James Spader on playing Ultron in Avengers 2: “He’s really batsh*t crazy!”

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Last night a very intense first trailer for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON was released, and it was a blast to finally check out James Spader as the villainous titular character. In a recent conversation with Total Film, James Spader says “Ultron takes abrupt turns in scenes,” before comparing the supervillain to his Red Reddington from NBC’s The Blacklist, saying “Red isn’t pyschopathic but Ultron is. Yes, he is psychopathic. He’s really batshit crazy!”

James Spader goes on to say Ultron also has a sense of humor, and is like a very strong and intelligent baby.

There’s a humorous aspect to him, which is something that drew me in from the very first conversation I had with Joss [Whedon]. In many ways he’s a child, this character, because he’s a brand new being who’s just come to be. And yet, through artificial intelligence, he has an incredible capacity for knowledge. So he’s a very powerful, smart child.

Based on the first trailer, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is looking like it’s going to be a little darker compared to the first movie, and I can’t wait to see James Spader‘s Ultron take on the superhero team. I’ve always been a big Spader fan (I’m pretty sure I still have my “What Would James Spader Do?” t-shirt kicking around somewhere), and I think he’s going to kill it as Ultron in THE AVENGERS sequel.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON will be in theaters on May 1, 2015.