Actor Anthony Carrigan, 42, recently opened up about the arduous process of transforming into Metamorpho for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie. Carrigan, who portrays the metahuman with the ability to change his body into any element, revealed that achieving the look was far from simple.
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Carrigan described the extensive work involved in his costume and makeup: “It’s things that were glued on me, but then they painted on detail, and then more things were glued onto that.” He emphasized the intensity of the experience, stating, “I’m not kidding when I say that I was glued in, I was sewn in, I was completely enveloped. I was tied in…roped in, basically. But all in service of this incredible costume.” This intricate transformation required him to spend a remarkable five to six hours in the makeup chair for each session.
Despite the grueling nature of the process, Carrigan believes the effort is worthwhile. “It’s worth it because you can actually feel the texture of something. Your brain notices the difference,” he admitted.
Carrigan, who lives with alopecia areata, drew a powerful connection between his personal experience and his character. He explained, “I think the reason why [writer/director and DC Studios co-head James Gunn] called me in specifically was because I really understood on a human level this idea of feeling different, feeling like something that has happened to you feels like a curse.”
He further elaborated on the unspoken understanding he shared with Gunn: “That was this unspoken thing that James and I understood. Then, once I really started to ask him questions about it, there was this sense that he really wanted someone who was quite tortured with what was going on. The really human quality of struggling with that, I think, comes through.”
Carrigan delved deeper into Metamorpho’s on-screen dilemma: “You’re in a situation where it’s having to hurt someone, having to be an agent of the bad guy. And at the same time, there’s this struggle to want to be good. What the film does brilliantly is it puts you in this situation of, ‘Oh! He has no choice.’ He has to be doing this, and you see how painful it is.”
Metamorpho is one of several superpowered individuals featured in Superman, which stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
The new Superman movie is slated to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.
