Hard case: spending 14-hour days encased in latex ain't easy. Here's how Chiklis and Co. pulled it off

Muscle & Fitness, July, 2005 by Jeanine Detz

THE FANTASTIC FOUR FOLKS OPTED FOR A COSTUMED version of The Thing, resulting in a cantankerous creation that weighed 60-plus pounds, was 5 inches thick in some places and heated up like an oven.

Fortunately, the following steps made it livable.

* MIND CONTROL Chiklis called a psychiatrist for help mentally hurdling the challenges of "the cocoon." She counseled him about staying in the moment to keep it together.

* LEANING POWER The makeup and costume team designed a slant board so that Chiklis--who couldn't actually sit while in costume--could recline at a 45-degree angle. Dubbed "The Rack," it enabled him to rest between takes.

* COOLER HEAD Chiklis got hot just walking around the set, so the team also concocted a cooling system. They'd pop a "rock" off the top of his head and blow chilled air into the gap between his skin and his suit's lining.

* DIGITAL TWIST The visual effects team did insert a bit of computer enhancement later. Thus, when The Thing jumps onto pavement, it fragments. And--how cool is this?--when he scratches an itch, he actually leaves a scrape in the rock.