Ben Schwartz might be best known as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein in Parks and RecreationOpens in a new tab. If you’ve got kids, maybe he’s the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog or Dewey from DucktalesOpens in a new tab. But on Feb 19th you’ll get to see him in Flora & UlyssesOpens in a new tab as the loving father of the titular hero, Flora. George is a struggling cartoonist whose superhero stories have shaped his daughter’s life. And then there’s the movie’s superpowered squirrel! Seeing as the Disney+ movieOpens in a new tab reimagines our idea of what superheroes can be, we had to ask Schwartz if there are any caped crusaders he’d want to bring to life.
Disney+
We really want to live in a world where Schwartz got to play Peter Parker. “When I was younger, I would have loved to play Spider-Man cuz I’m a Jewish kid from New York and Spider-Man was from New York. And Spider-Man was funny! I always found him so funny and like a kid. That’s why I really like this iteration of Spider-Man because he’s in high school. He’s funny but also like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening?!?’ Because that’s how I always saw Spider-Man. So for me Spider-Man probably when I was a kid or one of the X-Men. I know I can’t play Wolverine or Cyclops.”
We reminded Schwartz that with the Marvel multiverseOpens in a new tab finally opening up, there’s no limit on the amount or age of Spider-Men we might meet. But at the publisher’s Distinguished Competition, there’s another character that the actor has long dreamed of bringing to screen. “I really wanted to play Plastic Man. I had a pitch, I had an idea for that movie. We didn’t end up writing it, but I would still love to play Plastic ManOpens in a new tab. I love the idea that there’s this thief type character, and he gets superpowers and then maybe he doesn’t want to use them for good because he was a thief to begin with, Eel O’Brian. So I really love that. I saw the comedy in that and there’s a cartoon series that was very comedic too so you can see where it plays.”
Disney+
Schwartz continued. “There’s an unlimited number of people I’d love to play. There’s also a comic book series I loved when I was a kid called Slapstick, which is this little clown with a big old hammer.”
His deepcut Slapstick knowledge also came in handy for the Flora & UlyssesOpens in a new tab junket. “Earlier, this comic book outlet played a game like, ‘I’m gonna name two people and you tell me what’s real and what’s fake with Marvel Heroes,'” Schwartz recalled. “And the first one was Slapstick and I said, ‘Literally, wait one second,’ and I took out my own comic book like, ‘I own it’ and it was a very wonderful moment for me.”
It’s not just heroes that Schwartz is open to taking on, though.”I’d like to play a villain also. To play the RiddlerOpens in a new tab would have been so fun or to play the Joker. That would have been insane! But the Riddler, it could be so fun.”
Flora & Ulysses hits Disney+ on February 19, 2021.
