Jason Isaacs - Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu

Interview from Warner Premiere

Jason Isaacs, renowned for his villainous turn as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, assumes another dark iconic role as the voice of Ra’s al Ghul in Batman: Under the Red Hood, the latest entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming July 27, 2010 to Blu-ray, DVD, OnDemand and for Download.

Isaacs, who portrays Malfoy in five Harry Potter films, is well known for his lead role on the Showtime series Brotherhood, as well as starring opposite Mel Gibson in the revolutionary war adventure, The Patriot. The British actor has also racked up credits in films like Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, Peter Pan, Grindhouse, DragonHeart and Green Zone; TV series including The West Wing, Entourage and The State Within (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination); and in the voiceover realm in everything from documentary narration and commercial advertisements to video games and the popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender,

In Batman: Under the Red Hood, Isaacs gives Batman’s nemesis Ra’s al Ghul a sympathetic twist as the villain attempts to right his own wrongs and help Batman in his efforts against both Red Hood and the Joker. Isaacs is an integral part of an all-star cast that includes Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), Jensen Ackles (Supernatural), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and John DiMaggio (Futurama).

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, Batman: Under the Red Hood will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition version on Blu-Ray™ and 2-disc DVD, as well as being available on single disc DVD, On Demand and for Download.

Isaacs splits his time between the UK and the US, but still found a few moments to chat about his latest animation voiceover role, his yearning for an actual super power, and his childhood addiction to comic books. Read on …

QUESTION: This isn’t really the Ra’s al Ghul we’re accustomed to seeing – what’s the nutshell synopsis of his part in Batman: Under the Red Hood?

JASON ISAACS:
This role is a bit unusual for Ra's al Ghul as he’s been Batman's nemesis a lot in the past.  But this time he is actually full of regret for a mistake that he has made, and his inability to control the Joker.  A lot of what happens for Ra’s in this story is him explaining to Batman how things went so badly awry, and how Robin ended up quite so dead.

QUESTION: Liam Neeson set a standard for Ra’s in Batman Begins. How did you decide to approach the voice for this film?

JASON ISAACS:
Well, I didn’t think there was much point to doing an impression of Liam, mostly because he does it far better than me (he laughs). So I read the script and I looked at the pictures.  He looked like a man with a lot of dignity and authority – there's a kind of stateliness about him. He's been alive for six centuries, which would give him a certain classiness, I thought.  Obviously he's been powerful all that time, and certainly possessed tons of wealth and influence.  So I tried to put all of that into the tone to his voice.