Tony Hale, known for playing quirky and often timid characters, is stepping into a new role, this time as a villain.
The two-time Emmy winner lends his voice to Ultron in Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends, an animated series for kids on Disney Jr. and Disney+.
“I love it. It’s so fun,” Hale, 54, told PEOPLE while discussing his latest project.
“It’s such a beautiful show. To play just the kind of guy who’s causing challenges for these Iron Friends is so fun.”
Hale describes his take on Ultron as a nod to old-school villains, comparing him to The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz.
“He’s kind of a harken back to classic villains who twist the mustache,” he said. “It’s kind of just fun. It’s fun villains.”
What excites him most is the way the show connects with younger audiences.
“For preschoolers, to see kids their age with these superpowers, to see these friends solving challenges together, working together, I mean, what a great lesson at that,” he explained.
Adding, he said that he would have loved for his daughter Loy Ann, now 19, to have had a show like this when she was little.
Even while playing a childhood version of one of Iron Man’s biggest enemies, Hale admits he can’t help but envy the high-tech life of Tony Stark as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.
“How great would that be just to have that tech room, right?” he laughed.
“Just to walk in there and have somebody just place cool technology on you. That would be pretty great. I’m very jealous, actually. I mean, I can barely work my iPhone, so to have all those machines do it for me, I’d be into it.”
Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends premiered on Disney Jr. on August 11 and is available to stream on Disney+.
