Chappie Interview: Sharlto Copley Volunteers for a Pharrell Remix

Sharlto Copley turns into lots of things: insect aliens, cyborgs and now – in Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie – a robot with a soul. There’s only one question to ask him: is he down to star in a music video remix of Pharrell’s “Happy,” called “Chappie?”

The answer, unsurprisingly (especially if you bothered to read the headline) is yes. But we sent CraveOnline’s William Bibbiani to interview Sharlto Copley about the complicated process of working with hundreds of animators on a single performance, and the scene from Chappie that was actually very dangerous to his person.

Check Out: Hugh Jackman Likes Being a Douchebag in ‘Chappie’ (Exclusive Video Interview)

From the director of District 9 and Elysium comes Chappie, starring Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, with Sigourney Weaver and Hugh Jackman.  Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy.  Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings — some good, some bad — and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man.  But there’s one thing that makes Chappie different from any one else: he is a robot.  The first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.  That’s a dangerous idea — and it’s a challenge that will pit Chappie against powerful, destructive forces that would ensure that he is the last of his kind.

Chappie does the robot in theaters this Friday, March 6, 2015.

William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.