Culture May 25, 2018

'Solo' star Paul Bettany says his daughter likes him better when he's 'purple'

WATCH: 'Solo' star says his daughter likes him better when he's 'purple'

"Avengers" and "Star Wars" fans may be singing Paul Bettany’s praises for his superhero and villain roles, but not his 6-year-old daughter.

Bettany explained how their relationship took a turn for the worse.

"My daughter, she seems to be put on earth to torture me," quipped Bettany in a recent appearance on “Popcorn with Peter Travers." "The first time she saw me as Vision, people were really worried that she would freak out because I’m purple and I’ve got all this stuff on. She loved it. Then by the end of the day, they took all the makeup off. I came out and she just screamed, ‘I want purple daddy!’"

Marvel
Paul Bettany is Vision in a still image from the trailer for Marvel's, "Avengers: Infinity War."

Bettany said things have not been the same with her since.

“Something happened that day to her,” he said. “She’s been very cruel to me ever since.”

If Bettany’s daughter loves Vision, it’s tough to imagine what she’d think of his newest role as the villain Dryden Vos in “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

“He’s the boss of bosses,” Bettany, 46, told Travers. “He’s the person who you pay tribute to if you’re going to pull off a heist in his galaxy. You’ve gotta come and pay tribute.”

Disney
Paul Bettany in a scene from "Solo: A Star Wars Story"

Download the all new "Popcorn With Peter Travers" podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Tunein, Google Play Music and Stitcher.

Bettany said he landed the highly-coveted role after texting director Ron Howard and sharing a bit of a sob story.

“And I said, ‘Ron, have you ever spent long winter evenings like I have, wondering why you’re not in the ‘Star Wars' franchise,” said Bettany. “And in a couple of weeks I was suddenly on the set of a Star Cruiser, walking down a spiral staircase, with an R2 unit going by with champagne glasses on its head.”

Bettany added, “I remember the feeling. I remember it so well, the feeling of first being on a movie set and thinking, ‘you’ve got to remember everything because it will never feel the same again. You’ve got to remember everything.' And one of the great gifts was to have that feeling again.”

Radhika Chalasani/ABC News
Paul Bettany on "Popcorn" with Peter Travers in New York City, May 7, 2018.

In the film, Han Solo meets his future co-pilot, Chewbacca, and gambler Lando Calrissian. They all set off on a journey where they eventually encounter Dryden Vos.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is in theaters everywhere.

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Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers and Paul Bettany in the video above.

Disney is the parent company of "GMA" and ABC News.