Werewolf by Night has finally been released on Disney+ and many got to enjoy the horror-inspired story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first werewolf. Not just that, but we also got to enjoy the captivating performance by Gael Garcia Bernal in the role of Jack Russel and his lycanthrope counterpart. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bernal reveals what it was like becoming the character and also the awkward beginnings to realize his performance.
Yes, that’s the idea. It starts from there. Before I started to work on this, I was like, “What am I going to do?” But once you get your feet dirty and put your hands in the clay and start to play around, you gain a little bit of the character. There’s a little bit of appropriation that happens, and once you put the mask on, the whole world is built. That’s when the howling becomes a natural part of what one is doing, and then the embarrassment goes away. At the same time, as actors, we’re used to that. It’s not that we don’t get embarrassed or shy about what we’re about to do, but you have to go through it. It’s like jumping into cold water. Once you’re in the cold water, it’s even colder outside of it, so it’s better to stay in.
Gael Garcia Bernal
He also got a chance to highlight the makeup process to bring the character to life. He highlights how it took around four hours early on but the process sped up as production went along.
Yeah, [Old] was nothing compared to this. The mask by itself was incredible. It took a while. The first time we did it, it took close to four hours, and then it started to take less and less. By the end, it was actually quite fast. Fortunately, there were many aspects of the costume that were practical. Everything was in camera. We didn’t have to put tracking dots on me [for performance capture]. The whole costume was weirdly scary and odd as well.
Gael Garcia Bernal
It’s definitely interesting how they approached the costume, especially with the more practical take on the character. A recently revealed BTS image from the production even showcased that Man-Thing had a practical suit on set as well. If Giacchino decides to return to direct more Marvel monster features, perhaps we’ll get even more fun and scary designs exploring this new corner of the MCU.
Source: THR
