One of the biggest names at DC Studios confirmed the actor who will play the villainous Clayface in the DCU.
While Clayface has not appeared in live-action before, the villain plays a key role in the first four seasons of the animated Harley Quinn (for which Season 5 is said to debut by the end of 2024).
As of writing, the character is not officially in line for a role in any of DC's upcoming live-action movies in Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Rumors have indicated Clayface will be one of the villains in Matt Reeves' The Batman: Part II, but the role has not been cast yet, nor has the rumor about his inclusion been confirmed.
The actor behind Harley Quinn's Clayface, Alan Tudyk, is already returning to the DCU under James Gunn as part of the cast of 2024's Creature Commandos. However, given the wide range of voices Tudyk can do, he will not be limited to just one role.
Clayface Actor Confirms Role with DC Studios
Speaking with the cast of DC Studios' Creature Commandos, Fandango's Perri Nemiroff learned who will play the DCU's take on Clayface.
Nemiroff asked actor Alan Tudyk about his experience playing multiple DC villains, having played Clayface in Harley Quinn before taking on a new role as Dr. Phosphorous in Creature Commandos.
Jokingly calling Clayface "a moron" in the Harley Quinn show, Tudyk announced that he will play a new version of the villain in Creature Commandos. This version, however, is described as "a killer" and "a homicidal maniac:"
"The other DC villains that I play are in 'Harley Quinn,' which is very comedic. It’s a straight-up comedy, whereas this one is a drama that is funny, that has humorous elements within it, but it has action, drama, and passion. Clayface is a moron. I play, actually, Clayface in this series…and in this, Clayface is a killer. We have a huge fight, and he’s a homicidal maniac."
He shared his excitement for the chance to "play the same character two completely different ways" and revealed that he asked Gunn if he could play Clayface again before he got the part:
"So it’s the same character, that’s what’s really cool about DC. I get to play the same character two completely different ways, and I like them both. It’s really nice that James let me play Clayface. I was so happy. I didn’t even have to ask, I was going to ask. When I saw it in there, he let me know that I got to do it."
Tudyk is now the second actor with the distinction of taking on two different roles in Creature Commandos, as Sean Gunn was confirmed to play both Weasel and GI Robot.
Will Alan Tudyk Play DC Studios' Clayface in Live-Action?
James Gunn has said on multiple occasions that actors who voice animated characters in the new DCU will also play those roles in live-action. Along those same lines, in April 2023, he confirmed that multiple Creature Commandos stars were already lined up to reprise their roles in live-action as well.
This will be seen with Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr., who was seen on the set of 2025's live-action Superman film (which arrives about seven months after his debut in Creature Commandos).
Taking this into account, it is still unclear whether Tudyk will be the actor to portray Clayface in live-action even after he brings the role to life in the DCU's first project.
Considering how much CGI would likely be used for a live-action Clayface, Tudyk could conceivably reprise the character by providing his voice for the role the way he does in animation. However, with the actor already enlisted for multiple characters, he may wind up only doing one of them in live-action, if any at all.
Should Clayface be brought into play later on, Tudyk would almost certainly be in the running to reprise the role, although nothing is guaranteed yet.
Creature Commandos begins streaming on Max on Thursday, December 5.
