Tyrese Gibson, star of "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," the much anticipated sequel to 2007's "Transformers," is continuing his streak of box office stardom. The outspoken star took some time out of his schedule to answer some questions from college students around the country.
Q: How has the action hero genre changed since your childhood, particularly with "Transformers 2"? Tyrese Gibson: It's just kind of crazy how advanced everything is. You know, the big action scenes and drama in films back in the day, you know, they had so many limitations compared to now. I mean, sometimes you can't tell the difference from explosions in the film that's live action over what's in computer graphics. I know the process of filming this movie was crazy. You had to run from a bunch of stuff that wasn't there and whatever else. It was like, Optimus Prime is going to be here, this is going to be there and you just kind of like, whoa.
Q: Did you do a lot of preparation for this role like you did in the first "Transformers"? Any boot camp? TG: Yeah, we definitely got some boot camp in. It wasn't nearly as long of a boot camp because, again a lot of the same guys came back. I had to do a lot more training on the cadence, the stuff I have to say while I'm communicating with all these big bombs and explosions and all of these big action scenes are happening. You know, I've got to know, "We are Alpha 273 degrees nine minutes North latitude," I guess all of that real crazy talk that you have to do.
Q: How do you handle having to act with something that's not visible? TG: Well sometimes the robot that was on the set was actually a big tall stick that was like 15 to 30 feet high and it had a green tennis ball on the top of it. And so I say to people, sometimes it's better to do a scene with a pole and a tennis ball than it is to do it with some of these actors I've had to work with in the past, and I won't say any names. So you know, sometimes you're doing the scene it's like, "man, could I get a stick and a ball right now? Jesus." But listen, at the end of the day, this whole acting thing is all a game of make believe, you know what I mean?
Q: What does it feel like to be part of a film series that has had such a popular cult following in the past, and how familiar you were with the "Transformer" series prior to taking on the role in both films? TG: Listen, I was that kid in my drawers with Lucky Charms bowl of cereal watching the "Transformers" every time they came on. And for me it's almost like a childhood dream to be a fan of a cartoon and the toys and then grow up and actually be acting in the same movie. Q: Fans believe that Michael Bay is a very intense, very energetic director to work with. What are your thoughts on this? TG: Michael Bay is demanding all across the board. It's definitely not a rumor. But the thing is, I've been on the set when I've dealt with directors that are very relaxed, trying to be everybody's friend and whatever. And you never get anything done. We got the biggest movie ever done, and normally something like this would probably take 145 days - he shot the whole sequel to "Transformers" in 100 days. I respect how he keeps everybody on edge because it makes you perform at the highest level. When you see him operating at that level, it makes you step your game up.
Q: Were there any problems or mishaps on set? TG: Yeah, there was one moment on the set that was crazy. We were filming a big huge fire bomb explosion scene and a big important piece of the set caught on fire. I tell you, Michael flipped out and we were all rushing to put the fire out. They had the fire department and everybody rushing because, you know, when you're doing these films, it's all about continuity, okay. And so everything has to look the same or the whole shot is ruined. So there was this piece of this set that was damn near in every shot and this piece of the set caught on fire. And then the building that was right next to it caught on fire, it was crazy.
Q: You said you were a fan of the cartoons growing up. What was it like getting the opportunity to work with Optimus Prime? TG: We love Optimus. Optimus is my favorite. When I first seen the first one and he said, "I'm Optimus Prime." I was like, yo. Like, you talking about chills going through my body, you know, with Peter Cullins voice coming out of them characters, man, I mean, it's just crazy. What an honor, man, what an honor.
