Chukwudi Iwuji says he shouldn't have to defend his villainous character in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3'.
Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
The actor plays the film's baddie - The High Evolutionary - in the new superhero movie who is trying to perfect civilisation by carrying out experiments on animals and children - and Chukwudi says there's just no excusing the bad behaviour of the merciless Marvel villain because he's just totally "sadistic".
He told The Hollywood Reporter: "I don’t believe that you have to defend your character. He’s sadistic. His way of thinking has led us to some of the most terrible periods in our history and in humanity. People who think they know the right answer, people who want to cleanse, people who think they want to find perfection. So I cannot defend him, but I can defend playing him, because it was a gift of a role for an actor.”
Chukwudi added of the character: "What he doesn’t realise is that the flaw is in him. He’s deeply unhappy with himself and projects it outward. He would always see a flaw that he needs to fix. It would never stop. It’s a tireless and endless pursuit."
However, the 47-year-old actor says he loved playing the baddie onscreen and enjoyed walking out on set wearing such an intricate costume. He went on to say: "It was a joy to play! ... Oh man, putting on the costume was just extraordinary. It was the final piece in figuring out how I was gonna start this journey with this character, because that costume is awesome. It holds you up in a certain way. It flows in a certain way ... So it was great, but I would say the magic of it was putting on that suit and getting a flash of myself in the mirror and saying, 'Okay, I’m the High Evolutionary'."