Woods is quick off the blocks
The tall and thin Zach Woods knows how to portray odd. Take, for example, his gawky Jared on the acclaimed HBO sitcom Silicon Valley.
Voicing the robotic Ninja of Ice in the animated comedy The Lego Ninjago Movie seems to continue the unusual trend.
On a more serious front, Woods has a co-starring role in the Steven Spielberg film The Post with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. It recounts leaked classified 1971 articles on the Vietnam War.
Woods, who turns 33 on Monday, discusses his latest career moves on a break from promoting The Lego Ninjago Movie at the Legoland California theme park near San Diego.
Q Did you enjoy the Lego voice work?
A Yeah, we were given a lot of latitude to play around and improvise things. So it was fun for me to play around with the fact that my robot desperately wants to be a normal teenager. In a way, he couldn’t help being tactless by observing what’s around him.
Q Is improvising important for you?
A I think so. When you improvise, it just sounds more natural, and you are able to find a comfortable way to deliver lines that already existed in some form. It also gets you out of that actor zone.
Q Do you play the role like a fool in one of Shakespeare’s plays?
A I guess. That gives me some cache that I might not deserve, but I’ll take it.
Q How is voice work unique?
A It’s always very specific. Like you give them 10 different gasp options. You feel like a crazy person. But there are no limits to the humiliation I will endure to get a laugh.
Q Did the ninjas record together?
A We did a bunch of scenes together one day for six hours. I think the director was trying to figure what the group dynamic was like so he wanted to see us together.
Q Why do think the Lego movies are so popular?
A Someone made the point to me recently that adapting the Lego world brings familiarity to a wide demographic but you don’t feel hamstrung by the story associations. I think the writers and directors also tried to make the stuff funny for adults and kids. And they aren’t scared to be a little biting or transgressive.
Q Were you excited to play a lawyer in The Post?
A I was but I am embarrassed to say I didn’t really know about the Pentagon Papers until I got the movie. And then I find out it really was the precursor to Nixon’s Watergate downfall.
Q Did you have any anxious moments working with Spielberg?
A Going into it I did feel nervous because the movie seems so monumental, and he’s Steven Spielberg. But he’s so very confident as a filmmaker it trickles down. He’s specific about what he wants yet he’s low key and very inviting.