Swamp Thing Star Derek Mears on Suit’s Practical Effects

Even though we’re in the age of computer-generated graphics, productions often times resort to practical effects whenever possible to remain as life-like as possible. Believe it or not, that’s the route the team behind Swamp Thing took with the titular character’s larger-than-life look. For the most part, the new show’s Swamp Thing is all practical effects — in fact, Swamp Thing star Derek Mears calls it the “Cadillac of suits.”

“It will have CG elements mixed into the show, but any time that we can we used practical effects,which also excited me about the show in general,” Mears tells ComicBook.com. “They wanted to do old school practical and the suit that the Fractured FX guys have created is just … I’ve worn a lot of different makeups throughout my career, and this thing is just the Cadillac of suits. Like the way you can emote through it is so sensitive, and it’s so beautiful. I’m very lucky because I get to wear art.”

Mears went on to reveal that suit is quite massive, not only because the character calls for it, but because the actor isn’t a small-statured actor by any means — he tells us he measures in around 6 feet 5 inches tall. From the shoulders up, everything you’ll see is made up of nine separate pieces of applied prosthetics, allowing Mears for a full range of motion and movement; then the main piece of the suit covers both the legs and the majority of the torso on top of a pair of separate gloves.

“Being that I’m going to be in the water so much, it’s really quick drying,” Mears reveals. “There are vents in it. It has all the bells and whistles that you would want. I mean, it’s still difficult to do because it is what it is, but it’s the best that it could possibly be.”

The actor tells us he originally thought he’d spend over four hours a day in makeup but the team got so quick at it, he was in and out of the suit in just two hours, a tremendous feat in and of itself.

“These guys are such talents and they’ve worked on such big-name projects,” he continues. “They’ve gotten it down from start to finish for two hours, to put me in this thing, and I’m just beyond grateful to have these guys on the show.”

Swamp Thing is set to hit DC Universe May 31st.

Are you looking forward to seeing an R-rated Swamp Thing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!

—–

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we go all in on the IT CHAPTER TWO trailer and do a deep dive into all the movies coming out this summer! After Avengers: Endgame is there any movie worth seeing? Find out the answer and make sure to subscribe now to never miss an episode!