Rhys Ifans talks about playing villain The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Unless you squeezed into Hall H at this past summer’s Comic Con, you haven’t seen the savage reptilian form of Dr. Curt Connors, the one-armed professor of Peter Parker and the scaly nemesis of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

While we await some glimpse in the next official trailer or image (or the inevitable online leak), Rhys Ifans recently discussed how he handled the task of transformation into The Lizard, and how much of the unleashed beast we’ll see.

“The majority of the time I’m me, I’m a human, not a Lizard,” he tells Cinema Blend. “That’s hard enough. I did have the CGI suit for certain scenes. The Lizard is 9 feet tall. There was one day that I went on set and they had a double, a big big guy, playing me, as the Lizard. I looked at it and I went “No.” Following that Marc [Webb, the director] let me know all the physicality, all the physicality you’ll see in the Lizard is my own.”

“I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these big claws. It was the most fucking insane… Each and every time you see the Lizard, the technology is so advanced now that when the Lizard’s eyes move, they’re my eyes. If I frown or show any emotion, they’re my emotions. That’s how spectacularly advanced technology is.”

Director Marc Webb’s 3D reboot swings into theaters on July 3, 2012 with Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen and Sally Field.