, which have allowed him to step seamlessly into roles such as Ron Weasley’s brother Bill in Harry Potter and the romantic time-travelling Tim in About Time.
“He’s so not evil,” says Peter Rabbit director Will Gluck. “Domhnall’s one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”
But Gleeson jumped at the chance to give his hair a sharp part and play Hux, the ambitious First Order officer engaged in a power struggle with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) under Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) in The Force Awakens.
“I’ve done a lot of characters who seem, at least, to be the good guy,” says Gleeson. “So when someone asks you to play something different, you’re like: ‘Absolutely.’ How would I not do that?”
Hux used his Starkiller base to obliterate several planets of the Galactic Republic before returning for more malicious mayhem against the Resistance in The Last Jedi.
His dark side rival got the better of him as Kylo used the Force to choke Hux, a scene performed with relish by Gleeson.
“Normally when people say you choked, it’s a bad thing,” he says.
Playing McGregor was a different adventure, with Gleeson portraying the great-nephew of the Old Mr. McGregor from Potter’s beloved books. His McGregor shows his heart when he falls for a neighbour played by Rose Byrne. (“He’s in love, that softens him.”) But not before battling rabbits.
Gleeson enjoyed showing his physical comedy skills.
“I’ve got this body shape where I’m quite gangly, it looks funny when it’s thrown around,” says Gleeson. “I’m no Jim Carrey. But I can make taking a hit look funny, which I hadn’t done.”
It took a toll. Gleeson injured his ankle when he hit the ground from a roof fall on Day 1 and the knocks accumulated.
“It was like: ‘I’m going down the stairs in a wheelbarrow today. This is going to be a long and painful day,’” says Gleeson.
It paid off comedically, even if McGregor loses his screen skirmishes to Peter Rabbit and his sister, Cotton-tail — a rabbit voiced by none other than Gleeson’s Star Wars rebel nemesis Daisy Ridley. Having Ridley escape his clutches again hurts a little.
“It would’ve been great if I’d executed Daisy Ridley’s character like [Hux] wanted to in The Last Jedi,’ ” Gleeson jokes, still hopeful that evil will prosper in future films.
“You never know, there’s a whole other Star Wars to go [in the trilogy].”