‘Rules don’t apply to you’: Why Craig Robinson and Marc Maron prefer playing ‘bad guys’

Mr. Shark, voiced by Robinson —PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL

The release of DreamWorks Animation’s stylish and fast-paced movie “The Bad Guys” is off to a good start. It isn’t just winning critics over—it has an 86-percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes—it’s also enjoying a good run at the US box office this week, replacing “The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the latest installment of JK Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, at No. 1.

The film, which opens in Philippine cinemas today, follows the exploits of a criminal quintet—composed of Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron) and Miss Tarantula (Awkwafina)—who’s got its work cut out for it when its members are made to do good deeds for a change.

So good at being bad

For a lawless team that’s so good at being bad, acts of kindness feel like going against their nature. But as Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) aka the Crimson Paw astutely points out, “Even trash can be recycled into something beautiful.”

After our recent interviews with director-animator Pierre Perifel and some cast members, we also talked to Marc Maron (“Respect,” “GLOW” and the upcoming “DC League of Super Pets,” as the voice of Lex Luthor) and Craig Robinson (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The Office”) for this Inquirer Entertainment exclusive.

Asked if they enjoy portraying good guys more than bad guys in their projects, Marc and Craig said that one definitely requires more work than the other.

“I probably have a better time being slightly bad,” Marc disclosed. “Playing a totally good guy, which I had to do in a movie recently, was OK. But there’s more [challenge] when the character you’re playing is flawed. Although if there’s one thing I’ve learned about either good or bad guys, it’s that they all have flaws.”

Marc Maron

For his part, Craig said that it’s just more fun to be able to channel one’s nasty side to a character. “I prefer playing a bad guy,” he admitted. “When you’re bad, it’s like the rules don’t apply to you—and that’s all you need to have fun. I once played the anti-Christ in a movie called ‘Rapture-Palooza,’ and it was one of the craziest, most freeing things I’ve ever done!”

Our Q&A with Craig and Marc:

Usually, parents tell their kids to get as far away from people who are perceived to be dangerous or bad. But the story of “The Bad Guys” tells us that we should also get to know them better and give people a second chance. What did you like about the script the first time you read it?

Marc: I liked my character Mr. Snake right away. And the more I got deeper into the story, the more I realized that it was really about friendship, about how we judge others based on perception. Also, I liked the fact that while it gave me the freedom to be cranky and angry, there’s still a lot of heart in this empathetic character. So there were a lot of reasons that attracted me to it.

Moreover, the story is amazing—it has a lot of twists and turns and gets pretty weird at some point. There are many guinea pigs and car chases … I couldn’t even picture the whole thing until I saw the movie itself, to be honest.

Craig Robinson

Craig: I was instantly drawn to it. There was a nice pitch and presentation at DreamWorks. When I saw the characters, it just made so much sense to me. Then, I learned about the movie being based on a book series [by Aaron Blabey]. They told me that Mr. Shark, my character, is a master of disguise who gets into all these things. I just loved it from the very start.

The movie feels like an animation iteration of “Suicide Squad,” with Catwoman in tow. Were you given specific traits in creating your character, or were you given free rein?

Marc: They just showed us a picture of the characters … and then there was the script. In terms of the voice and how we used it, it was mostly trial and error. But they kind of hired me for what I brought to it … and that was by improvising and doing things over and over again.

The script evolved along with the characters once they started to see how I was doing it—that was how they made adjustments. Nothing was cut in stone, except where animation was concerned at some point. It was all very collaborative.

Mr. Snake, voiced by Maron

Craig: Like my character, I’m a gentle giant. That’s how I rode that wave. I relate to Mr. Shark because of those silly voices that they brought out of me … I have them in me naturally. You go in there not wanting to piss others off—that’s just kind of my life.

Did you ever meet an animal whose encounter with you changed your negative perception of it?

Marc: I’ve had animals that I did have love-hate relationships with. I grew up with dogs, but they’re too needy for me.

Over time, I had a cat that would always bite me. But I didn’t get rid of her, and it eventually got a little better (laughs). I had cats mostly as a grown-up, but relationships with them can really go either way. You see, your cats really don’t care about you, so you really have to fight for their affection.

Craig: I was in Australia several years back. I went to an animal sanctuary and fell in love with [a] koala bear. I don’t know if you’ve ever held a koala, but you should! Just imagine yourself holding a strong baby. They have these beautiful hands with strong, sharp claws that hurt just good enough (laughs). You know what I’m talking about?

I wanted to bring that koala back home. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I actually sat down and had a meeting with them. But I didn’t have the qualifications to make that happen (laughs) … this is all true! Having said that, I dare you to hold a koala bear, and you’ll know what I mean. INQ