New vehicle for Paul Newman

Paul Newman says voicing the Hudson Hornet in Cars was lots of fun.

He's won Oscars, raced cars, been on President Richard Nixon's enemies list, helped found the famed Actor's Studio and established a food company to fund charities.

So what is 81-year-old Paul Newman doing playing Doc Hudson, a crusty old automobile with blue eyes for headlights in animated film Cars?

"I wanted to be the first animated character on screen to demonstrate method acting," the trim, silver-haired actor said with a playful shrug as he readied for the premiere of the latest film from Pixar, makers of such hits as Finding Nemo and Toy Story.

The world premiere was held at Lowe's Motor Speedway, a centre for Nascar racing outside Charlotte, and attracted some 30,000 people - many making the trip just to see Newman.

"Making an animated film was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I didn't have to go on location for a long period of time. I didn't have to deal with temperamental actors or wait a long time for the lights to be set up.

"I just drove from my New England home to New York City and recorded my dialogue in four days. Joanne [Woodward, his wife of 48 years] thinks I'm coming back as a race car in my next life, so she says this is one role that I shouldn't overact," he said.

Newman marched for civil rights and in anti-Vietnam war demonstrations, and used his star power to prompt a reluctant media to cover those events.

"Being on President Nixon's enemies list was the highest single honour I've ever received," Newman said with a smile and added, "Who knows who's listening to me now and what government list I'm on?"

His response to a report that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon may do a Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid remake is clear - don't.

"I think we did a good enough job with the first one. Someone at the press conference asked about me about doing a sequel to Butch Cassidy. Doesn't he know we died at the end of the picture? I was waiting for someone to ask if we'd do a prequel so I could tell them to go rent the DVD (Butch and Sundance: The Early Years)." Newman said he was working with Robert Redford on a project but refused to give details. "Let's just say we better make the movie soon before Redford gets too old," he said, grinning.

But if Newman doesn't make another movie again, one gets the impression he won't mind.

"I started my career giving a clinic in bad acting in the film The Silver Chalice and now I'm playing a crusty old man who's an animated automobile. That's a creative arc for you isn't it?"

- REUTERS