This past week 20th Century Fox gave us our first proper look at Ben Grimm’s The Thing with the release of two new images from The Fantastic Four [see here and here], and now actor Jamie Bell has shared some comments on bringing the character to life in the Josh Trank-directed reboot.
“Obviously I’m not made of rocks and obviously I’m not 6 foot 8!” said Bell during a Q&A with AOL Build (via The Huffington Post). “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.”
Bell went on to add that: “It’s a huge responsibility. I think people were kind of confused when I was cast, but this is very much an origin story of these characters. I haven’t seen the film yet. 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.”
You can read our preview of The Fantastic Four in the Flickering Myth Magazine:
The Fantastic Four is set to hit theaters on August 7th, with Josh Trank (Chronicle) directing a cast that includes Miles Teller (Whiplash) as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara (House of Cards) as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, Jamie Bell (Nymphomaniac) as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Doctor Doom, Reg E. Cathey (House of Cards) as Dr. Storm, and Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk) as Harvey Elder/Mole Man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&feature=player_embedded&v=pnc360pUDRI
Originally published April 14, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
