Hugh Laurie to Play Robocop Villain

Posted by on June 13th, 2012   Filed under: Action, Remakes, Sci-fi
Source: THR

Earlier this year we learned that MGM had opted for a somewhat unknown actor to play the lead role in their upcoming Robocop reboot. Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) landed the gig back in February, taking on the unenviable task of stepping into Peter Weller’s metallic boots. Fortunately, he has stated in interviews that they will set his character apart by going for a more “human” cyborg this time around, using a see-through visor to show his eyes and facial expressions. Now this month they seem to be filling out the rest of the cast by surrounding him with some more familiar faces. Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson have both recently signed on for roles, and this week everyone’s favourite drug-addled medical genius has also joined the film. That’s right, Dr. Gregory House himself, Hugh Laurie is reportedly in talks to play the film’s villain.

According to THR, Laurie will play “the evil and ultra-rich CEO of Omnicorp, the company that makes Robocop.” That description of the role sounds like it is directly analogous to Dick Jones, vice president of Omni Consumer Products from the original (played by Ronny Cox). Gary Oldman will play Norton, Robocop’s creator, while Samuel L. Jackson is playing Pat Novak, a charismatic media mogul.

I know there is still a lot of skepticism and uncertainty out there about a Robocop reboot, but I can honestly say that after watching Elite Squad and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, Jose Padilha is the perfect choice to direct this film. However, I will say that some of these casting choices are a little surprising in that they almost seem to be trying to maintain the campy tone of the original. What do you think? Are you happy with how the new Robocop is shaping up or are you planning to stay far away from this film?



  • Kasper

    Samuel L. Jackson? Awesome.

    Gary Oldman? Awesome.

    Hugh Laurie? Awesome.

    This is shaping up to be one hell of a ride.

  • Nelson

    I’m interested and excited. The original Robocop was good and a classic, but as mentioned, “campy”. I am interested to see a modern take on it and I would love for it to turn out awesome, including opportunities for 1 or 2 sequels.

    Things have improved a lot as far as special effects and CGI since the original movie, so they have a lot to work with. I prefer having a relatively unknown actor play Robocop, versus someone that I am intimately familiar with.

    I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the finished movie turns out.

  • Henrik

    Can’t take this guy seriously…

    Jose Padilha is awesome, but he has no clout in hollywood, so some asshole casting director seems in charge of this. You think Aronofsky would have cast TV actors and Samuel L. Jackson in this?? What a shame… Hopefully he will deliver a kickass movie nonetheless.

  • Steve

    Hugh Laurie isn’t a TV actor. He was in Stuart Little.

    I’m pretty excited by this news. Laurie will make an awesome villain. I hope he uses his natural accent.

  • Derek McFarland

    I haven’t seen Elite Squad, but enjoyed the trailer. It sounds like it could be cool, however… I’m not too sure I like the idea of making Robocop look more human than machine….In my opinion, Paul Verhoveen’s campy-ness mixed with the gritty-ness is hugely what made the original so good; and has made it a cult classic. Hell I even choose the stop motion animated Robots, over a lot of CGI robots, you see these days. I don’t know what it is about stop motion anime, but I’ve always found it to look more menacing than CG…especially when it comes to robots. I suppose it’s the jerky look that makes it look rough.

  • Liney

    Steve – he’s playing a villain in a Hollywood movie, so he’s bound to be using his natural English accent! ;o) Either that, or they’ll make him use a Russian one…