Did you grow up with the comics?
MC: I was the only one of the four actors that was a really avid Fantastic Four fan, which shows my age. At 12, 13, 14-years old I’d go down to the corner store and get the Fantastic Four. I thought I was a big comic book fan until I went to Comic-Con, with the other guys, and then I realised what real comic book fans were. I mean, they put the fan in fanatic. There are people who just really live it. I knew it was going to be a little daunting when a man said to me, “Mr Chiklis, in episode 283 when your character…” And I was like, “Whoa, wait a minute.” So it was a little daunting at first, but we were given all the source material and looked things over so we could do the best job possible.
So you’ve had the experience of dealing with fans for whom the adaptation was more important to them than life itself.
MC: I’ve had multiple encounters with such people, starting with Comic-Con. A man, about my age, came up to me dressed as The Thing, of his own volition, and that stunned me. I’ve had other e-mails and fan mail with really passionate questions, and requests like, “Please, get it right”, and, “What are you going to be doing exactly?” I do want to say, to the people that are hard-core fans, that we really did labour over everything. Particularly, as far as I’m concerned, the look of The Thing was the main topic from day one. With myself, Tim Story and Avi Arad we all instantly agreed it shouldn’t be a CGI and it should be a person. And silly me, I was all for it. Of course, it ended up being an incredibly arduous task, being in that costume, but ultimately we did make the right choice, because you wanted to see there was a human being in that body. There’s a tremendous amount of pathos and humanity behind Ben Grimm, and if we had done it with CGI it would have been lost.
You’re right, that was one of the things that struck me, especially after The Hulk. You were a perfect choice for Ben Grimm. What about adapting to wearing the make-up and suit?
MC: It took the whole first week for me to really feel like I was embracing it and that it wasn’t in control of me. The first few days were horrible for me. I didn’t expect it. I knew, intellectually, I was going to be wearing this makeup. I knew what I was in for, but knowing something intellectually and the reality of when the rubber meets the face, as it were, was a whole different experience.
Ben Grimm takes the change the hardest, emotionally. How difficult was it for you to play such a tragic character with all that make-up?
MC: I had an interesting experience the first day on set, well the first day of shooting actually, because we did three days of tests of putting on the make-up. The first day of actual shooting I was on “the rack”, which was this slant board I rested on between shots, and I had a neutral expression on my face. I was just resting, relaxing and Tim Story [the director] came over to me, and I happened to be looking at him, and he came over to me and said, “Hey Chiki, what’s the matter, man?” and I was like, “What do you mean?” “Are you upset with me?” I was like, “No, no, not at all.” It turns out that neutral in The Thing mask is (pulls a long face) and he thought I was upset.
I’ve never been a mirror actor, who looks in the mirror and does his lines. So I found I had to go back to the makeup trailer and spend some time getting to know the guy and manipulating the expressions. Figuring out how to make my emotions read and at what levels they would read at. How much of a wisp of a smile would read, and that made it a really fascinating acting process. It was pretty interesting because it was my face, but I had to amplify. It was a bizarre way to work, but it was really cool, actually.
Was it claustrophobic in the suit?
MC: I’ve never been a claustrophobe. I even talked to a psychiatrist during this period. I had to because I’m not an anxious person by nature. I’m kind of a laid back person. I don’t experience anxiety, ever. I’m very fortunate in that way. But for me to have a melt down like I did on that first day, it sort of surprised me. There were a lot of people counting on me. My entire network had pushed the shooting of “The Shield” three and a half months to accommodate me doing this movie, so I think that contributed to it too. As soon as I had the thought in my mind, “Oh my God, I can’t do this” it sort of snowballed on me. It took a few days of me getting used to it, before I went, “OK, I can breathe, I can hear, I can see, I can speak.” That became my mantra for weeks, “I can breathe, I can hear, I can see, I can speak.” Finally I went, “OK, I’ve got this”, and it got better and better. And the other guys saved me, because they were so patient and phenomenal in terms of helping me and letting me shoot my side first so I could take my legs off. They were amazing, and I thanked them all the time for it. I considered it one of the triumphs of my life when I heard the words, “Michael, you’re wrapped”.
There is great screen rapport between you and Chris, with all the rivalry, but also with Ioan, as old friends. Did you all get on well together?
MC: I think the first words I said to Ioan were, “Hey, we’re gonna be friends for the next ten years”, or words to that effect. Knowing this was quite an odyssey we were in for and we all got that. We needed to be a family, and pals as well.
The film is fun, as it should be, but did the American public, or more particularly the press, expect that?
MC: It certainly seemed like the press were reviewing Wuthering Heights, and the Fantastic Four was an interesting thing to see. We went into the production knowing what it was and what we were trying to make, which is a fun ride. Something where you can just go, whether you’re with family or your friends, or a date or whoever, with a big bucket of popcorn and candy and a soda and have a ride, have a laugh. That’s it, it’s a jaunt, it’s fun.
It’s done really well at the US box office. Does this mean you will be locked into a franchise? Does that prospect seem exciting or daunting?
MC: I’m so thrilled to be here right now. Doing this movie was an hour-by-hour process for me, so it’s really hard for me to think about going back into that Thing.
Have you signed up for more?
MC: Yes we have. Two more. We look forward to doing more. At the moment we’re all road tired. This has been a huge process and we can’t wait to hear people’s response to it. It is a long process, when you shoot a movie for five or six months, then you wait six months while its in post [production], and it all comes down to one weekend. Thank God, it opened and it opened big, and it’s doing really well. But now you want to get feedback from people. You want to go, with a hat on, sit at the back of the theatre and listen to kids laugh.
And I’m sure they will. Thanks Michael.