The Big Picture

Transformers One
offers a tragic exploration of the friendship-turned-rivalry between Megatron and Optimus Prime.
Brian Tyree Henry is excited for audiences to see Megatron’s depth and humor.
Henry shares other iconic villains he’d like to play, especially from the Batman franchise.

Brian Tyree Henry has a long list of iconic roles in iconic films, from the action-packed Bullet Train to the tear-jerking drama Causeway, the phenomenon that is the Spider-Verse movies to the phenomenon that is the MCU with Eternals. Now, Henry is appearing in another beloved franchise by voicing Megatron in Transformers One.

Transformers One promises to show a different side of Megatron than we’ve ever seen before, as the film focuses on the friendship between him and Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth). Before they were enemies, they were as close as brothers, and seeing the tragic evolution of their relationship is sure to be as heartbreaking as it is intriguing.

Collider got the chance to speak with Henry about where his love of villains started, why he loves to explore the “bad guy,” and what Batman characters he’s dying to play.

Brian Tyree Henry Wants to Play These Iconic Batman Villains

COLLIDER: I love that you mentioned on the panel that you were a villain kid.

BRIAN TYREE HENRY: [Laughs] It’s true, man! My parents only got me villain toys. I believe it’s because they were cheaper, which is rude.

But they’re also cooler!

HENRY: They’re much cooler. I remember that everybody on my block had He-Man. He-Man was the big thing, but nobody wanted Skeletor. So I had Skeletor, and I was like, “I don’t care. He’s actually great. He has the best skirt. He’s got the best shoulder pads. Skeletor is great.” And I just had to learn how to deal with villains, you know what I mean? I think I even had Freddy Krueger toys. It was always villains, and I think it’s because they were the cheaper of the toys, but I didn’t care. I love them, and I still made them heroes. I always made the villains heroes.

As you should. I’m curious, is there another iconic villain that you would love to play?

HENRY: Man, look — Two-Face? If we go through the Batman franchise of villains, there are so many great ones. I love the Sandman, I love Clayface, I really, really loved the Riddler, the Penguin, which Colin Farrell is about to crush. I really just love villains. I actually think we should change their names — I don’t think villain is enough. You know, “emotional saboteurs,” “complicated assassins.” I think “villains” is so one-dimensional. And that’s the thing I love about villains — there are so many dimensions. They couldn’t be captured in just one dimension. But I really do love villains. I even like Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor is one of my favorites. People say, “But he’s just bald and rich.” But I was like, “But Batman is just handsome and rich.”

Brian Tyree Henry Wants Audiences to Laugh With Megatron
Image via Paramount Pictures

HENRY: I really love that we are exploring the origins of who these villains are because it’s so easy to label them and put a stamp on them. And to be able to be Megatron, who we’ve always been told is just a Decepticon who was always against Optimus Prime — it’s not true. They were actually best friends. And being able to voice him, that was the one thing that I really wanted to get to the viewers — that you can actually care about him. You can actually laugh with him. He laughed, he actually had a camaraderie, he had a job.

He was employed!

HENRY: Exactly. [Laughs] It still feels like a dream that I’m able to do that. I remember when I started — he doesn’t start as Megatron — so I was like, “Well, where is his voice? Where does he live? We’ve never heard him go up an octave.” And then to morph into what he then becomes was truly just heartbreaking. And I think that that’s the thing that you’ll see in Transformers One is that you are rooting for this friendship, and you’re rooting for the two of them, so that when it actually comes to pass that they become nemeses, it hurts. I have a much softer spot for Megatron. I always have since I always played with the villains, but I have a much softer spot for him. I care about him quite a lot.

I can’t wait for everyone else to care and get their hearts broken, too.

HENRY: [Laughs] Same.

Transformers One hits theaters on September 20th.