Jarret LeMaster has played some sinister roles as Satan, Adolf Hitler and Judas Iscariot — but now he's stepping into one of pop culture's most beloved franchises as Bumblebee.
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he → play → Bumblebee
The Christian actor, writer and former worship leader voices the Autobots in "Optimus Prime: Awakening," the new animated short accompanying the 40th anniversary theatrical re-release of "The Transformers: The Movie."
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actor → voice → Transformers
But LeMaster told Fox News Digital there is one thing he would rather not do on camera: kiss another woman.
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he → tell → woman
"I don't wanna kiss anybody, and so playing bad guys makes a lot of sense for me," LeMaster said.
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LeMaster → kiss → me
"They never kiss anybody, you know, they just murder them."
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they → kiss → them
"When you're murdering somebody, you're always pretending," he continued.
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he → murder → somebody
"When you're kissing someone, you are always actually kissing them.
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you → kiss → them
And so, you know, that's my line.
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that → know → ?
I don't wanna cross that line.
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I → cross → line
"Playing bad guys really works for my family," he joked.
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he → play → family
"And then my kids can look up to me as a great villain."
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kids → look → villain
It's an unusual résumé for someone who spent years working in church ministry.
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who → spend → ministry
LeMaster said he still volunteers and leads worship at his local church, although he tends to keep some of his acting work "on the DL."
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he → say → DL
"Sometimes people are upset that I play 'Woke Jesus.'
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I → play → Jesus
Sometimes people think that it's weird that I played the devil.
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I → think → devil
Sometimes people were offended that I would, you know, play Adolf Hitler," he said.
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he → offend → Hitler
LeMaster's path from church ministry to professional villain began when he got a call one day asking him to play a Russian murderer in a sketch for Christian satire outlet The Babylon Bee.
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he → begin → Bee
"We need a Russian murderer.
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We → need → murderer
You kind of look like that," LeMaster recalled being told.
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LeMaster → look → that
At the time, he was working full time at his church and with the Bee.
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he → work → Bee
He initially assumed the company must be based somewhere like "Idaho or Narnia," only to discover it was in California.
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it → assume → California
One villain eventually led to another.
"
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villain → lead → another
I don't know why I always get cast as bad characters," LeMaster said.
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LeMaster → know → characters
"I think it's probably just because I'm bald...
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I → think → ?
I blame the media.
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I → blame → media
I blame [actor] Jason Statham."
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I → blame → Statham
His latest role puts LeMaster firmly on the other side of the good-versus-evil divide.
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role → put → divide
"Optimus Prime: Awakening" features LeMaster as Bumblebee alongside Frank Welker as Megatron and Soundwave and the late Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime.
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Prime → feature → Prime
The short accompanies a 40th anniversary rerelease that exceeded initial box-office projections, prompting additional theatrical dates through Oct. 7.
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that → accompany → Oct.
LeMaster said he initially underestimated the significance of the project because director Josh Wassung was a friend.
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Wassung → say → project
"I thought this was my friend's little movie, this little Transformers movie that he was making for Hasbro," he said.
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he → think → Hasbro
Then he learned Cullen was involved.
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Cullen → learn → ?
LeMaster praised the longtime Optimus Prime actor for embodying "strength and gentleness and kindness" and "protecting the weak."
"Who am I?
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I → praise → weak
Why do I get to play Bumblebee?" LeMaster recalled wondering.
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LeMaster → get → Bumblebee
For LeMaster, even the Transformers role connects back to his faith.
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role → connect → faith
"It's an opportunity to sort of spread good news in the kingdom through, you know, robots," he said.
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he → spread → robots
And despite joining the Autobots, LeMaster admitted Satan remains particularly fun to play.
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Satan → join → Autobots
"I love playing the devil because he is so much like me," he said.
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he → love → me
"I know that sounds really weird."
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that → know → ?
"What if the devil was an HR director?" LeMaster said.
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LeMaster → say → ?
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
