Fantastic Four: First Steps star Ralph Ineson has said that the weight of his costume for the forthcoming Marvel blockbuster was so heavy he had to get massages on set due to joint pain.
The 55-year-old British actor, best known for playing the loathsome sales representative Chris “Finchy” Finch in the UK version of The Office, will be portraying Galactus in the MCU film.
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter whether discomfort caused him to seek treatment, Ineson replied: “It wasn’t that the costume was so uncomfortable; it was more the fact I’m 55 years old.”
He explained: “My joints are falling apart, and that costume made my knees flare up from carrying the extra weight, so I occasionally had to get a massage at lunchtime.”
Galactus, who was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, is a cosmic entity that eats the life force of planets. In the comics, he appears as a towering human-like giant who at times has been depicted as being larger than planets.
Ineson revealed the way he had to shoot Galactus was “as a miniature”, which would then be “blown up” in post production.
“It stays in perfect focus once it’s expanded because we had excess bright white light on set,” he said. “So wearing the huge suit and the helmet and the gauntlets and all the gear while filming was extremely hot.”
The star continued: “My pit crew had a whole routine so that I could stay cool enough. Galactus can’t sweat, so I had to keep my body temperature down, but also do these quite physical things.”
Ineson admitted he’d “do a couple of takes and sit down” while the camera was reset, with crew members on hand to hold each gauntlet and another taking care of the helmet.
“Somebody would then put an air conditioning unit up the back of my armour and people with fans were in front of me,” he revealed.
“We’d all watch for the assistant director to give the 30-second countdown before everybody had to put everything back on me. So it was exactly like a pit stop for a Formula One car.”
The Leeds-born actor, previously known for roles including warrior Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones, will star alongside Pedro Pascal as Mr Fantastic and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing.
Vanessa Kirby will also appear as he Invisible Woman and Joseph Quinn as The Human Torch in the forthcoming Marvel epic.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to be released on 25 July 2025.
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