There’s going to be a lot of debating this week about “Dragonball: Evolution” and what the film gets right and wrong, but fans can rest assured that everything that made it to the screen at least passed through a true “Dragonball” faithful in James Marsters.
Marsters, best known for his fan-favorite role as Spike on “Buffy on the Vampire Slayer,” plays Lord Piccolo in the film and claims his part in fandom with some modesty, insisting that while he loves the series, “Dragonball” is lucky to have some extremely dedicated fans.
“[W]hat I will say is that I’ve seen about two thirds of ‘Dragonball’," Marsters told MTV News, " and about 99 percent of ‘Dragonball Z’ and about two thirds of ‘Dragonball GT.' I’ve seen the Cell Cycle seven times.”
With a son who’s currently 13, Marsters said “Dragonball” action figures are a mainstay in his household and that, for years, his favorite has always been Piccolo. When the chance came up to play the part for the film, he actually needed to remind himself that he was worthy to take the part.
[W]hen I talked to [Director] Jim [Wong] about it and about the needs for the wire and what the needs were for the character, I started to think, "'Hey man, I'm exactly right for this role. I'm perfect for this role.'"
Having such a big fan on set ended up bleeding over to some of the other performances as well.
“He knows everything that ever happened in the manga,” said Emmy Rossum (Bulma). “[He’ll] tell you the dialogue.”
“He’s so into it,” agreed Justin Chatwin (Goku). “I mean, we’re fans, but he’s die-hard… [I]f you ever need to ask a question about anything you’re uncertain about -- who’s related to who in the family trees of ‘Dragonball’ -- you just ask [James]”
Does Marsters’ devotion to “Dragonball” help pique your interest or do you think it doesn’t matter in the end? Share your thoughts below!