If you've ever wondered how superheroes manage to do all that heroic stuff while wearing
those wildly impractical costumes, you're not alone.
In fact, some of the actors playing these heroes on the big screen had major issues
with their outfits.
Here's a look at some actors who despised their superhero costumes.
Jennifer Lawrence
That blue body paint that Jennifer Lawrence wears in the X-Men films may look cool, but
J-Law herself isn't a huge fan considering it took a whopping seven hours to apply when
she filmed X-Men: First Class — not to mention all those iffy chemicals.
She told Entertainment Weekly that she worries about the fumes and toxins now that she's
older.
"I’m almost 25 and I’m like, ‘I can’t even pronounce this and that’s going in
my nose?
I’m breathing that?’”
Luckily, the makeup process was cut down to approximately three hours for Days of Future
Past and Apocalypse, thanks in part to a new body suit they created.
That's evolution in action!
Ron Perlman
J-Law isn't the only hero who's sick of the makeup chair.
Ron Perlman had to endure marathon sessions for his role as Hellboy, as it took between
four and seven hours for him to get ready every time thanks to the use of old school
prosthetics rather than CGI.
In fact, director Guillermo del Toro told Den of Geek that Perlman's hatred of the costume
is one major reason there hasn't been a third Hellboy film.
"He really grew tired of the makeup in the second film and he was really rubbed the wrong
way by those seven-hour sessions."
Sounds like…hell...boy.
Ryan Reynolds
Unlike many superhero movie stars, Ryan Reynolds didn't have to go through an arduous process
to get in costume for Green Lantern, thanks to the fact that his suit was mostly done
with CGI.
So why does Reynolds hate the costume?
Because it looks crappy, and he loathes the movie.
“I would, I would give it a scant…”
“...four, maybe.”
“You would give it a four?”
“Yeah a three or a four.”
“You would give it a three or four?”
“Yeah it didn’t work.”
“It didn’t work?”
“Yeah...one!
It’s a one!”
How much did he dislike his costume in the Green Lantern?
He even made fun of it on screen in his hit superhero parody Deadpool.
“And please don’t make the supersuit green.
Or animated!”
Paul Bettany
Back when he was providing the voice of Tony Stark's JARVIS computer-guy in the Iron Man
films, Paul Bettany said he felt like "a pirate" because the voiceover work was so easy it
was like stealing money.
Well, he quickly learned that he was going to have to earn his money as The Vision, because
now that he's on screen, he has to endure his own uncomfortable costume, which he told
USA Today takes three and a half hours to put on.
"By the fourth and fifth day of the week, you are really having to meditate on the line
of actors, thousands of them, who would love to be in your position.
You have to concentrate on how lucky you are."
Christian Bale
With three Batman movies under his utility belt, Christian Bale is something of an expert
on the importance of a comfortable costume.
After enduring a terribly constricting and painful suit for Batman Begins, Bale requested
a new suit for The Dark Knight, resulting in more fluid action scenes and a more relaxed
filming experience.
But his biggest piece of advice for future Batmen, like Ben Affleck?
Make sure your batsuit has a zipper on it.
“Oh, the only thing I said to him is ‘Look, just make sure he can take a piss without
anyone having to help him, because it’s a little bit humiliating,’ as I went through
when you have to have somebody you know, kinda...help you out.”
Val Kilmer
If only Christian Bale had been around to share that bit of potty advice to Val Kilmer.
Turns out Kilmer, who played the Caped Crusader in 1995's Batman Forever, also had major issues
with his costume, including an unfortunate inability to use the restroom alone.
He likened wearing his suit, which took an hour to put on, to living in an old folk's
home.
"I realized one day what wearing that suit was like.
It was, ‘Oh!
This is what being old feels like.’
No one really listens to you any more.
You can’t really talk or hear.
You’re always falling over and someone has to help you go to the bathroom and get dressed."
Anne Hathaway
Some superhero costumes are uncomfortable.
And then there's the signature skintight suit and heels of Catwoman, which was even more
uncomfortable mentally than physically for Dark Knight Rises star Anne Hathaway, as she
explained in an interview with Allure.
"[The costume] was a psychological terrorist.
The suit, thoughts of my suit, changing my life so I would fit into that suit…It dominated
my year.
I went to the gym for ten months and didn't come out."
Robert Downey, Jr.
As you've probably learned by now, it's tough being a superhero, something Robert Downey,
Jr. learned the hard way when he stepped into the role of Iron Man.
"I'd been training all these years and thought I was pretty tough, but the first time I put
on the Mark 1 suit, I almost had a personality meltdown.
I'm not claustrophobic, but after moving around in it for a couple of hours, your spirit is
kind of broken and you're like, 'Okay, time to bring in the stunt team.'"
Fortunately, these days most of the time Marvel Studios is able to render the suit with CGI
rather than grape jelly.
“Whoo!
Hoooaaahhh!”
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