‘Venom’ Featurette Highlights Tom Hardy’s Transformation Into a Head-Eating Monster

Venom will chomp his way into theaters next month, giving Tom Hardy the chance to do yet another weird voice. While Hardy is covered in CGI goo while playing Venom, there’s a surprising amount of practical effects work in the film as well. If you don’t believe that, check out the Venom featurette below, showcasing Hardy’s work in bringing Venom to life.

Venom Featurette

I really don’t know what to make of Venom. Tom Hardy is an excellent actor, and the cast around him – Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate and more – is fantastic. But there’s something about the footage that makes this look a hold-over from a different era – the type of comic book movie that would’ve come out around the time of Daredevil or Elektra. Despite my misgivings, I will say this new featurette offers a good look at the behind-the-scenes goings-on in the film. While Tom Hardy spends a good chunk of Venom obscured by CGI, he still threw himself fully into the role. Here, we get to see all the work that goes into filming the actor as he flails around like a lunatic. Cameras were set up to track his every movement, and a special rig was built that lifted the actor into the air with the movement of the camera to illustrate Venom’s full height.

There’s a fair bit of practicality to the footage here. That’s somewhat promising, but this is also only a small snippet of footage from a larger film. That said, even if Venom turns out to be a disappointment, I have a feeling Hardy will give the film his all. He usually does. “To me [playing Venom is] exciting, because it’s a double act,” the actor said in an interview with Esquire. “The character has an ethical framework, the alien by virtue of coming from another planet doesn’t have the same ethical framework, and they have to work out how to be together so they click.” Hardy added: “It’s like acting out mental illness in some aspects, of which I have a fair understanding, having had a certain amount of mental health problems of my own, which are relevant, being an addict. So I might as well fucking use it.”

Venom opens on October 5, 2018.

One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass characters comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector Venom. Reporter Eddie Brock develops superpowers after becoming a host to an alien parasite.

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