HBO's Watchmen series acts as a sequel to the original graphic novel while tackling issues of race and legacy. Given that the television series is a sequel, characters from the comic show up, but in a different form. Of the reappearances in Season 1, none was more shocking than Doctor Manhattan, who had taken the form of Cal Abar.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who portrays Cal/Manhattan, recently discussed how he approached playing a godlike being. "He is a god, but at the same time, I said, 'Well, he’s a god who left earth, because it was too much for him to bear. Why would a god come back?' The answer to that was because he wanted to be in touch with humanity," Abdul-Mateen said.
Abdul-Mateen also described his approach to portraying Manhattan. This included studying people he found to be "hyper-intelligent" and modulating his voice to sound like theirs. His examples included showrunner Damon Lindelof and Steve Jobs. He said he didn't want to lose sight of Manhattan's godhood, but he also wanted to make the character accessible: "I found this whole new voice, and that was fun to experiment with, but it all came back to humanity. It all came back to the theme of, how does this character use all of those tools to get back to what he wanted, which was a second chance at love, and a second chance at being human?"
Developed by Damon Lindelof, HBO's Watchmen stars Jeremy Irons, Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Jean Smart, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison, James Wolk, Adelaide Clemens, Andrew Howard, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, Lily Rose Smith and Adelynn Spoon.
(via Deadline)