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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I couldn't get rid of Finchy': Ralph Ineson on The Office – and becoming a Hollywood superstar at 55
How do you portray Galactus, a gigantic, amoral, immortal superbeing who thrives by draining planets of their energy? If you're making a film of any part of Marvel's Fantastic Four journey, your best bet is probably to depict him as a cloud. That's what happened in 2007, and even though fans complained about it a bit, it solved a lot of problems. Matt Shakman, director of the new The Fantastic Four: First Steps, cast Ralph Ineson, who still sounds faintly surprised by the move. 'I've been working for a long time,' he says. His first role was a small part in Spender, the Jimmy Nail vehicle, in 1991, and he's in a similar mould to Nail: tall with a handsome, rough-hewn face, a guy who looks as if he knows how to do guy stuff. 'I've been a jobbing actor for a long time,' he continues, with the same disbelieving, 'how the hell did I wind up in this huge movie?' tone of voice. 'There's no denying it's really nice to have a huge trailer. And it was huge. Bigger than mine and my wife's first flat.' (He married Ali Milner, a radio host, in 2003.) 'Nice trailers, nice cars, and a paycheck. But it's a privilege and an honour to be the first person to bring this character to life. Twelve-year-old me wouldn't have believed some of this shit. I don't have any snobbery about it. I loved it.' Then Ineson describes what it took to make this character, in terms I could already hear, after five minutes, were extremely true to form: stressing the industry and professionalism of everyone on set (including the two people whose job it was to blow cold air into each of his gauntlets between takes) except himself, the dude who just has to show up and try not to sweat. 'They had to shoot me on a white background, with lots of bright light, and I'm wearing this enormous costume, so it was incredibly hot and there was nowhere for the heat to escape. Obviously, Galactus can't sweat. So I had a Formula One pit crew of people around me.' It sounds like a nightmare, I suggest. 'For me, there's something quite masochistic about acting. Sometimes you only really get the good stuff when you're at the edge of something, either mentally, emotionally or physically. It unlocks stuff.' And then, mindful that he has skated way closer to pretension than he'd prefer, 'Occasionally I had to have the physio at my knees, because I'm 55 and falling apart.' His calling, as an actor, has been playing one bad guy after another, but he is one of the most personable people you could ever meet. Ineson grew up in Leeds in the 1970s, when he 'felt as if acting was something that was almost shameful, or maybe that's too strong a word. But it wasn't really something to be proud of, when I was a kid.' His parents were supportive in the sense that they would never miss a show, but nobody thought it was a serious career prospect, and after doing theatre studies at Furness college in Lancaster, he worked as a drama teacher at a sixth-form college in York. He got involved with the York Mystery Plays – a tradition that's been going, on and off, since the mid-14th century: a Bible story told every year, once performed on a roaming cart, then, by the time Ineson did it in 1992, at the York Theatre Royal. All the characters were played by the people of York, except for one professional actor, who that year was Robson Green. 'He was pretty lonely on his own, sat in his hotel. We'd go out for a drink and I ended up sharing a dressing room with him. And he said: 'You're not wedded to being a teacher, are you?' I wasn't, although I did enjoy it, but I hadn't been to drama school, I wasn't classically trained. He said: 'Go home and watch TV tonight, look at the characters you could play.' So I watched a soap, I watched the nine o'clock drama, and there were about five people I thought I could play.' He describes the next phase as a series of lucky strikes: meeting an agent through Green and getting the part in Spender, 'basically because I could ride off-road motorbikes – the character was a professional motocross rider'. Then another agent, more parts, but still 'I don't think I realised I wanted to be an actor until I'd been doing it for 20 years,' he says. 'Shoots were something I really enjoyed, but almost pretended I didn't. Then, I was sitting on a horse on the plains outside Santa Fe, dressed as the man in black, a posse leader' – that was The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a Coen brothers film. 'And I thought: 'This is exactly what I have always wanted to do.' I just didn't realise it until I was in my mid-40s.' But that was 2018, and quite a lot had happened in the years before that. If you feel as if you know Ineson personally, it will be because of The Office, in 2001, where he occasionally breezed in as Finchy, the boorish sales rep whom Ricky Gervais's David Brent hero-worshipped all the more for his proudly offensive humour. Ineson was sent the pilot episode on VHS, 'which is how long ago it was. I remember being really terrified. How brilliant they were, the central four, firing off each other. I was slightly intimidated. My first thought was: 'Shit, can I do this?'' When he first started out, he often felt as if he was on the back foot because he hadn't been to drama school. 'I don't know whether I would have suited it, but it felt like a big thing for the first few years, because that is all young actors talk about.' Slowly, he came to have more regard for his own idiosyncratic apprenticeship: 'For years I've had the chance to work on big productions without a lot of responsibility – mainly getting my horse to stand in the right place, being in that part of the screen, behind the main villain's left shoulder. You learn a lot about acting, doing that.' Anyway, feeling that he had to be on his mettle – which was fair, Gervais, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis were explosively good together – he made a fateful decision. 'I thought: 'I'll use my own accent, I'll play Finchy as a Yorkshireman so I don't have to think about anything except keeping up with the rest of them.' That was a big mistake, because it meant that everybody, for at least 10 years, thought that I was Finchy. That I wasn't acting; that was just my personality. So having people thinking you're Chris Finch, looking at you with amusement, but also a bit of disgust, a bit of fear. He's just such a shitter. It's not a nice skin!' It didn't end with regular human interactions, either – 'career-wise, it was a bit of pain. I just got offered wankers, racists, misogynists and homophobes.' Before The Office, he was always having to recount his CV for people in the street – they'd come up and go, 'what have I seen you in?', and he'd have to size them up and figure out whether they remembered him from Goodnight Sweetheart or an episode of The Bill. He remembers thinking it would be nice to have something so major that nobody would have to ask. 'Be careful what you wish for, because then I got Finchy and I couldn't get rid of him for about 20 years. At least Galactus simply exists, he's a cosmic force. He doesn't do it out of malice. You can't really get much worse than Chris Finch.' He remains a big fan of The Office, which I smoke out by getting him to adjudicate between the British and American versions – he didn't watch the US one for ages, because he caught snatches of it and thought: 'No, they're doing it wrong.' Five years ago, his daughter watched the whole thing and he realised, 'it's different, but it is good. Because I have a slightly twisted sense of humour, I prefer the British Office, it's darker. You would actually let Michael Scott [Gervais's US counterpart, played by Steve Carell] look after your 18-year-old daughter, whereas I'm not sure you'd let Ricky Gervais's character look after your 18-year-old daughter. Same with my character, he's a lot darker than Todd Packer, the American version. Whether that makes it better or worse, I don't know. It's nastier underneath, which I kind of like.' The late 00s were taken up at least partly with the Harry Potter movies, in which he played the dark wizard Amycus Carrow. His son was 10 and his daughter was six when he shot Half-Blood Prince in 2008. It was the perfect age, you get the impression he'd have done it just so they could meet Daniel Radcliffe. He also got to hang out with Michael Gambon for days on end. 'He's the best storyteller in the world, ever. Joke-teller, raconteur, everything. He told me this joke that lasted a whole week; I could tell it in 15 seconds. It was one of the best weeks of my life.' Nevertheless, he had no lines at all, 'a supporting artist, basically'. The producers enticed him in with the next two books, in which there's more meat on Carrow's bones. But when they came to make the astronomically long Deathly Hallows, parts one and two, the plot had been very slightly tweaked to remove the pivotal moment when his character spits in Professor McGonagall's face and unleashes hell. 'I did three Harry Potter films without saying a single line.' As the father in The Witch, Robert Eggers's acclaimed, hypnotising horror movie, which won lots of indie film awards, including best director for Eggers at Sundance, Ineson felt that he'd got the first part with its own arc. This was 2015, when he was in his mid-40s, realising he actually was an actor, perhaps relatedly, at around the time the industry realised how good he was. He speaks so highly of his co-star, Kate Dickie – 'she should be a dame, she's that good,' he crescendoes a little surprisingly. But his collaboration with Eggers was intense. Ineson sat at the director's shoulder while the other actors were cast. 'It was a weird experience – it felt terribly unfaithful, as if I was cheating on my profession.' They worked together again on The Northman in 2022, which had a broader canvas visually and emotionally, but had the same feeling of The Witch, a film that had an immense amount of knowledge go into it, only a fraction of which you could pin down. 'I have got no idea how Rob has managed to read so much in his lifetime, it feels as if he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of almost every period in history.' If Ineson was never prepared, post-Office, to give in to being typecast as a wanker, he's pretty comfortable with being a supervillain. 'I think with my size, face and voice, 90% of the time I've been on the bad guy side of the line anyway. I would be fighting a losing battle if I was trying to get myself into romcoms. Some things are beyond the realms of casting.' If The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a turning point, the difference is mainly one of scale. 'Although I've been involved with big films before, I've never played a character that is this important to the film and the franchise,' he says, with an amount of trepidation. It's true – there are other people in the movie (Pedro Pascal! Vanessa Kirby!), but if the villain doesn't work, nothing does. 'So if it doesn't make a profit, it's my fault? Is that what you're saying?', he says, mock petrified. The film is already doing fine at the box office. He should relax.
Indian Express
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Avengers Doomsday plot leaks: Fan theory says it will be Pedro Pascal vs Robert Downey Jr, reveals real reason why Dr Doom was seen with Franklin
It's always entertaining to see fans of superhero films speculate about what all is going to happen in the upcoming films. One goes through multiple Reddit threads, posts on X (formerly Twitter), and hundreds of videos on YouTube and ends up being even more confused about the plot than before. Well, a new set of Avengers: Doomsday leaks are making the rounds of the internet, and if they are true, fans will be able to see the return of many beloved superheroes in prime roles before Marvel moves on to Secret Wars. This article contains spoilers for The Fantastic Four First Steps so if you have not watched the film, come back to us later. It all started when someone supposedly working for Marvel Studios leaked a document containing plot points for Doomsday. Apparently T'Challa's sister, Shuri, is going to be a big part of the movie, as she is the one who will discover the incursions (worlds colliding) and the timelines merging. The Fantastic Four will be travelling to Earth 616, as shown in the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*, to recruit help for their upcoming fight against Dr. Doom. Wong, Thor, the Thunderbolts, Banner, and Captain Marvel will all be informed about Franklin's kidnapping and the fact that a specific universe is heading for them at a dangerous speed. ALSO READ: Comic-Con salutes James Gunn and gets first looks at Coyote vs. Acme, and new Star Trek forays Upon investigating more about the universe, Shuri will detect the energy signature of Captain Monica Rambeau, something which makes Captain Marvel even more excited for the mission, as she wishes to rescue her mentee. While all this information should be taken with a grain of salt, the angle of Reed and Sue's son Franklin is definitely worth exploring. The post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps shows Franklin in the arms of Doom as the masked god reveals his face to the child. The omega-level mutant revived his mother, and many believe that Doom removed his mask so that Franklin could heal the injuries on his face. Franklin has the ability to become the strongest of all, and just like Galactus, Doom realises this as well. It's safe to assume that Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom will be once again go head-to-head. Reed will have the rest of the Fantastic Four with him, while Doom will command his army of Latveria (a fictional country ruled by him). We know Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, is in the film, which means that he will be leading the charge for the new Avengers. While Captain Marvel's return can prove to be exciting, The Marvels was a huge letdown at the box office, and if she returns, this might prove to be her last appearance. Among all this speculation, a new doubt among fans seems to be on the rise. What if casting Robert Downey Jr as Dr. Doom is just a ruse, in order to hide the identity of the true Von Doom.
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The One Thing ‘Superman' and ‘Fantastic Four' Can Agree on? Origin Stories Are Over
[Editor's note: The following article contains some spoilers for both 'Superman' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.'] It long ago became a familiar refrain for both this writer and plenty of other critics, journalists, film fans, and superhero stans: We're done with origin stories. And while the ever-expanding nature of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the spruced-up DC version requires the seemingly constant addition of new heroes and new stories, which, in turn, mean more movies and TV shows that chronicle how these super-beings came to be, it's time to call time on those heavy-hitter origin tales. More from IndieWire 'It' Is Back and Derry-er Than Ever: HBO Series Is the Latest in Stephen King Cinematic Universe George Lucas Makes His First Ever Comic-Con Appearance We know why Batman is Batman, how Spider-Man became Spider-Man, and that Superman is an extraterrestrial. That's a lesson that both of this summer's big superheroic releases — James Gunn's delightful DC franchise reset 'Superman' and Matt Shakman's less successful MCU entry 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' — both intrinsically understand and honor. Both films open after our titular heroes have become, well, heroes. Gunn's film not only opens after his Clark Kent (David Corenswet) has crash-landed on Earth from his native Krypton, but also after he's come to terms with his powers, grappled with growing up in Smallville, become Superman as we know him, moved to Metropolis, gotten a job at the Daily Planet, met Lois Lane, told Lois Lane who he is, and set about saving the world one squirrel at a time. That's a tremendous amount of ground to cover and more than enough for its own film — or, as we've seen over the past 87 years the hero has been in the zeitgeist, more than enough for multiple films, TV series, shorts, radio plays, even a musical, and a little thing called comic books — and is simply not required anymore. Jumping into the Superman story in medias res doesn't mean that we're robbed of enjoying the building blocks of how something came to be, but that we get to enjoy the story from a different starting point. Seeing how Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan in Gunn's film) reacts to discovering that Clark and Supes are the same person? That's not nearly as interesting or fresh as watching her grapple with that dichotomy, over and over, and in different situations. Similarly, Gunn's film doesn't push any superhero-to-superhero meetings on the audience; instead, when Superman joins a fight alongside the so-called Justice Gang, we get to observe relationships that are already in place. What a relatively small touch — hey, these people know each other — that pays off big time. Gunn and company are in the midst of something of a DC reset, which affords them the opportunity to take on seemingly risky things like 'not having to remind us that Superman is literally from space and also Clark Kent,' but even before this new iteration of DC screen lore, Warner Bros. was starting to dip its rubberized wings into less origin-centric superhero stories. Matt Reeves' 'The Batman' (which is, and we're getting deep here, not actually part of the overall DC superhero franchise, but is its own thing, called the quite-chewy 'Batman Epic Crime Saga') similarly works off a baseline understanding of the Caped Crusader (Robert Pattinson). And while, yes, Bruce Wayne's beloved dead parents and their horrific deaths are included in the film, it doesn't play out as a traditional origin story. Consider it a happy side effect of the film's earliest incarnations, when Ben Affleck was going to direct and star in his own Batman movie, after his Bruce had already been 'introduced' in other DCEU films. For once, development hell has rewards. Much like 'Superman,' Shakman's 'Fantastic Four' opens four years (you get it, right?) after the titular superhero family was turned into cosmically powered individuals after a spaceflight gone bad. Because of the alternate Earth the fab four inhabit, the energetic opening of Shakman's MCU film not only gets to show off the superhero clan, but the retrofuturistic world they protect. It's the highlight of the film, a zippy and genuinely fun way to introduce the group (including Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn) within the confines of their kitschy planet (which is also, incidentally, filled to bursting with citizens who adore them). Cleverly packaged as a TV chat show introduction to the famous group, Shakman finds the space to introduce the heroes, their world, and even show off some of their exploits (from befriending Mole Man to vanquishing, as best we can tell, a bunch of super-smart apes). For fans of the comic book heroes, it's an opening full of classic storylines and some 'hey, I get that reference!' nods. For newbies, it's a whiz-bang trip through lore that sets up the story to come. Mostly, it's refreshing. Consider this year's other MCU entries, including 'Captain America: Brave New World' and 'Thunderbolts,' both of which require a high level of franchise knowledge to really stick, including the consumption of multiple movies and TV shows (and, and this is essential, a solid memory when it applies to all of them). If you're an MCU fan, that's a lot of time spent to 'get' a film or two. If you're just a casual watcher of the movies, it's nearly insurmountable. Let's stop that now. 'Superman' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' lead the way. That's heroics we can get behind. Both 'Superman' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' are now in theaters. Best of IndieWire The 16 Best Slasher Movies Ever Made, from 'Candyman' to 'Psycho' Martin Scorsese's Favorite Movies Include 'Eddington': 87 Films the Director Wants You to See The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in July, from 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window' to 'Emily the Criminal' Solve the daily Crossword
Indian Express
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Fantastic Four post-credits scene was directed by Russo brothers on Avengers Doomsday set, director Matt Shakman reveals
WARNING: This article contains spoilers to Marvel's The Fantastic Four First Steps and Avengers Doomsday. Last year, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were over the moon when it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the Avengers franchise. After an iconic run as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Downey Jr. was set to star in the new Russo Brothers film Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release in 2026. The viral-post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces his character, the villainous Doctor Doom. His original character, Tony Stark, famously died in Avengers: Endgame. When Entertainment Weekly asked Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman if Downey Jr had filmed the post-credits scene, he played coy. 'For others to talk about,' he teased. Shakman did, however, confirm that the Russo brothers directed the scene, as it was shot during the production of Avengers: Doomsday. 'The Russos did end up directing that (Thunderbolts) post-credits scene, and they also did the one for this movie as well,' Shakman explained. 'Just because they were done during the production of Avengers: Doomsday. You've got all those actors there, you've got those sets there, it just makes sense.' The post-credits scene takes place four years after Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) saved their world from Galactus (Ralph Ineson). Also Read | Robert Downey Jr. bulks up for Doctor Doom for Avengers Doomsday, gives a shout-out to co-star Hawkeye aka Jeremy Renner Inside the Baxter Building, all appears calm as Sue reads a children's book to her four-year-old son, Franklin. When Franklin asks for another story, their robot helper H.E.R.B.I.E. recommends Darwin's Origin of Species. Sue thinks the book might be too advanced and goes to fetch a lighter one. Upon her return, she finds Doctor Doom kneeling before Franklin, mask in hand, an ominous sign that another powerful cosmic figure is introducing himself to the world's most powerful mutant. While this scene sets the stage for Avengers: Doomsday, Shakman declined to reveal what role Franklin might play in the upcoming blockbuster. He did, however, shed light on why Doctor Doom was reserved for the post-credits scene. 'That's one of the things that other movies have done, they've often used Doctor Doom,' Shakman said. 'Doctor Doom is an amazing character, and he's coming, as we all know. For us, it felt like, let's start where you can focus on these four amazing characters, Galactus is awesome too, but he's a giant cosmic threat, he's unknowable, and save Doom for a little later.'
Time of India
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Marvel's The Fantastic Four First Steps leaked online: Pedro Pascal-led superhero saga hit by piracy
Marvel's The Fantastic Four First Steps, starring Pedro Pascal, hit the screens on July 25 and opened to a decent response at the Indian box office. According to Sacnilk, a trade website, the biggie earned Rs 5.1 crore on Friday. It also received positive reviews. The Fantastic Four First Steps has now been leaked online. This has sent shockwaves through the entertainment fraternity. Marvel's The Fantastic Four First Steps leaked online Pedro Pascal is in the limelight because of his latest film The Fantastic Four First Steps, which stormed into theatres yesterday. In the latest development, the Marvel movie has been hit by piracy. According to reports, pirated copies of the superhero saga have gone viral on torrent websites such as Movierulz and Filmyzilla. Moreover, reports state that terms such as 'The Fantastic Four First Steps watch online' and 'The Fantastic Four First Steps Movierulz' are among the trending searches. Piracy is one of the biggest challenges facing the film industry. Previously, titles such as Superman and F1 were leaked shortly after their release. Piracy affects the box office performance of the films in question. It also reduces the impact of the efforts put in by those from the industry. Additionally, those who download pirated copies expose themselves to malware and legal issues. Fans should, therefore, stick to legal means to watch The Fantastic Four First Steps and refrain from accessing websites such as Filmyzilla and Movierulz. About The Fantastic Four First Steps The film introduces Marvel's iconic superhero family to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in an unconventional new setting—an alternate 1960s Earth. The story revolves around the team of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they try to eliminate a cosmic threat from the seemingly unstoppable antagonist Galactus and his powerful aide, Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), a fresh take on Silver Surfer. Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four First Steps blends retro sci-fi aesthetics with an emotionally gripping narrative. It is the 37th film in the MCU and the first one after Thunderbolts. The film is edited by Nona Khodai and Tim Roche. Jess Hall serves as the cinematographer.
