Jamie Bell recently took part in an interview with AOL Build when he discussed playing Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, in The Fantastic Four. “I’m hugely excited, it’s a huge responsibility” he started. “It’s a very kind of a beloved property. It’s in the comic book universe, it’s right up there with all the rest of them. So, there is a lot of hoop-jumping, and trust. I think people were kind of confused when I was cast, but this is an origin story of these characters. I haven’t seen the film yet, but I’m very excited to see it. What I can tell you is, just from making the film and the journey that we’ve been on with it, is that the film is very much an experience; it really is. It’s really fun to be a part of. Simon Kinberg is a great comic book writer; comic book just runs through his veins. And Josh Trank is an original unique filmmaker. I’m very flattered and humbled to be a part of it.”
Jamie Bell was then asked how he got into character as the Thing, and he revealed that he got help from his King Kong co-star Andy Serkis, who also worked on the Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
“We used performance capture to get the essence of it,” he said. “Obviously I’m not made of rocks and obviously I’m not 6 foot 8! 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 3 or 4 times actually, so I very much consider him my mentor.”
Fantastic Four, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy. Directed by Josh Trank, Fantastic Four stars Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell with Reg E. Cathey, and the film is scheduled for release on August 7, 2015.
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