The superhero genre continues to be wildly popular, thanks to various cinematic universes that are in play. Those with a Disney+ subscription are treated to the Marvel movies in order, as well as the X-Men franchise. Those properties feature Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Lawrence respectively, and the two acclaimed actresses recently bonded over having to pee into a funnel for their comic book roles.
Jennifer Lawrence famously played Mystique in four X-Men movies, starting with First Class and ending with her surprise death in Dark Phoenix. Thompson is still playing Valkyrie in the MCU, most recently popping up for a cameo in The Marvels. The pair of actresses recently appeared together on The Graham Norton Show, where they traded stories about not being able to use the bathroom in their superhero suits. Lawrence started, saying:
They didn't give me like, a thing to pee with Mystique. I mean... I couldn't pee. They were like 'she doesn't need to go to the bathroom.'
This seems to be a common issue with superhero actors, dating back years. Christian Bale famously told Ben Affleck to make sure he could pee in his Batman suit when taking on the role for Zack Snyder. So it's not even something exclusive to women in the genre.
Tessa Thompson immediately related to the Silver Linings Playbook actress, revealing she had the same issue when suiting up as Valkyrie. She also originally couldn't use the restroom when filming in the Thor franchise, revealing:
Same. So I had that issue and then I was like 'We have to do something about this.' And so they put a zip in there. But you still have the costume.
Putting in a zipper for actors to comfortable use the restroom seems like a no brainer, especially considering how long superhero movies shoot for. Alas, that doesn't seem to be a priority for designers out there, who are trying to make actors look as cool as possible. But there was a solution that these two women were given: a funnel. As J Law put it:
They gave me a funnel to stand and pee.
Well, that's certainly one way of getting around the issue. But while men are used to standing to urinate, this is a wild request for Lawrence and Thompson. The latter actress confirmed she was also met with this potential solution, but couldn't bring herself to actually doing it. As she told it:
They gave me that too! But I was like 'I don't- I can't. I can't do it.'
Honestly, can you blame her? On top of being a strange way to relieve herself, the stakes feel high when keeping on her Valkyrie costume to pee. She can't exactly aim, and having to wear a costume covered in urine sounds like it would be pretty miserable. Although now I wonder exactly what happened for Thompson, who couldn't bring herself to use the funnel.
While Jennifer Lawrence tenure as Mystique has come to an end, fans still expect Tessa Thompson to appear in upcoming Marvel movies. She wasn't included in the Doomsday cast announcement, so it's unclear when she'll pop back up.
Jennifer Lawrence and Tessa Thompson's tenures in their comic book roles are both streaming now on Disney+. Although now I'm not going to be able to look at them without thinking of their bathroom woes.
