Comic book properties are hard to avoid if you enjoy movies or TV, especially in recent years.
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to all the shows and films DC has been working on, it is near inescapable. It draws in actors from all walks of life, and some—like Adam Tsekhman—never saw themselves taking part in the world of superheroes, yet here he is on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Canadian born Adam Tsekhman has a long string of credits under his belt, from FX’s You’re the Worst to the latest iteration of The Twilight Zone. He is also a part of the hit TV show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as Gary Green, a powerless nerd who wants to help the team and ultimately help save the world. CGMagazine got the chance to talk to him via phone, where we talked about his career, what brought him to his point, and where he wants to go next.
CGMagazine: What drew you to your character on Legends of Tomorrow? Are you excited to be part of the show?
Adam Tsekhman: I am absolutely excited to be part of the show. What drew me? I think it’s kind of fun to be the lovable loser. I like being the lovable loser because he’s still lovable. And being the loser means you get to be the butt of many jokes, which is also a pleasure.
CGMagazine: Across all media, comic books, video games, and other nerdy properties are becoming part of the mainstream culture. What are your thoughts on that? Are you happy to see it happen?
Adam Tsekhman: Um, yeah! I mean, look, I’m happy to see it happen because thankfully, I’m part of it. I would, however, like to see some more characters rooted in a little humanity. It’s nice to see from the perspective of a lead, and also taking more comedic swings. I mean, obviously in Deadpool, that character is the leader in that, and I love Deadpool. I love that Legends of Tomorrow is going down that route as well. So that’s really exciting about the genre to me s1ince I am a comedy fan ultimately.
CGMagazine: You mention that you want to see more humanity in some of these projects. Can you elaborate on that yet?
Adam Tsekhman: For example, in Legends of Tomorrow, take Gary. He’s not a superhero, he’s a human. How do humans deal with living in a world where people have these superpowers, and they don’t? I like seeing the dichotomy between those that are able to save the world with their granted powers, and then those that have to stand by being bystanders to witness that power and try to help out. In every sort of superhero story they do sort of interact with those that aren’t superheroes, but it’s nice when some of the regular people also do their part.
CGMagazine: Can you describe your character and what you bring to the character to make him fun to watch?
Adam Tsekhman: I bring an undergraduate and postgraduate degree, a very intellectually robust individual, the things that he doesn’t have physically he’s got in his brain. So even though he’s extremely terrified about many of the situations that the legends and he find themselves in, he’s terrified for a very logical reason: he could die. I think being intellectually robust is very important for Gary.
I also bring my nearsightedness as well. Without his glasses, Gary would be nothing because he wouldn’t be able to see where to go. I actually do wear my own glasses on the show. I guess, also a love of and appreciation of comedy. Thankfully, Gary gets a lot of the comedic moments in the show, which is really exciting to me.
CGMagazine: Can you believe you are part of a major TV show based on a comic book world? I mean, ten years ago, that would have been unheard of.
Adam Tsekhman: No, I don’t think I would have seen myself in it because I never considered myself to be a superhero. You know, I would have thought a little bit of maybe a villain, but am I happy to be part of it? F*** yeah, I’m happy to be part of it. I’m ecstatic. I’m extremely happy. Yeah. It’s a pleasure.
CGMagazine: Now that you’ve played a character on Legends of Tomorrow, do you see yourself ever trying to take on the role of a superhero? You said you don’t see yourself as a superhero, but now that you’ve had a taste would you do it? And if so, what kind of character would you play?
Adam Tsekhman: Oh, that’s kind of interesting. Would I do it? Absolutely. It would be fun to play a character that’s a little bit subversive. Someone who has a superhero power that is ultimately a good guy but is kind of either a jokester or a prankster or someone who likes to push the envelope. Almost in the vein of like a John Constantine, you know, kind of a good guy, but he’s also kind of a bad guy.
CGMagazine: Now that you’ve been part of a comic based show, do you ever see yourself doing the con circuit?
Adam Tsekhman: I love to do the cons. I’m eager to do them. Luckily, I was fortunate enough. This summer I was at Comic-Con in San Diego, for the first time. It was amazing. It was a total blast. I couldn’t believe how crazy it was. Hundreds of thousands of people. But, you know, I was lucky enough to meet some fans and they were amazing. It was a real pleasure. I was honoured to be part of that and humbled. Yeah—absolutely excited to do cons and hang out with the fans.
