Visit Josh Gad on the Set of Artemis Fowl and Find Out How He Feels About Playing a Giant Drawf
“I’ve been wanting to play in this space for a long time,” Josh Gad announces between takes on the set of Artemis Fowl. The fantasy space he refers to comes from Disney’s adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s novel Artemis Fowl.
Gad plays Mulch Diggums a kleptomaniac dwarf and smelly schemer drawn into the adventure alongside Dame Judi Dench, an elf commander and Nonso Anozie as Artemis’ trusty bodyguard, Butler. (etonline)
Disney originally planned to release the film in theaters, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Artemis Fowl will stream directly to Disney+. Gad, who was interviewed recently by ET, gives some details about what its like to be Mulch and work on the set. Here is an excerpt from the interview.
How long does it take to transform into Mulch Diggums?
Josh Gad: We’ve actually gotten the process down. I have an unbelievable makeup team. They created the name “Heathrow” to describe me, because it’s literally, like, seven people on a runway waiting to get their hands on my face. The process takes about two hours now. We listen to a lot of ‘80s music, [which] gets us in the mood. To get it off, I would say it takes about 45 minutes to an hour.
What about Mulch appealed to you?
Josh Gad: It felt like something I haven’t done before, which is nice. I had never read Eoin’s books prior to getting the offer to do this, but I’m a massive Harry Potter fan. After I read the script, I picked up the book and I literally read it in about a night. It’s one of the quickest reads I’ve ever read.
Eoin described the book as “Die Hard with fairies,” and in many ways, it feels like that.
What did you do to prepare for the role of a giant dwarf?
Josh Gad: I studied a lot of literature. [Laughs] No, I read the books. One of the things Ken and I discussed early on was this idea that we wanted to give Mulch a vulnerability of sorts, and that vulnerability stems from a place of not belonging, of wanting so desperately to be one thing but having an appearance that’s different than everybody else.
Do you have the famous flap on the back of your costume that lets out “air” to propel Mulch forward when he’s underground?
Josh Gad: Oh, there is very much a flap. What comes out of that flap is up to the MPAA. But yes, there is a flap.
What was your feeling when you walked on set and saw it for the first time?
Josh Gad: I think of that great line that Richard Attenborough says in Jurassic Park over and over again, “Spared no expense.” It really is spared no expense. It’s unbelievable.
Keep watching MickeyBlog for more information on Artemis Fowl as it debuts on Disney+ on June 12th.
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