Interview: Liam McIntyre Reveals the Sweet Inspiration Behind Ax Battler in ‘Golden Axe’
For longtime Golden Axe players, Ax Battler doesn't exactly come with decades of complicated character development. The barbarian warrior helped define Sega's original 1989 game, but Paramount+'s new animated series has the opportunity to turn that familiar collection of muscles, weapons and heroics into an actual character.
For Liam McIntyre, finding Ax meant looking beyond the warrior exterior. Speaking with The TV Cave ahead of the series premiere, McIntyre revealed that some of the inspiration for his take on the character came surprisingly close to home.
McIntyre, who previously led Spartacus and appeared as Weather Wizard on The Flash, was already familiar with Golden Axe. Growing up, he would play the game at his best friend's house after school, and Ax happened to be his character of choice. Years later, getting the opportunity to actually voice him is something McIntyre still finds difficult to believe.
When it came time to give Ax a personality beyond what players experienced in the games, however, McIntyre didn't simply lean into the larger-than-life warrior archetype. Instead, he saw something much sweeter underneath all that muscle.
“I mean, he's a big puppy dog, you know, in my mind,” McIntyre told The TV Cave.
That quality was partially inspired by the enthusiasm McIntyre sees in his six-year-old son. He described the excitement of a child accomplishing something and immediately looking for approval from the people around him. McIntyre brought some of that same earnestness to Ax, creating a warrior who may be able to smash his way through an enemy but still wants to know whether his friends thought it was cool.
The result is a character McIntyre describes as having a kind of golden retriever quality. Ax isn't necessarily going to outthink everyone around him, but his optimism and uncomplicated view of right and wrong make him uniquely suited to being a hero. McIntyre explained that Ax has a clear moral compass and genuinely believes he can make the world better by defeating evil.
“Being a hero is kind of the only thing he knows,” McIntyre said. That sincerity becomes particularly important because Golden Axe isn't playing its fantasy world completely straight. The Paramount+ series combines an epic quest with irreverent adult comedy, giving McIntyre the chance to explore a side of himself audiences may not immediately associate with his more dramatic and action-heavy roles.
McIntyre admitted that comedy hadn't traditionally been his lane. He even recalled his wife being less than impressed with some of his early attempts at comedy auditions. Golden Axe gave him the freedom to experiment, improvise and discover that making the people behind the microphone laugh could be its own reward.
Animation also holds a special place for the actor. McIntyre called Futurama his “North Star of shows” and spoke about growing up viewing voice actors almost like superheroes. Getting the chance to step into that world himself made Golden Axe more than another fantasy role.
And while Ax may share some DNA with the formidable warriors McIntyre has played before, don't expect him to settle the Ax Battler versus Spartacus debate quite so easily. When The TV Cave put the matchup to him, McIntyre weighed Ax's size and magical abilities against Spartacus' tactical skills before reaching a much more fitting conclusion: the two would probably realize they should stop fighting each other and go after the bad guys instead.
We'll let McIntyre explain the rest of that battle himself.
Golden Axe premieres September 16 on Paramount+.
Comments