Interview: Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk; I Love You, Man)

The Action Flick Chick interviews Lou Ferrigno.

At Wizard World Texas, we caught up with Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series The Incredible Hulk and voice of the Hulk in the recent film of the same name.

AFC: I am here with Lou Ferrigno. I am the Action Flick Chick, so I would just like to start off by asking you what kind of movies do you like to watch?

Ferrigno: I like good movies. We were just talking about the original movie called Forbidden Planet. I like good stories like Star Trek, The Time Machine. I like that because I like love stories, some movies that have a very positive message. I’m not really into the violence and the killing.

AFC: So do you like action movies?

Ferrigno: I like action movies. It could go anywhere from Iron Man to Hulk, Batman. You know, it could be good movies like The Departed.

AFC: Do you like to watch yourself onscreen in your own movies?

Ferrigno: Yes, and no, it depends on the film. Sometimes I get too critical of myself.

AFC: So how has being in a movie changed over time, say from being in a movie 20 years ago versus being in a movie today?

Ferrigno: It depends on the character that you’re playing. Like, for example, I do comedies now, but I would say the technology has definitely changed. I’d say it’s nothing like the old days.

Lou discussed how audiences’ expectations have changed and how CGI has altered how actors have to perform. When he was on the television series The Incredible Hulk, there was no CGI. Everything the Hulk did required Lou to be there in person. In his 1989 film Cage, Lou and former Captain America actor Reb Brown played Vietnam veterans. The film depicted the powerful friendship that developed after Lou’s character got shot in the head and lost some of his mental faculties while saving the life of Brown’s character. The title of the film referred to both the cage fighting that Lou’s character wound up participating in as well as being caged by his own life circumstances.

Ferrigno: I appreciated the storyline, the fact that he was a former Vietnam vet and he’s fighting for his life, and that kind of sport does happen in Asia.

Lou said that the sometimes grueling physical activity required for his earlier film and television work was a stark contrast to simply playing himself these days on a television series like King of Queens or the then-upcoming motion picture I Love You, Man. We suggested that the fact that he gets cast playing himself so often now reflects how much his fans love him as Lou.

AFC: You mentioned Adam West earlier. You and Adam West get cast as yourselves a lot these days because people like Adam and Lou.

Ferrigno: We both became typecast, but we are still more famous than most actors that had TV series and have disappeared.

AFC: You don’t have to wear the green makeup now for the appearances and he doesn’t have to wear the cape any more.

Ferrigno: (laughing) Yeah.

AFC: Well, thank you very much for your time.