'It's about parenthood and marriage'

The cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Julia Garner, speak about filming with motion capture. The film arrives in UK cinemas this week.

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‘He’s a strong man to begin with, and then he gets turned into this monster, essentially,” says Ebon Moss-Bachrach, reflecting on his role as Ben Grimm, also known as The Thing.

The 48-year-old, a two-time Emmy Award winner, stars alongside Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Set in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world, the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) follows Marvel's First Family as they defend Earth from the ravenous space god Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer.

The film explores the team's origin story. Originally astronauts, the four are forever changed after an experimental space flight exposes them to cosmic rays, granting them extraordinary superhuman powers.

Pascal stars as Reed Richards, the stretchy genius Mister Fantastic; Kirby plays Sue Storm/Invisible Woman; and Quinn takes on the role of Johnny Storm/Human Torch.

Grimm, a former star athlete and fighter pilot, undergoes the most dramatic transformation of the four, becoming The Thing, an indestructible, rock-like being.

While his powers include immense strength, endurance, and near-invulnerability, the transformation also leaves him feeling isolated and self-conscious.

Moss-Bachrach, who earned both of his Emmy Awards for his role as restaurant manager Richie Jerimovich in the acclaimed series The Bear, explains that while his character has grown used to his new form, it's not something he ever wanted. I think very much it's something that he would prefer not to be," says the American actor.