Nolan North On Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, John Constantine & Young Justice

WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One.

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One star Nolan North breaks down his latest DC roles in the final Tomorrowverse story. Despite having started in 2020, the animated Tomorrowverse is the next DC franchise to come to an end, following the conclusion of the DCEU timeline in 2023. Executed as a trilogy, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths is bringing Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s game-changing DC storyline to life in animation.

One of the mysterious players in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One is the character “Homeless Man.” However, it doesn’t take long for passionate comic book viewers to realize that Homeless Man is none other than DC’s John Constantine, voiced by North. With Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three, Constantine’s role has only just begun.

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Screen Rant recently interviewed North about his many roles in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One. The long-time DC voice actor spoke about ending the Tomorrowverse, how he found out he was playing John Constantine, and what is next for the Hellblazer in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three. In addition to that, Nolan chats about the chances of Young Justice season 5 and whether or not he would be down to join James Gunn’s DC Universe.

Nolan North On Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part One

Screen Rant: What were your initial thoughts reading the script for Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One?

Nolan North: Anytime I get to be part of something like this, I jump at it. I was always a big Justice League fan, growing up as a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons. I’ve had the privilege of [playing] Superman, Superboy and now, Green Lantern, these are the kind jobs you don’t even think twice about. [I think] ‘Yeah I want to do that.’ How often do you get to play a superhero? I love animation. I always have, and just to be part of something like that, working with friends. I’ve had a long partnership and done a lot of work with DC and Warner Brothers, so it’s always a pleasure.

Now, this time, you get to play a very different role – even though they keep just saying the Homeless Man, we all know it’s obviously Constantine, where you get to be doing a British accent for a DC character.

Nolan North: [Switches to British accent] It’s not too difficult. A lot of times I can slip into it. I grew up in New England. [Switches back] it’s actually funny that you mentioned that because my dad was a self described anglophile. We watched BBC, [which was on] PBS, where they ran Monty Python, Benny Hill and Fawlty Towers. My father’s big fan of Alec Guinness and Richard Burton. We just watched those movies, he just loved that. I just developed an ear for different accents and things like that and I was always able to do it. Then as I got older, and I started meeting people from different places, and started doing it in different regions in England. [Switches accent] down in Cornwall, it’s a little bit different, they their start saying their Rs a little bit harder. [Switches accent] then up north, you go around the pub up North Manchester, in that area, but down in England, it’s the pub. [Switches back] I’ve always loved hearing that and I’ve been able to go over to the UK quite a bit. [Switchs to Scotish accent] I go up to Scotland, been there to do a lot of different things. [Switches back to normal] Accents have always been a lot of fun and I am not shy about talking to my British friends going, ‘Hey, is this sound alright?’ and we’ll start talking. Every now and then, they’ll be like, ‘No, no, that word is different.’ So yeah, I get a lot of help with it if I need it, but it’s a lot of fun. And hey, the Brits do the American accent all the time, so why not, right?

He kind of shows up here and there, but without spoiling; how much more intense does he get as we go into Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three?

Nolan North: I don’t know what I can say or what I should say. The only funny thing I could tell you about as I was reading it, I kept going, ‘God is this Constantine?!’ and then at one point, finally, after a couple recordings they’re like, ‘Yeah, didn’t somebody tell you that?’ I was like, Oh no, no no, now I get it.’ I was very happy that I started playing him not knowing, so I was literally like the audience going, ‘Wait a minute, is that supposed to be…’ and you kind of realize who it is, which is pretty cool.

Is he referred to Homeless Man in the script the entire time?

Nolan North: Yeah! But then when they finally let me in on the secret, which was great. Going back to originally what you’re saying, it’s so much fun to just fall into this world as an actor and do this. One of my favorite parts about something like this in animation is that most people don’t understand that I don’t know what this looks like yet. Besides from the trailers, I do now, but when we are recording, we’re doing that part, [where] you record, and then they animate to that. They animate to the audio that we’ve already recorded. So very often, in animation, I don’t get to see what it looks like until the rest of the fans do.

No storyboards or concept art, at all?

Nolan North: They may show [something to] give us some idea, but very limited, and it’s not really necessary most of the time. But unlike the on-camera stuff that I’m doing, where they’ll show dailies, we’ll kind of see what it looks like, I kind of know what it’s going to look like. I know what I look like. But in animation, it’s so much more exciting, because I’m like, ‘What is this character going to look like? How are they going to?’ Because I can get that performance, but it’s these amazing animators we have who give it the feel, the expression, and the depth that has to come from that side. It’s a real collaborative effort and I think it’s a great thing to be part of.

If I could trouble you, because you were mentioning Superboy at the beginning, I’m a huge Young Justice fan. Superboy was one of my favorite characters, so I was wondering if you heard anything about a potential season 5 or is that kind of closed door at this point?

Nolan North: Well, we have Warner Brothers people on the Zoom right now, I’m telling you guys, we can do this. We can make another season. I don’t know, I’m not privy to that. I know it’s a hit. I know fans want it desperately. I don’t know, I wish I did. We were so fortunate to get [to do the first two] seasons and three and four. As you know, if you saw season four, Superboy had a big storyline in that and it was so much fun. I love Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, we just have so much fun. They’re so passionate about their stories. So fingers crossed that something gets done. Maybe in the future. I don’t think there’s plans right now. But we always say we’re not canceled, we just haven’t been picked up yet. That’s how I always feel about this show. So nobody’s ever definitively said there will no longer be any [more] Young Justice. Now, if tomorrow, they put that article out there, it’s our fault you understand that right? [laughs]

My final question: you’ve done so much with DC, and we know that James Gunn’s DC Universe is coming up. Is that something you would want to play with, whether that is live-action or animation?

Nolan North: Well, I’m actually here in Atlanta, where they’re shooting that very soon. Isn’t Nathan Fillion in it?

Yeah, he is playing Guy Gardner.

Nolan North: I was texting with him. We’re supposed to try to get together get some some dinner or something. But yeah, I’m shooting a TV series down here now and it has nothing to do with James Gunn. But I’m here, so if he needs me, I don’t care. I’d do anything. I’m Green Lantern in this right now and that’s what I’m focused on. But in the future, my son just moved back from from school, he played college football, and he’s getting me back in shape. So I’m ready to go. I won’t need too much padding. We’re going to get this old man back in shape to the point where I can take on the baddies.

Thank you so much for your time. I’m a huge fan of your work, and I can’t wait to see and hear you again; after realizing you were doing a British accent, I can’t wait to see what else you’re going to say in parts two and three.

Nolan North: I’m looking forward to it very, very much. I’m very proud to be part of this and to be here today, talking to you. Don’t miss it.

About Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part One

Death is coming. Worse than death: oblivion. Not just for our Earth, but for everyone, everywhere, in every universe! Against this ultimate destruction, the mysterious Monitor has gathered the greatest team of Super Heroes ever assembled. But what can the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern and hundreds of Super Heroes from multiple Earths even do to save all of reality from an unstoppable antimatter Armageddon?

Check out our other interview with producers Butch Lukic, Jim Krieg, and director Jeff Wamester.