"BOYS LOVE TOYS!" - TRANSFORMERS STAR JOHN TURTURRO TALKS TO THE MAIL

By Graham Young on Jun 19, 09 10:33 AM

DON'T MISS today's Birmingham Mail for our unbeatable three-page, full-colour special on Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.

It includes a review, my interviews with director Michael Bay and stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro and colleague Roz Laws' interview with Baggies' fan and former Coronation Street star Matthew Marsden (the boy done good!).

With some stunning pictures to include as well we just couldn't fit all of this wealth of material in.

So click here to read the full interview with John Turturro

HE'S BEST known for playing quirky characters in movies like Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski made by the Coen Brothers.

But, rather like Jeff Goldblum before him, John Turturro is clearly enjoying letting his short hair down in the big blockbusters.

Next month, the 52-year-old Italian-American will be seen opposite Denzel Washington and John Travolta in Tony Scott's explosive new thriller, The Taking Of Pelham 123, after returning as Agent Simmons and also voicing Jetfire in Transformers 2.

In many ways, he's the opposite of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox - a character actor who has earned longevity.

He's learned his trade the hard way and inside out since his first, uncredited appearance in the Martin Scorsese classic, Raging Bull.

Recalling his most pivotal scene in Transformers 2, John says: "They weren't worried about me when I was climbing the pyramid... they were worried about the pyramid!"

To get used to working the technology-driven Michael Bay way, he took a leaf out of Shia's book.

"Watching him filming, I thought it wouldn't have been that long ago since he was playing with his own toys," says John.

"So I started to think (about filming) like I was playing with my own kids and it got easier.

"What I've learned over the years is that you have connect with the guys who are going to keep working on a movie long after you've long gone.

"You just have to be up to the moment when you're shooting."

When he was a kid himself, John was a fan of GI Joe and Zorro.

"Zorro was dressed in black, had a moustache and a sword," he says.

"That's pretty hard to top.

"Like Transformers, young boys like that kind of thing even if they don't understand why."