Lately, David Harbour has donned several superhero roles with his 2019 Hellboy, MCU’s Black Widow, and the upcoming Creature Commandos in the DCU. However, his foray into the superhero world could have been years ago, had he not messed up his X-Men audition. The Stranger Things star revealed that he went so far with the X-Men audition, that it even left the director concerned.
To be precise, David Harbour went to audition for the role of the mutant Blob, the character played by Kevin Durand in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He shared that a casting director friend of his recommended that he could be the perfect fit for Blob in the 2009 film, only for him to face a bizarre situation during his audition.
What went wrong with David Harbour’s X-Men audition?
While talking with The Wrap, David Harbour did not share which role he initially auditioned for in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but after that, a “really sweet” casting director urged him to try for the role of the Blob in the film. The casting director suggested that they needed a big-statured guy to don the massive body suit required to play the excessively obese mutant.
It was enough to convince David Harbour to audition for the role until he decided to pull an interesting move, which backfired badly. The Gran Turismo actor made a joke of himself when he finished his lines, lifted his shirt, and while squeezing his belly said-
I got your blob right here.
David Harbour did not shy away from admitting it was a “stupid joke” that only worsened his relationship with the movie. He added that the director even called him to a hotel and confessed that they were concerned with his health.
I just made a stupid joke and then they called me and the director, we met at like a hotel, and he was like, ‘David, look, you’re wonderful, we really think you’re just a great actor, we’re just concerned… we’re really concerned,’ he explained. I was like, ‘Why, what’s your concern? I’m good to go. I’m available, let’s do this!’ And they were like, ‘No, it’s just, you lifted up your shirt and we saw the… we’re just a little worried about your health.’
It was incredibly shocking for Harbour who could not believe that he was deemed too fat to play Blob- “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, dude… ‘You are telling me I’m too fat to play The Blob?'”. It is a possibility that the director did not want any complications to the actor donning such a heavy suit for playing the monstrous mutant.
Kevin Durand unveiled the secrets of the Blob bodysuit
In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Blob aka Fred Dukes is shown as an ultra-obese member of Team X. Even though his appearance was brief, the body suit used for filming was made with extreme care.
When Kevin Durand sat for a chat with USA Weekend, he confessed that it was very difficult to don the suit as it was very hot. He shared that the technology used in the suits of race car drivers was implemented in the Blob suit to manage the cooling system.
It was really hot. [Laughs] Race car drivers, when they’re in the driver’s seat as they’re racing, the levels of heat are so intense that they have these T-shirts that were made with this tubing that goes through the shirt, and it’s hooked up to an icebox. The water circulates through the shirt. I had the same kind of contraption on me, so between takes, they would hook me up to the icebox and it would cool me so my head didn’t melt off.
Kevin Durand continued that even though it was not a conventional superhero role, he enjoyed the process- “it’s the coolest thing to watch yourself when you’re 800 pounds”. He also joked that the film gave him an idea about the possibilities he could face on leaving his gym and giving in to his temptations.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine can be streamed on Disney+.
