Aquaman star Dolph Lundgren admits he and co-star Jason Momoa were “suffering a lot” when filming underwater scenes as result of uncomfortable harnesses impacting “certain parts of the male anatomy.”
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“Aquaman was the first time I worked in a really computer-generated movie. The only water I saw was the water I drank between takes. There was not a drop to be seen, it’s all dry for wet,” Lundgren said during the FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention over the weekend. “So you’re basically hanging in these wires, you have the harness on, and they pull you up about 20 feet, 30 feet in the air. And you’re hanging up there trying to appear like you’re swimming when you’re talking to the other guy, and there’s absolutely nothing around, there’s just blue screen.”
The King Nereus actor then recalled director James Wan instructing him to envision thousands of Atlantean troops, added later alongside other visual effects.
“It’s like you’ve got to memorize, you’ve got to imagine all these things,” Lundgren said with a laugh.
“It was a new experience for me. And the hair, they dyed afterwards as well. The hair moving, it’s all added in the computer. So when I saw the movie, it was a bit of a shock,” Lundgren added. “And the thing is, hanging in that harness, you know, it cuts into certain parts of the male anatomy. And the heavier you are, the worse it gets, so me and Jason were suffering a lot.”
Lundgren sometimes felt “claustrophobic” when suited up in the underwater king’s battle armor.
“I wore a wig for some scenes, and other scenes they added the hair in the computer, but the beard was there. You’ve got a beard on, this false beard, you’ve got a wig,” he said. “You have like three layers of suits of various kinds of armor and all that, and then a helmet, so you’re looking out through these little holes, and you’re in there, like claustrophobic. But only for a few months, it wasn’t so bad.”
Despite the discomfort, Lundgren sincerely said he would have appeared in the DC Comics-inspired blockbuster “for free.”
“The thing for me was, it’s another type of franchise. The others, Rocky and The Expendables are kind of old school, but this is a new franchise,” Lundgren said. “So I would have done the work for free, because it’s good to be part of those superhero movies.”
Warner Bros. has dated Aquaman 2 for December 16, 2022.
