We can admire the creators of 1992’s “X-Men: The Animated Series” for their nerve. The world of X-Men, as it appears in Marvel Comics, is vast and complex, involving hundreds of characters and decades of soap opera-style drama that even the deepest fans have trouble keeping up with. The creators of “The Animated Series” chose to throw viewers into the deep end, hoping that kids would be able to keep up with the show’s dozen main characters. Plus, they didn’t drastically change the design of the X-Men, allowing them to look as ridiculous in the cartoon as they do on the page. More to the point, they looked like the way Jim Lee had designed them a few years earlier. The colorful spandex superhero costumes remained colorful.
Case in point: Wolverine always wore those stupid “head wings” on his helmet. Cyclops still wore the useless yellow harness. Jubilee was rarely seen without her bright yellow trench coat. Most striking, Beast (voiced by George Buza), was always blue, furry, and sported spikes of hair like the guy in A Flock of Seagulls. Buza voiced Beast as a calm intellectual (which the character is), not a snarling blue wolf.
Buza has an acting career that dates back to the 1970s, and observant movie fans will likely recognize his outsized figure and characterful face. His first on-screen role was an uncredited role in an episode of “Kung Fu,” followed by a small role in the 1978 comedy “High-Ballin’.” He was in “Fairy Tale Theaters” and the sitcom “Maniac Mansion.” He has played voice roles in some “Star Wars” cartoons and appeared in films like “Meatballs III” and “The Brain.” But “X-Men” fans will also be happy to know that Buza had a small role in Bryan Singer’s 2000 live-action “X-Men” feature film.
The actor who played the role of the Beast in X-Men: The Animated Series also played the role of a truck driver in the X-Men movie.
Unlike “The Animated Series,” Singer’s “X-Men” reimagined the characters, toning down the cartoonishness for live action. The sci-fi machines were all shiny and chrome, and the costumes were transformed into thick, black, matching, leather-like uniforms. Characters have also been updated. The Flying Murderer Rogue was now played by Anna Paquinand she became a teenager, terrified that she could literally suck the life out of people just by touching them. At the start of “X-Men”, Rogue runs away from home, gets into a truck and flees the United States to Canada.
When Rogue gets out of the truck, she takes a good look at the driver and attentive viewers will see that it is George Buza. He doesn’t have much to say, but that’s him. “I played the role of the truck driver and it was really great to be part of the feature film,” he once said. The Hollywood Reporter. “They were all enthusiastic about the cartoon, they took a lot of inspiration from it.”
Buza was primarily known for playing Beast and reprized his role in 1995 for an episode of “Spider-Man.” He also played Colossus, Juggernaut, Omega Red and Magneto in the 1994 video game “X-Men: Children of the Atom.” He was no stranger to the Marvel Universe and returned in 2024 for the revival series “X-Men ’97”.
Buza is still working. He recently appeared in three episodes of the Netflix series “Ginny & Georgia” and the 2022 film “A Merry Christmas Wish.” He is one of those reliable actors that Hollywood always needs. Unfortunately, Buza was not asked to play Beast in the live-action “X-Men” film series. The role was eventually taken alternately by Kelsey Grammar and Nicholas Hoult.
