Hank Azaria Talks The Smurfs And How He Became A Living Cartoon

After opening last week in theaters, The Smurfs have already raked in $50 million worldwide at the box office per Box Office Mojo.  Not too shabby for a bunch of little blue creatures, and their arch enemy Gargamel, who have managed to bounce back in full force more than twenty years later.

Sitting down with the voice behind the evil antagonist, MovieLine spoke to Hank Azaria about his role in the successful live action/CGI flick that was directed by Raja Gosnell.

Talking to the actor, who is also famously known for his portrayal of not only Moe, but Apu and Chief Wiggum in The Simpsons, Azaria touched on shaping the iconic villain in modern times.

“It’s funny you ask that. I realized on set, kind of at the director’s urging, that I wanted to give Gargamel some different colors other than losing his mind when he sees a Smurf. So I wanted to make him sarcastic at times, and kind of off the cuff, and a little laid back. I even didn’t want to commit to an evil laugh, feeling that that was just clichéd. And then I discovered really quickly, as you just said, that there is no way to play Gargamel without truly committing. Truth be told, the more passionate and more out there I got, the better it seemed to work. I couldn’t deny it. I’d look at playback and say, “Yep, that was better.”
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