John DiMaggio Took A New Approach To Futurama's Bender For The Hulu Revival
Back when it wasn't clear if John DiMaggio would return for the revival of "Futurama," fans were concerned because, well, Bender is the most important character. Fry might technically be the protagonist, but it's Bender whose delightful selfishness and cruelty has truly won the hearts of the fandom. Much like Bart Simpson in first few seasons of "The Simpsons," Bender was the show's initial claim to fame. Even non-fans know who Bender is, and they're able to appreciate the irony of the show's only robot main character being the most irrational and emotional of the bunch.
But although DiMaggio unfortunately did not win his salary battle with Hulu, that pay dispute had nothing to do with his love for the character. "Bender is part of my soul and nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my 'Futurama' family," he tweeted in February of last year. "It's about self-respect. And honestly, being tired of an industry that's become far too corporate and takes advantage of artists' time and talent."
DiMaggio returned despite losing the salary negotiations, in part because the Hulu executives correctly assumed that he loved the show too much to really walk away. "I didn't want, nor did my agent want, me standing outside of a house that I should have been having Thanksgiving dinner in," DiMaggio explained at the time. "It was just like, 'OK, I gotta say yes, because I don't want the demise of the show on my shoulders.' They were ready to bring in other people. It was what it was."
So what's changed for DiMaggio in his latest run on the show? The biggest difference this time around is the way he views Bender as a character.
Like a son to him
DiMaggio now has "a completely different relationship with the character," as he told Entertainment Weekly in an interview this July. "When I started this, I was really alone. Like Bender, pretty out of control. But now, Bender's like my kid. I still love it. I still cherish it. He's like a best friend. So, it's a real gift to be able to do this and be better."
You can sort of see this dynamic play out in season 11 so far, in that Bender has indeed been slightly more childlike lately. His big plots involve him being jealous of Fry giving Leela more attention than him, or goofing off with Zoidberg and panicking when their petty revenge plan backfires. This aspect of his character has always been around, of course, but we're used to Bender wreaking far more havoc upon the world than he has so far. In seasons of old, Bender would casually do things like enslave his own friends or kick his own son into a pit of hot lava. New Bender feels harmless in comparison; much like with a child, none of the other characters take his misdeeds that seriously.
As Bender evolves, DiMaggio's still having plenty of fun of fun with the character, and appears to deeply enjoy working on the show even eleven seasons into its run. "It's just great to get to work with these people again, and I'm grateful for it," he said. "It's always exciting to get back on this bike every time. It's just like, these are new tires."