It's not easy being a super hero. Harder still to be a super monster. Just ask Dick Durock, the man whose task it was to bring DC Comics' 'Swamp Thing' to life in two motion pictures and a three-season TV series, the latter of which is due out on DVD January 22nd.
"I don't think this has ever been done before in the history of Hollywood where a guy wore a costume for that amount of time," the actor told Comics2Film in a recent interview. "Usually it's a case of, 'OK, bring on the monster.' You work for a scene or two and it's, 'OK, go sit down.'
"This was twelve hours a day, six days a week, with it on."
The "it" in question is the full body suit and facial prosthetic makeup that transformed Durock, traditionally a stunt player, into the Swamp Thing.
"The costume of course was zip-on and zip-off, but all the appliances and the makeup had to stay on. In the first feature it took close to four hours. In the second feature it took close to two hours. By the time we did the series, which ironically was by far the best makeup and costume, we had it down to about 45 minutes," the actor said.
"But it was still tough. At the end of the day you're wearing eighty pounds of wet latex, plus all the chemicals on your face. It sure isn't sunglasses and autographs, I'll tell ya."
And while the swamps may be friendly to the comic book muck monster, but to an actor in a wet suit they only added to the physical toll the role took. Cameras always seemed to be rolling in the heat of the summer. However, while the feature films were shot in actual swamps, things changed for the television show.
"The series was filmed at Universal Studios in Orlando. It was a lovely setup," Durock told C2F. "For the first thirteen we used the local locations, the surrounding swamp areas, which Florida abounds in."
"Then somebody got smart. They built a swamp on the lot adjacent to one of the stages and we worked there and didn't have to transport equipment and people. It turns out it had a ten times better look than a real swamp."
At the end of the day, the physical demands of 'Swamp Thing' may have been the easiest hurdle for Durock to clear. After all, he was a trained and highly experienced stunt man when he first took the role. What he wasn't trained for was to be a leading man.
"I had no experience as an actor at all, other than playing on Rockford files and a zillion other shows, but not as an 'actor' actor per se.
"As the stunt guy, you go in there, do your thing and then go back and sit in the dressing room until you're on again," Durock said. "On the series, we were doing two shows a week, three days each show, ten pages of dialogue a day. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and at the end of the day they hand you another thirty pages.
"My appreciation for series actors went up a thousand-fold."
Never the less, Durock carried the production of two feature films and the series.
"I had good direction, which helped, because the biggest danger you have with costume and makeup like this is over-emoting. Sometimes you think you're doing something you would do without the makeup, and you see it and you think, 'oh my god.'"
While Durock's character was, of course, central to the series, every TV show is the result of a massive team effort. Durock told C2F that it was good to become reacquainted with his former co-workers while filming extras for the DVD.
"Contrary to belief in Hollywood, you do become a family when you're filming a show like that," Durock said. "You really need that to have a successful show, especially one that's under tough conditions."
While the movies were based firmly on the original Swamp Thing comics of the 1970s, the comics were traveling into uncharted territory under the pen of Alan Moore by the time the series saw airtime.
"There were differences in interpretations. The first film was pretty reasonably true I guess to the comics. The second film, by the director or producers choice they tried to make it a little more campy and unique, which is often tough to do," Durock said.
Regardless, Durock has always been the recipient of enthusiasm from the fans, something that continues to this day as the actor embarks on his DVD tour, with a stop at the Fangoria show this weekend.
"I still get a lot of fan mail. Last week I sent off four or five to places like Belgium, the Netherlands and places like that. They like the way it was done."
Of course, the state of the art of comic based movies has changed a lot since 'Swamp Thing' last aired in 1992. Recently Joel Silver gathered up the film rights and commissioned Len Wein to write the screenplay for an all new movie. We asked Durock if he'd get back in the suit for another swim in the swamp.
"That's beyond me now, so good luck with it. I'm sure they'd do it computer graphics now," the actor said. "I wouldn't mind being involved playing a bartender or a little cameo or something.
"Sure, that'd be fun."
'Swamp Thing - The Series' is due out on DVD January 22nd.
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