Christopher Meloni opens up about playing Colonel Hardy in 'Man of Steel'

 

In an interview with Vulture, Meloni opens up about playing such an important character, even if he wasn't part of the existing mythology of Superman. He explained, "You want to be recognized as a franchise name, but Colonel Nathan Hardy, I enjoyed his arc. I thought it was an important arc. And when they told me he was named after a Navy SEAL who had lost his life in combat, I was really honored and I felt kind of a sense of importance and duty or something to approach it respectfully. It really added a sense of gravitas to what I was doing, because I felt like I was carrying along a real person."

 

He also discusses his training for shooting his fight scenes, specifically during the Battle of Smallville mid-way through the movie. He explains, "We did some weapons training - shooting guns, making transitions from one weapon to another. I just had to make sure I didn't shoot my stunt guy that was sitting next to me - which I almost did. I pulled out the weapon one time, and it went off. It was loaded with blanks and exploded out, and it put a hole in the seat. They were cheap seats, come on! [Laughs.] And I didn't hit him. He's a stunt guy, stop crying! Come on!"

 

Man of Steel has already crossed half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, and it looks poised to at least reach $800 million before the end of its run. In addition to Christopher Meloni, the cast also includes Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane.