Actor Neal McDonough is absolutely no stranger to playing a superhero. The actor’s first comic book connection came in the mid-‘90s when he voiced the Marvel villain Firebrand on the Iron Man cartoon. This eventually led to a larger Marvel role as the voice of Dr. Bruce Banner on The Incredible Hulk cartoon series in 1996. McDonough jumped the Marvel ship in 2010 and went over to the other side with his brilliant portrayal of DC Comics’ emerald archer, in the short film DC Showcase: Green Arrow. But the actor has now comeback to the “House of Ideas” for his first ever live-action role as a comic book hero in Captain America: The First Avenger, which is available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning October 25^th.

In the film, McDonough plays the beloved Marvel character Dum Dum Dugan who was a valuable member of the Howling Commandoes, an elite group of soldiers who aided Captain America in his fight against Hitler, the Nazis, HDYRA and the Red Skull during World War II. Dugan is a former circus strongman, and best recognized by comic book fans for his trademark bowler hat and handlebar mustache. When Captain America (Chris Evans) must recruit a team of soldier’s to help him defeat the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) he chooses the Howling Commandoes, which consists of Dugan, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), James “Union Jack” Montgomery (J.J. Feild), and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci). Under Captain America’s leadership they are able to defeat their enemies together and bring an end to WWII.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with actor Neal McDonough about his work on Captain America: The First Avenger, as well as a few of his other projects. In part two of our conversation, McDonough discusses the research he did in order to play Dum Dum Dugan, growing the character’s signature mustache, shooting his favorite sequence in the film, bonding on location with his fellow actors, and returning to the role for Cap 2, Nick Fury, and beyond.

Chris Evans has a lot going on at the moment.  This month, he has not one, but two movies arriving in theaters, with the drama Puncture in limited release this Friday and romantic comedy What's Your Number? going wide at the very end of September.  While promoting Puncture, a true story in which he stars as a drug-addicted lawyer crusading for safer medical needles, Evans has addressed endless questions about the future of Steve Rogers, who he played in this summer's Captain America: The First Avenger.  Having just wrapped up work on the Marvel crossover event The Avengers, Evans provided his thoughts on when exactly the planned Captain America sequel will materialize and whether or not we'll be seeing him cross-pollinating other Marvel franchises like Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, and Samuel L. Jackson before him.

San Diego Comic-Con is set to begin in just a few days, with the proceedings officially getting underway on Thursday, July 21st.  That means a whole lot of genre fans are going to be very busy this weekend salivating over films on the distant horizon, like The Amazing Spider-Man and Prometheus.  But what's a Con attendee to do about Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel's last event film before next summer's team-up The Avengers?  It's been rumored for awhile that Captain America would debut early in San Diego, giving fans a chance to see the film without impacting their busy plans.  Now, Paramount Pictures has officially announced that Chris Evans will indeed avenge early at Comic-Con, and the actor will be on hand to kick off the first show on Thursday, July 21st.

When Captain America: The First Avenger finally finds its way to theaters in less than two weeks, it will mean the end of this time-honored tradition: the Captain America image post.  Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Fireside Chats comforting a downtrodden populace via radio during the Great Depression, these frequent batches of images from the upcoming Marvel Studios adventure have helped maintain our precious national sanity during these turbulent and uncertain times.  The latest round of photos include plenty of looks at supporting players like Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan, but the emphasis is on Chris Evans going from skinny, asthmatic Steve Rogers to ripping and running Cappy.

If you're a citizen of these United States or just an Ameri-phile, you're probably in state of bloated post-Independence Day patriotism.  Now that all your Chinese-manufactured fireworks have been duly and safely detonated, Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures really, really want you to know that the reddest, whitest, and bluest superhero is on the way with Captain America: The First Avenger.  As a part of the effort to increase general awareness of the Star-Spangled Avenger's big screen adventure, today brings two new behind-the scenes featurettes, including interview snippets with Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Richard Armitage.

Good morning to fans of liberty, freedom, and such things.  Over the Fourth of July weekend, the program 'Movies on the Radio' on WQXR in New York City previewed almost fifteen minutes of the score from Captain America: The First Avenger.  It's the first listen to the big, old-fashioned compositions that will accompany Chris Evans' Cap as the derring-do gets done. Based on this, Alan Silvestri's score seems to capture a sense of valor and heroism without compromising on the fast-paced, action-oriented side, either.  Certain sections actually recall Silvestri's score for Predator a little bit.  That definitely isn't a bad thing.

Ever since Marvel Studios announced the penultimate comic book film leading up to The Avengers, a big question has been just how Captain America: The First Avenger would be marketing to international audiences less inclined to partake in the overtly jingoistic adventures of an imperialist asset who happens to essentially be a soldier on super-steroids.  While the latest U.S. poster features Chris Evans looking valiant in front of the stars and stripes, this new international poster puts Cap at the front of a group that includes members of the multi-national Howling Commandos and British officer Peggy Carter, played by the equally British Hayley Atwell.  It's pulpy, fun, and less likely to alienate overseas audiences.

Though the film follows the two-fisted exploits of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) during WWII, Captain America: The First Avenger will also be bookended by contemporary scenes in which a frozen-popsicle version of Cap is discovered, leading to his involvement with the modern superheroes of next summer's The Avengers.  A new TV spot features no shortage of Cap stomping on HYDRA baddies and generally being a one-man-wrecking-machine, but also opens with our first look at the snowy, atmospheric bookend scenes.

Following up on last week's well-received trailer, another nine images from Captain America: The First Avenger have made their way online.  Included are new looks at the lovely Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Hugo Weaving in the fascist togs of Johann Schmidt, Dominic Cooper as Tony's pop Howard Stark, Toby Jones as Arnim Zola, and the Howling Commandos assembled for action.  There are no new pictures of Chris Evans in full battle rattle mode as Cap, but instead, there are two new glimpses of Steve Rogers in his ridiculous USO propaganda costume, and isn't that even better in many respects?

With less than a month until its theatrical release, Paramount and Marvel Studios have unveiled a new theatrical trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger, the final film before Marvel's big crossover event The Avengers and our cinematic introduction to the future leader of that super-team.  The trailer certainly delivers epic WWII-era action, but before it gets the new explosive stuff, it wisely spends a full minute acquainting the audience with Chris Evans as the "90-pound asthmatic" Steve Rogers, before a dose of Super Soldier serum turns him into America's Avenger.  That minute seems to promise that while the film will provide the requisite summer thrills, it will also have a dose of underdog spirit in keeping with the Marvel ethos.