Ralph Ineson is a skilled actor, but there’s only so much a mortal man can do to get into the character and mindset of an immortal cosmic being. Ineson plays Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and he explained his process for embodying the character in a new interview with Empire published on Thursday. While it’s an impossible task by design, Ineson said that he started by simply being aware of Galactus’ sheer size and scale in relation to his own environment. That included driving through mountain tunnels “just imagining that as his windpipe and his trachea,” and visiting high places when he could.
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“I also went to a lot of tall buildings,” Ineson explained. ‘We went to a wedding at the top of the Gherkin building in London, and I spent most of the afternoon just staring out, ruminating. I got in trouble with my wife — she was like, ‘You’ve got to say hello to the bride and groom at some point!’”
Simple as it may seem, it makes sense for an actor like Ineson trying to get into the headspace of an unfathomable character like Galactus. Marvel has been touting the movie character’s faithfulness to the original comics, likely due to the previous depiction of “Galactus” on the big screen that left so many disappointed. According to Marvel Comics, Galactus generally presents himself just shy of 30 feet tall, and weighs over 16 tons. However, he can change his size and his form, and his size sometimes changes based on how many worlds he has devoured recently.
[RELATED: The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is More Important for the MCU Than You Realize]
“He’s a cosmic force. He’s a god, of sorts,” Ineson said. He even jokingly compared his new character to his fan-favorite role on The Office, saying, “I don’t think Galactus is evil. But Finchy’s a proper c—.”
For a character like Galactus, comic book faithfulness is a bit of a moving target, as he has been retconned many times. On top of that, the MCU always bends characters, settings, and stories to its own unique purpose, keeping readers on their toes and avoiding spoilers. In First Steps, Galactus will appear in an alternate timeline from the rest of the MCU, but we know that these two timelines will crossover and interact in Avengers: Doomsday. It’s unclear if Galactus will travel to Earth-616 as well, but it’s certainly possible.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th. In the meantime, the next MCU release is Ironheart, premiering on June 24th on Disney+.
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