Paul Bettany Reveals What It's Really Like To Suit Up As The Vision

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was a hit with audiences around the world for a number of reasons. Likable characters with flaws of their own in spite of their super-powered nature probably rates highly. So, too, does the intricate, years-long narrative that has been masterfully crafted over the course of 24 movies (and counting), as well as multiple TV series.

Another aspect of the MCU that has thrilled fans is the visual artistry that is present in every project. In an era where some level of CGI is present in just about every film that hits theaters, Marvel movies have rarely missed the mark with the virtual worlds and characters they have created. However, not every visual is the result of computer animation. When you get right down to it, there are a number of cases where it is still a guy or girl in a suit, even if the look was spruced up in post-production. 

Some suits are clearly more all-encompassing than others, though. For his role as the Vision, actor Paul Bettany was totally transformed from a lanky Londoner to an all-knowing synthezoid with brawn to match his brains. And while the character could switch between his natural, android appearance and his human form at the drop of a hat in the Disney+ series "WandaVision," getting into his Vision garb was a much more painstaking process for Bettany behind the scenes.

During a recent conversation with ACE Universe's Angélique Roché, via YouTube, Bettany opened up about everything that goes into becoming the Vision. In doing so, he made it clear that the process is far more elaborate than simply hopping into a costume and jumping on set. "There's a lot of getting ready," said Bettany about suiting up. "There's me getting ready before the shoot because you want to fit into the suit and if you've got a little beer belly it kind of gives the game away. So there's that portion of it." 

Bettany further revealed that some mental preparation is required as well. "There's also [a] sort of mental portion which is that it is incredibly claustrophobic wearing that stuff," he said. "So you need to be in a really good place in your head."

Although he had mastered the suit situation over the course of his involvement in films like "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Captain America: Civil War," and "Avengers: Infinity War," his "WandaVision" experience was a different animal entirely. "I really thought about it doing the TV show because it was all the time," he admitted. "Whereas with the movies you would dip in, you would do two days here and maybe three days in a row there, and I had noticed that if I had been working in that costume for five days straight I really, really needed out of it by the end of that."

Despite his best efforts and years of experience in playing the Vision, there was a moment on "WandaVision" where Bettany struggled with being confined to his costume. "I guess I had one time where I flipped out on set and I just went 'somebody has to help me get out of this suit'," he told Roché. "They pulled it down and everybody was really lovely." 

It may have been an isolated incident, but Bettany still doesn't love that it happened.  "It's so embarrassing to talk about because obviously you're getting paid to wear an uncomfortable suit," he said. "But after five days in a row of just being encased in this thing you're like 'I gotta get it off my chest.' I sat there for like five, 10 minutes just breathing, and then we went back into it and it was fine. That was the one time I think I flipped out. I'm mostly kind of chill, calm."