While the animated movie Justice Society: World War II boasts a colorful cast of Golden Age superheroes, one mere mortal more than holds his own with his superpowered comrades-in-arms is Steve Trevor. Portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos, Steve helps the JSA liberate Europe from the Axis Powers as he pines for Wonder Woman amidst all the wartime heroism.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Diamantopoulos talks about the appeal of getting to voice a character from the 1940s, shares his classic Hollywood inspirations for his performance and the joy of voice-over versus live-action work.

RELATED: Justice Society: World War II Nearly Included Two Other Golden Age DC Heroes

CBR: You've gotten to be superheroes before -- including Darkwing Duck -- but how was taking on the 1940s iteration of Steve Trevor? There is a certain patois that people had in that era.

Chris Diamantopoulos: You're absolutely right and, I have to say, that's the thing that drew me to the role. I've always had a fascination with '30s and '40s cinema and it's few and far between, as an actor, that I actually get to choose the roles that I play. But if you asked me as a kid, up until now growing up, how I wanted to be, it was Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Danny Kaye, Errol Flynn, Frank Sinatra. Getting the chance to imbue sort of Humphrey Bogart-esque, military aspect and the lilted, witty, romantic repartee of Cary Grant. That was a dream job for me. I had a ball!

One of the things I love about Steve in this movie is he's surrounded by these demigods -- and in love with a literal one -- and he's completely unfazed by it. How is it maintaining that everyman quality while being surrounded by bombastic action all the time?

Diamantopoulos: What I think we can learn from Steve Trevor is, as much as we've evolved as a society, there are certain elements that existed back in the '40s that we need to bring back and those elements are all within us. They're not societal. Steve Trevor should've been a product of his era meaning that, back in the day, men weren't necessarily keen to express women were equal to them, but Steve Trevor had absolutely no problem doing that because it's within the logic of his internal moral compass.

His compass is sharp: He recognizes quality from quality; it has nothing to do with gender or race. And he also recognizes this sense of duty which would also say is something from a time gone by, this notion that you have one job to do, so do it. And there was a very stoic aspect to the way that the men and women of that era -- particularly during the war -- put their heads down and did the work, and I think that's what's so gratifying about playing a character like Steve Trevor. We have it in us. We can be both woke and hold true some of these things the heroes and giants from a time gone by held as important values. I think we can have it all, it just requires looking inward and really sharpening that moral compass: What's right and what's wrong. And that can be clear if you do the work.

RELATED: Justice Society: World War II Started as a Wonder Woman Series

Was there a specific line or bit of direction from voice director Wes Gleason that helped inform your approach to the performance?

Diamantopoulos: The minute I was able to say "Kid, you ain't seen nothing yet!" Just that notion that every '40s character has some sort of catchphrase or line. I think what Wes and [producer Butch Lukic] did so well was set the stage and let me know -- Wes is particularly good at narrating, like "Imagine a tank has just blown up, there are smoke and debris and, through that cloud of destruction, there walks the most beautiful and powerful hero you've ever seen and it's Diana!"

Just the way he sets it up, I'm ready to go. Wes and Butch really are the unsung heroes of this entire project because they had to get us all in the headspace that we were right next to each other when. In fact, we were recording on different days and different states and nothing had even been drawn yet.

You've gotten to play in a totally different superhero universe as Doc Seismic in Invincible. How is it getting to flex those more manic muscles compared to the stoic, unflappable Steve Trevor?

Diamantopoulos: The Doc Seismic muscles get a lot sorer after flexing them, I'll tell you that much. [Laughs] That is not an easy character to voice, but it's my own fault because I'm proud of my generation and I grew up watching all the old G.I. Joe, Transformers, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and all the old Hanna-Barbera stuff. I loved big, broad voices and big character stuff. Heck, I love voicing Mickey Mouse. I dig what I do, man, and I love that there might be a ten-year-old kid out there watching some of this stuff and wouldn't have a clue that Darkwing Duck is also Green Arrow and Green Arrow is also Mickey Mouse. I love the idea that some kid is going to go, over his bowl of cereal, "That's the same guy?!"

RELATED: Justice Society: World War II's Elysia Rotaru Talks Finding the Emotional Honesty of Black Canary

I've heard that there's a certain joy in the solitude of the recording booth, like black box theater. As someone that's gotten the chance to do plenty of voice work and live-action performance, I was wondering if you could speak to that.

Diamantopoulos: There's freedom in the booth if it's within your make up as an actor. I know some live-action actors are scared to death of voice work because they feel like there's nothing for them to grasp on to; that they're floating away. For me, I find ultimate freedom in the fact that I don't have to worry about what I look like or what is happening with my body and my face. All that matters is the ability to convey the energy and the emotion of the moment through my voice. Whether it's live-action or animation, any time I get to play a character, it all begins with the voice for me.

If I can't find an idiosyncratic nuance to the voice, even if it's infinitesimal, it has to be slightly off from who I am because I don't want to play me. I'm me all the time, and I want to play characters that aren't me even if they're close to me. Somebody might listen to Steve Trevor and say, "Oh, it's just you!" and it is just me but, if you listen closely, you'll hear a '40s lilt and a little Bogart and Cary Grant here and there. I find tremendous freedom in the booth because it's just about the voice and it's just fun and I still can't believe this is what I get to do for a living.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Justice Society: World War II stars Stana Katic as Wonder Woman, Matt Bomer as The Flash, Elysia Rotaru as Black Canary, Chris Diamantopoulos as Steve Trevor, Omid Abtahi as Hawkman, Matthew Mercer as Hourman, Armen Taylor as Jay Garrick, Liam McIntyre as Aquaman, Ashleigh LaThrop as Iris West, Geoffrey Arend as Charles Halstead/Advisor, Keith Ferguson as Dr. Fate and Darin De Paul as Roosevelt. The film will be released digitally on April 27 and on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on May 11.

KEEP READING: Justice Society: World War II Director Jeff Wamester Talks Helming the Epic Animated Movie