Earlier today we got a first look at Fantastic Four’s character poster for the Thing. Prior to that, Jamie Bell, the actor behind the Thing/Ben Grimm, gave away a few secrets on what it was like to embody the role.
During a discussion with AOL Build , Bell talked about the Fantastic Four reboot, which also stars Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Miles Teller. When he played the Thing, Bell took a similar approach that Andy Serkis did while playing larger than life roles such as King Kong and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
According to the actor, he worked alongside Serkis for guidance to embody the six-foot-eight character.
“It’s about capturing the essence of a human being inside of that character when he is transformed and you do that through motion capture. It’s a technique that my friend Andy Serkis has very much spearheaded — he is the guru of performance capture. I’ve been lucky to work with him three or four times actually, so I very much consider him my mentor.”
That said, Bell mentioned that he did have a diet in place, just so he could take on the responsibility of becoming the Thing. Although he did have a strict physical routine most of his character was about, “puppeteering a character who otherwise wouldn’t exist” thanks to motion capture technology.
As for the finished product, Bell said, “I’m very excited to see it, but what I can tell you is just from the making of the film and the journey that we’ve been on with it, it’s very much an experience, it really is. I’m very flattered and humbled to be a part of it.”
As stated, the Thing has been unveiled, and fans have a few opinions on it.
The Thing Revealed In New ‘Fantastic Four’ Images http://t.co/JCzwiOXTD5 pic.twitter.com/UGuWW9IdOi
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 9, 2015
@empiremagazine Is his dork made out of orange rock like the rest of his body?
— Christopher Dowson (@DowsonCreative) April 9, 2015
@empiremagazine Doesn’t look much like Jamie Bell or The Thing…
— Graeme Wood (@woodg31) April 9, 2015
Too literal, I think. Should look rock-like, not like actual rocks. MT @empiremagazine : ICYMI, Jamie Bell’s The Thing pic.twitter.com/NP7oKfaboj
— Steven D. Greydanus (@DecentFilms) April 9, 2015
@empiremagazine looks more like a pile of rubble and somewhat grim!
— jonathan harvey (@WinterFell1701) April 9, 2015
@empiremagazine looks okay not bad but not amazing
— Connor Pearson (@Krider111) April 9, 2015
What do you think about this version of the Thing?
[Image via Marvel]