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Anthony Anderson is Glen Whitmann When asked if he is familiar with Transformers action figures, Anthony Anderson will immediately break into song, “Transformers, more than meets the eye, Transformers, robots in disguise!” “I can sing more of the song, Anderson says proudly, “I actually owned Optimus Prime and Megatron. I grew up watching the cartoon, that's my era. When I heard there was a possibility of playing a character in the film, I was just excited at the chance to meet Michael and Steven Spielberg.” Anderson is passing on the lore of Transformers, teaching his children about his beloved childhood pastime. After bringing his young son to the set, he had a difficult time keeping his son's focus on school rather than on accompanying him to work each day. “The first day I walked onto the Megatron set, I had my son with me,” remembers Anderson. “His jaw dropped. The art department did an amazing job bringing this creature to life, and it was only half built. I really have to tip my hat to them.” A chameleon, Anderson has the ability to perform in classical theatre as well as urban drama, but is best known for his comedic roles, a talent he uses to great degree as Glen, a smart but surreptitious hacker who is a close friend of computer analyst and government consultant, Maggie Madsen. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who has worked previously with Anderson, is a big fan. “People don't understand how much he brings to the party,” di Bonaventura says. “His ad-libs are smart and clever and completely unexpected; he's a very instinctual comedian. But he's also underestimated when it comes to his serious roles. Anthony was so compelling in `Hustle and Flow'; I hope more people recognize how talented he is.” Di Bonaventura loves the idea of going against type in casting Anderson as the computer whiz kid.  “Every preconception you have about the character is thrown out the window when you meet Glen at his grandmother's house. He's older than you think the average teenage hacker might be. He's less nerdy. And he's the total opposite of the hot guy you imagine as Maggie's friend. He's just a study in contrasts. Anthony is absolutely fresh.” Anderson describes his character as a “computer genius-geek-nerd who is accidentally pulled into the government's search for whatever is devouring all their secret system files and documents. “Maggie, my partner in crime, brings in Glen to help her decipher an electronic computer language that the Decepticons are speaking; she needs help, so she comes to the smart guy,” he says coyly. “Glen's nervous at first,” explains Anderson, “because he's got a little addiction problem with hacking into highly classified systems like the Pentagon's, which he's done more than a few times. He can't help himself, he's drawn to it; he loves the excitement. He's just never been caught before. But this time, he really doesn't want to be in the mix with angry alien robots.” Despite his initial reluctance, Glen cannot help but be spellbound as he begins tapping into the aliens' communications, breaking their code. “Glen knows their innermost secrets,” the actor says, “but it's frightening and disturbing. I mean, it's Defcon 38. Talk about heightened security levels; we're at fuchsia, man!” Anderson's favorite Transformer is Megatron. “I like the bad guys now,” he says. “Growing up I liked Optimus Prime and another one that was a big gun with a scope on it. I played with that guy until he broke.” Next Page: Rachael Taylor as Maggie Madsen