I’m the magician who plays Thing in Wednesday and here’s how we bring Addams Family favourite to life
"Sometimes I’m expressing emotion by the speed I’m using to move him, or the tension in my fingers."
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
In Netflix hit Wednesday, reanimated appendage “Thing” is a scene-stealer. But in reality he comes attached to Romanian magician Victor Dorobantu. Here’s how he joined the mysterious and spooky, altogether ooky Addams family.
A HELPING HAND
I did a talent show in Romania and they dropped me in the first round. Then one day, a lady called and asked if I wanted to be a hand in a TV show. They’d searched “magicians in Romania,” which is where season one of Wednesday was filmed, and they found me through the contest. In the old Addams Family movies, Thing was also played by a magician, Christopher Hart. We’re very good with dexterity.
TALK TO THE HAND
Creatures usually have eyes, a mouth or eyebrows, something that helps to sell an emotion. Thing has nothing. Sometimes I’m expressing emotion by the speed I’m using to move him, or the tension in my fingers. I’m trying to ignore my body and put my mind and soul into the character. Most of the time, it’s improvisation. I’m also a guitar player, so maybe that helps the finger movements. The actors had to get used to acting and talking with a hand.
SHORTHAND
I developed my own style, with the help of [director] Tim Burton and his team. We looked at sign language, and hand signals commando troops use. We use skateboards when Thing needs to run fast. Sometimes the props department builds trolleys for someone to push me so I can concentrate on the hand running, not on my body staying somewhere.
ALL HANDS ON DECK
I wear a bluescreen suit and prosthetics attached to my wrist [see above]. The VFX team edits my body out of the shots, but I still can’t block the lights or cast a shadow, or stand in front of anyone. Thing is mostly CGI when the scene can’t be done in person, like where he jumps off a building. We attach sensors on each of my fingers and use motion capture.
RIGHT-HAND MEN
I have my own doubles — Tristan Versluis, our prosthetics artist, created casts of my hand, which have an armature inside, so they can move the same as the bones in the palm do. We use them as picture doubles to set up lights, or as stunt doubles when Thing needs to be thrown around. A lot of those models are stolen from set by crew — and stopped at airport security!
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