The Casting Of Marvel’s Scariest Villain Was A Complete Fluke
FX’s Marvel series Legion may’ve been a success in the eyes of fans of the source material, but it was a bit of a headache for some working on the series. Speaking with Deadline, Department head Todd Masters and his collaborators spoke about needing an actor with a particular build and stature for the special effects work on the villain for the FX series. The special effects team admitted that casting former comic-book store worker, Quinton Boisclair was a bit of a fluke.
The character-The Devil with the Yellow Eyes-was something the special effects team had concepts of during the production of Marvel’s Legion. After notes were taken and the character was drawn up in photoshop, it then came to looking for the perfect actor to fit what the team was looking for. Luckily, Quinton Boisclair was available.
Makeup artist Lori Sadness spoke about having to sculpt Boisclair before having him sit for hours in the makeup chair. According to Sadness, the team had roughly four and a half hours with the actor. Before appearing on Marvel’s Legion, Boisclair had no experience with this type of project that required heavy special effects and makeup.
Todd Masters said the team “loved [Boisclair] for his body.” He had the type of physique the team was looking for. Tall, lean, and muscular. Marvel’s Legion’s prosthetic designer Sarah Pickersgill revealed that Boisclair had worked at a comic book store when someone from production discovered. They immediately noticed his lean and slender physique and found it was something they could work with. Pickersgill added that the special effects and makeup team are “always looking” for someone with the type of physique Boisclair had because they could build onto it.
The man who found Boisclair at the comic book store asked him if he “ever thought about doing creature suit work..” Pickersgill revealed that the production person, James, said to Boisclair that he was “everything that [they’re] looking for in a model.” After a few weeks, Boisclair was on set of Marvel’s Legion.
Pickersgill added that those in charge of production on Marvel’s Legion were “interested” in taking in someone with no experience in creature suit work. She noted that Boisclair “ended up being a natural on set.” Whenever he was in front of a camera, he just “came alive.”
Ironically, Boisclair was a massive fan of comics beforehand. Pickersgill mentioned how he “fed” information on his character since the team didn’t have any background knowledge about it. He and the special effects/makeup team talked about the character’s history in the comics while they worked on ensuring he was ready to appear on Marvel’s Legion.
The Devil with the Yellow Eyes, otherwise known as the Shadow King, became the main antagonist on Marvel’s Legion. A demonic parasite seeking to take control of the main character’s body and ability of bending-realties, the character has made several appearances in the X-Men comics. Many fans previously watched the show called Shadow King the scariest thing on television.
Quinto Boisclair’s story of how he became the person underneath Marvel’s Legion’s scariest villain is one many could only dream of. The comic book nerd goes from selling his favorite comic books to starring in an actual superhero show.
