Transformers 4

Hugo Weaving: 'didn't care' about 'meaningless' Transformers role

Hugo Weaving says he 'didn't care' about his role in the 'Transformers' films.

In some rather revealing quotes from an interview with film site Collider, the English-Australian actor, who voiced evil robot Megatron in all three of Michael Bay's films, adds that he didn't even meet the director.

“It was one of the only things I’ve ever done where I had no knowledge of it, I didn’t care about it, I didn’t think about it,” he said.

“They wanted me to do it. In one way, I regret that bit. I don’t regret doing it, but I very rarely do something if it’s meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly. I don’t mean that in any nasty way. I did it.”

Weaving, who's known for taking on more serious screen roles, then went on to say that he and Michael Bay have no relationship whatsoever, despite working on three films together.

“My link to that and to Michael Bay is so minimal. I have never met him,” he added. “I was never on set. I’ve seen his face on Skype. I know nothing about him, really.

“I just went in and did it. I never read the script. I just have my lines, and I don’t know what they mean. That sounds absolutely pathetic! I’ve never done anything like that, in my life. It’s hard to say any more about it than that, really.”

He's not the only one of the cast to speak ill of Bay's work.

The star of the first three films Shia LaBeouf has also put the boot in, saying after the release of 'Transformers 2': "When I saw the second movie, I wasn't impressed with what we did. We got lost. We tried to get bigger.

“Mike [Bay] went so big that it became too big, and I think you lost the anchor of the movie. You lost a bit of the relationships. Unless you have those relationships, then the movie doesn't matter. Then it's just a bunch of robots fighting each other.”

Weaving will next be seen in the Wachowskis' epic 'Cloud Atlas' and reprising his role as Elrond in Peter Jackson's forthcoming Hobbit films.

Bay responds to Hugo Weaving's Transformers comments

Director blogs about 'grumbling thespians' but soon deletes his thoughts

Michael Bay has responded to Hugo Weaving over comments he made about making the 'Transformers' films.

The bombastic director was emphatic about his thoughts on the remarks, which involved Weaving, who voiced evil robot Megatron in all three films, calling the projects 'meaningless'.

In a blog post on his own website, Bay wrote: “Do you ever get sick of actors that make $15 million a picture, or even $200,000 for voiceover work that took a brisk one hour and 43 minutes to complete, and then complain about their jobs?

“With all the problems facing our world today, do these grumbling thespians really think people reading the news actually care about trivial complaints that their job isn't 'artistic enough' or 'fulfilling enough?' I guess The Hollywood Reporter thinks so.

“What happened to people who had integrity, who did a job, got paid for their hard work, and just smiled afterward? Be happy you even have a job - let alone a job that pays you more than 98% of people in America.”

The post quickly disappeared from the site – perhaps because it attributed Weaving's remarks to The Hollywood Reporter when they were in fact from film site Collider – but not before being reported.

Weaving made the comments during an interview, and was brutally honest about working with Bay, who he says he never even met face-to-face.

“It was one of the only things I’ve ever done where I had no knowledge of it, I didn’t care about it, I didn’t think about it,” he said.


“They wanted me to do it. In one way, I regret that bit. I don’t regret doing it, but I very rarely do something if it’s meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly. I don’t mean that in any nasty way. I did it.

My link to that and to Michael Bay is so minimal. I have never met him,” he added. “I was never on set. I’ve seen his face on Skype. I know nothing about him, really.


“I just went in and did it. I never read the script. I just have my lines, and I don’t know what they mean. That sounds absolutely pathetic! I’ve never done anything like that, in my life. It’s hard to say any more about it than that, really.”