Alan Tudyk is explaining why many fans of I, Robot still have no idea he starred in the movie.
The 54-year-old actor appeared on the Toon’d In with Jim Cummings podcast and claimed he was dropped from the marketing campaign for the 2004 sci-fi film after test screenings showed that his character was scoring higher with audiences than the film’s lead, Will Smith.
“A lot of people did not know I did Sonny the Robot in I, Robot, and there is a reason,” Alan said.
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“They were doing test audiences for the movie, and they score the characters in this kind of test screening. I got word back: ‘Alan, you are testing higher than Will Smith.’ And then I was gone. I was done. There was no publicity, and my name was not mentioned.”
Alan said he was shocked by the move, explaining, “I was like, ‘Wait, nobody is going to know I’m in it!’ I put a lot into [that performance]. I had to move like a robot. At the time, I was very upset.”
I, Robot, directed by Alex Proyas, starred Will as a Chicago detective investigating the death of a robotics company founder, with Alan playing Sonny via motion capture and voice work.
The cast also included Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell and Chi McBride.
Motion capture roles were still relatively rare in 2004, but Alan went on to take on another fan-favorite droid role years later: K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Disney+’s Andor.
Find out who allegedly exited a project due to creative differences with Will Smith.
Source: justjared.com
