He also reveals his favourite Bruce Banner out of Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo.
From 1978 to 1982, The Incredible Hulk ran for 80 episodes and five TV movies, becoming one of the earlier superhero hits to successfully crossover to mainstream entertainment.
Lou Ferrigno played the mean, green version of Bruce Banner, and in the years since the show ended, he has been involved in the character in one way or another, be it playing a cameo in Ang Lee’s Hulk in 2003, or providing voice work for the character in The Incredible Hulk in 2008, as well as Avengers Assemble in 2012 and Avengers: Age Of Ultron in 2015.
So it is fair to say that he feels personally attached to the character, and has some strong opinions on how Disney has tackled the Hulk.
Ferrigno was in town for the Dublin Comic Con at the weekend, and he graciously dropped by The Big Reviewski studio to chat to JOE about his career, and – of course, his thoughts on the Hulk.
First we asked how did he feel Ang Lee, Louis Letterier (director of The Incredible Hulk), and Joss Whedon treated the character:
“Well, when Ang Lee first did the Hulk, I was disappointed, because I wanted him to use me for motion capture, because I know how the Hulk moved. But he did it himself and the Hulk was too cartoon-ish, but he’s a wonderful director.
“Over the years, it evolved, and it became much more believable. But what’s interesting is that you see these directors… you see Edward Norton and he’s wonderful because he was very close to Bill Bixby’s (the original show’s Bruce Banner) character.
“[The thing about the original show] was every episode had a lesson about life. Each time you see the Hulk, you learn something about life. Anxiety, depression, homicide, different things. Today, you can’t compare it to the series, because they’ve got more special effects, but I think eventually it is going to have to come back, because people want a good story. Simple and believable with a connection.”
We then asked who was Ferrigno’s favouite out of the current crop of Bruce Banners – Bana, Norton, Ruffalo – and he already had his mind made up about that one:
“You know, I liked Edward Norton,” Ferrigno tells us. “Ruffalo, he’s a fantastic actor, but I don’t like the way Disney is portraying him, because the Hulk has to be more hideous, more sensitive, and more angry.
“But the last movies – I haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame – but I was disappointed. But I think Bill Bixby nailed it. No one can replace Bixby, he was phenomenal.
“Today, you’ve got Bana and Norton and Ruffalo, and they’re all good actors, but it is quite a challenge to take on that kind of a character, playing the scientist Bruce Banner, because nobody can come close to Bill Bixby. He’s my favourite.”
Check out JOE’s full interview with Lou Ferrigno, where he also talks about Michael Jackson training him to do the moonwalk, and the conversations about an I Love You, Man sequel, right here:
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