'Man Of Steel' Actor Richard Schiff Talks Secret Origins Of Emil Hamilton

by Jeremy Gordon

With all of its fine casting choices, "Man of Steel" is shaping up to be a nice little ensemble blockbuster (emphasis on blockbuster, not little). One of the most recent announcements was the selection of "West Wing" actor Richard Schiff as Professor Emil Hamilton, one of Superman's longtime associates. As Hamilton's shown up in good and evil incarnations over the years, the casting sparked some discussion about what version Schiff would be taking on.

In an interview with I Am Rogue, Schiff discusses how he got involved with "Man of Steel," a project so secretive he wasn't even allowed to read the script before signing on.

"Virtually under guard I sat down in an office and read a script that had my name ear marked all over it, in case I ripped a page out and released it I guess, or sold it to you for half a million bucks," he said. "I thought it was pretty funny."

When pressed about Emil Hamilton's role and whether or not it will be similar to the comic books, Schiff was predictably mum. "I am not allowed to say but I will allow people to draw their own conclusions," he said. "They obviously have the same first and last name, so they can draw their own conclusions. I want to live up to the promise to not reveal anything I'm not allowed to reveal."

Pushed a little further, Schiff only went vaguer. "Obviously he's been evil in some incarnations, and friendly in other incarnations, and a combination of both in yet other incarnations, so that is fun to have in your mind when you are playing him. But the script goes in certain directions and that is what I will follow."

Finally, Schiff revealed one thing: "Yeah, that I think they don't want me to say but he's obviously a scientist and he enjoys his work, let's put it that way." Sounds good to us. "Man of Steel" is still a while away from coming out, so there's plenty of time to figure out the specifics.

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