If you’re one of the many who contributed to Avatar: The Way of Water‘s $2 billion dollar gross, you may have noticed comedic actor Jemaine Clement, of Flight of the Conchords, as one of the human villains (although he’s somewhat sympathetic), Dr. Ian Garvin. As it turns out, according to Variety, James Cameron was seeing other comedic actors for the role as comedian Marc Maron speaks about his experience auditioning for the water-based epic on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
Maron explained, “That was ridiculous. Why the f*ck would I want that job? There’s this assumption that we’re going to do four ‘Avatar’ movies. Dude, I don’t even remember the first one! I don’t know what this all means to the world. [James Cameron] built this city down there [at his Long Beach studio]. There’s people doing acrobatics down there, people flying…it’s like Cirque du Soleil down there.”
Being a movie with secrecy surrounding it, Cameron had actors lock their phones away in an effort to prevent anyone from taking a picture of the screenplay. “All of a sudden you’re in this zone with people [James] just has there to read parts and fly and be on dollies. I’m on camera I think. I got a picture a boat or whatever the f*ck it is…I’m in the middle of this thing and I’m totally untethered and I have no sense of character. I have no idea what’s happening other than there are several unidentified actors and acrobats all around me.”
“Thank God [I didn’t get the part]. I don’t like being away from home. My agent was like, ‘You’re probably going to go to New Zealand for four years,’ or whatever the f*ck it was. Some ridiculous amount of time. I was like, it’s not happening. Then [Cameron] sent me a box of cigars because he didn’t cast me. Ok, that’s nice. At this age, I have no problem saying no,” Maron added.
Maron was then informed about the size of Clement’s screen time in the role in the final cut, “Like I would’ve had to go to New Zealand for a year, and people would’ve been like, ‘Were you even in it?’ But Jemaine lives in New Zealand! He has family there. It was a no-brainer.”