Tim Story’s 2005 superhero film “Fantastic Four” was technically the first feature film to star the titular team, originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1962. One can only imagine the decades-long wait to make a “Fantastic Four” movie was based largely on VFX technology; for many years, it would have been too expensive and/or difficult to visually realize the Four’s superpowers in live-action. Mr. Fantastic can stretch his body like rubber, for instance, and the Thing has a body made of rock.
In the more recent adaptation, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” all four characters’ powers were realized via super-sophisticated CGI — and, in the case of the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), full-on motion-capture technology. In 2005, however, CGI was prohibitively expensive, and mo-cap actors didn’t always look great (Gollum and Jar-Jar Binks were the height of animation at the time). That means the Thing, as he was filmed in 2005, had to be realized via more practical means. Tom Story’s solution was to create a mask and a very elaborate, lightweight rock suit, and apply them directly to actor Michael Chiklis.
Chiklis had the thick, muscular build of the Thing, but also was a deeply capable actor who captured the character’s gruff charm and relatable short temper. He was cast well. The rock suit he had to wear wasn’t as comics-accurate as some fans might have wanted, but fans are difficult to please. The Thing looked just fine.
As Chiklis revealed in a recent interview with Variety, however, the suit was terribly uncomfortable. The makeup technicians had to essentially glue him into a near-full-body appliance, and it made him incredibly claustrophobic. Chiklis admits he had to hire a special psychiastrist on set to calm him down and get him through prolonged shooting days inside the suit.
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Michaek Chiklis felt claustrophobic in his Thing costume for Fantastic Four
The Thing in Fantastic Four – 20th Century Fox
As one can tell just by looking at photographs of Chiklis in the Thing costume/makeup, it took a great deal of time to apply, and certainly doesn’t look comfortable. The suit consisted of a jumpsuit-like element made of foam latex that Chiklis slipped over his torso and pelvis, followed by two four-fingered Thing hands that had to be glued to his sleeves. Chiklis also had to undergo hours of makeup, as full head and face prosthetics were applied. On top of all that, he had to wear Thing shoes to make his feet look larger and rock-like. The website Befores and Afters walks readers through the lengthy process it too to turn an actor into a rock-skinned bruiser.
As Chiklis said in the Variety interview, the suit was awful. It was hot and uncomfortable, and couldn’t be easily removed one he was in it. And it was tight. As Chiklis decribed it:
“Once they locked the Thing with the glue, I couldn’t get out of it. […] Once they glued the hands on, I’m trapped in this suit with no zipper. I’m thirsty all the time because as soon as you have that thing, the latex at its thickest was at the chest, so it didn’t breathe at all. […] Immediately, my body core would go up, my body temperature would rise, and I would start to feel a little panicked sometimes. I’m not claustrophobic at all. But in that situation, I was.”
The suit was so awful that Chiklis says he almost quit the movie. In order to retain his sanity and keep the gig, the actor had to rely on a psychiatrist.
Michael Chiklis needed to call a psychiatrist to help him through the movie
The Thing getting ready to clobber the Human Torch in Fantastic Four – 20th Century Fox
Chiklis, it should be noted, gave an excellent performance. Tim Story’s “Fantastic Four” movies are not deeply beloved by fans these days, but they were both modest hits, and many can agree that Chiklis was a highlight. He was able to communicate a lot about his character even through the elaborate makeup. It didn’t change the fact, though, that he hated it. There was even one occasioan when he got so uncomfortable, he demanded to be removed from the suit, even though it cause a long delay in shooting:
“[The psychiatrist] gave me a bunch of different things to get me out of my head and into the room. Even with that, there were two occasions where I flipped out and said, ‘I got to get out.’ They pulled everything off me, and that cost us hours. I didn’t mean it, I just was flipping out.”
Chiklis and his co-star Ioan Gruffud, who played Mr. Fantastic in “Fantastic Four,” both noted that they would happily join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, if invited. Although the MCU just introduced a new iteration of the Four with “First Steps,” the franchise has also been happily dabbling with multiverse stories, bringing in multiple actors from various superhero franchises. That formula already proved successful with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in 2021, and it was plied to comedic effect in 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Indeed, Chris Evans, who played the Human Torch in “Fantastic Four,” reprised the role in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” There’s every reason to believe that Chiklis and Gruffud may be invited back into the fold in “Avengers: Secret Wars,” currently slated for release on December 17, 2027.
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