Spider-Man double calls role 'childhood dream'

Spider-Man double calls role 'childhood dream'

Image source, Teifion Sussex

Image caption, Tefion Sussex is living out a childhood dream

ByChris Lockyer

Somerset

For Teifion Sussex, playing Spider-Man was something he'd trained for his entire life.

Using YouTube tutorials, he would spend his time in his Somerset home learning parkour and martial arts moves, in the hope he would be called into action one day.

Fast forward to 2026, and the 36-year-old can be seen on the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as the VFX, motion-captured double of the titular hero.

He said he spent his childhood pulling the Spidey poses and shooting webs, and now being able to portray him is "the best feeling ever".

Image source, Teifion Sussex

Image caption, Teifion said he used to practice the Spidey moves as a kid

Now living near Shepton Mallet, Sussex said his childhood was filled with "driving my parents nuts with my energy", and constantly "throwing myself over furniture and jumping on things".

And it was this upbringing that led to him carving a path as voice actor and physical performer.

So while Tom Holland, the actor behind the current incarnation of Spider-Man, was filming his scenes around the UK - including places like Dorchester Prison in Dorset - Sussex was locked on a sound stage, known as The Volume, throwing shapes to hundreds of cameras.

"Everything was always under a code name," he said, adding: "You don't really 100% know you're working on something until you're actually there doing it."

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, Tom Holland plays Spider-Man - who is Peter Parker behind the famous mask and costume

Sussex said until he looked up and saw the small screen capturing him - he had no idea he was performing on behalf of the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

"Every single little tiny movement you do gets picked up and it gets transferred directly into the character on screen," he added.

"It shows a pre-rendered live capture ... and when I looked up at the screen, and I saw Spider-Man looking back at me - it was like a mirror.

"That was when I realised this is real - this is really happening.

"I was realising this was the real deal. It wasn't a spinoff, it wasn't a fan project or a promotional thing - It was the movie and they needed my help to bring his action to life with my skills and performance.

"That's indescribable really."

He added every day since discovering his role, he had "woken up and it's felt like an actual dream".

Image source, Teifion Sussex

Image caption, Teifion Sussex uses a MoCap suit to record for Spider-Man

Motion capture, or MoCap, is when an actor wears a special suit covered in dots or balls to physically act out scenes, which can then be overlayed on to an animated or digitally generated character.

Oscar De Mello, who helps run The Shed in Bristol which uses MoCap technology, said being one of those performers was a unique skillset, often having to use bigger, more exaggerated movements.

"It enables things that wouldn't otherwise be possible - Motion capture isn't necessarily cheap, it's probably got more affordable as the process has become more efficient but you still need to do it in a studio because you need controlled conditions.

"It is a tool that can be used in a number of different ways for different objectives, and it can enable you to create shots within a TV show or a film that would otherwise be impractical to try and get."

And for Sussex, this meant getting Spider-Man swinging through New York - or battling the Incredible Hulk.

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