When Leonard Maltin sat down with Joseph Gordon-Levitt to talk about his work in Stop-Loss, he was able to get some details about the actor's role as Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Maltin: You're kind of making a sharp left turn right now. Tell us about the movie that you are shooting.

Gordon-Levitt: Well, I get to play a grandiose Hollywood arch villain in a movie they are making from G.I. Joe. Which is really, really fun. But unfortunately, Mr. Maltin, I can't tell you too much about it.

Maltin: I understand. But you've admitted you are in it.

Gordon-Levitt: And speaking of over the top and abandoning reality. I've never done anything so far away from reality. G.I. Joe makes 3rd Rock from the Sun look like a [John] Cassavetes movie.

Maltin: (laughs) Wow, so that really is different for you.

Gordon-Levitt: Yeah, it's as if I'm five-years-old and playing with action figures. Except they're huge.

Maltin: What a wonderful opportunity that must be.

Gordon-Levitt: It's fun, it's just a lot of fun. And I just got done doing two movies in a row, The Lookout and Stop-Loss, and both of those were very heavy. Very emotionally involved. I really had to give all of myself to doing them, and G.I. Joe is just fun. I show up and I have a good time and I leave. And I'm not thinking about it, really, afterwards. Because it's not -- to be honest, it's not a movie that's meant to make you think about it afterwards. It's meant to bring you to the theater, have a great time, you know, carry on with your afternoon.

Maltin: Well, there's nothing wrong with that. I think what I like most about movies is variety and having different experiences. And I wouldn't want to have all serious movies, or all penetrating dramas, or all popcorn movies either. But I'd like to have some of each.

Gordon-Levitt: Well, that's the beautiful thing about my job -- I get to be different people and do different things. I'm lucky, lucky, lucky to be able to do it. And yeah, doing a movie like G.I. Joe after Stop-Loss is just a manifestation of that luck. But while we are talking about G.I. Joe [and] Stop-Loss...they both allude to the military in extremely different ways. People have asked me, "So you are doing two soldier movies?" I just say, "No, no, no. Stop-Loss is a soldier movie. Stop-Loss is about what it's like to be a soldier. It's a portrayal that's as honest as we can make it about what it's like to be an American soldier today." G.I. Joe has nothing to do with that. G.I. Joe is about what it's like to be an action figure. G.I. Joe is a thrill ride and a spectacle, and fun, and bares no resemblance to reality.

Maltin: Well, I look forward to seeing it. And thank you for being here.

Gordon-Levitt: Thank you.