Vanessa Kirby could hardly have foreseen that her faux pregnancy in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" would prove to be a more arduous endeavor than her actual pregnancy in real life. The actress, who portrays Sue Storm in this new superhero flick, is currently anticipating the arrival of her first child with her beau, Paul Rabil. She recently graced the stage of "Late Night with Seth Meyers," where she delighted in sharing the contrasts between her cinematic and real-life baby bumps.
Upon welcoming her to the stage, host Seth Meyers quipped about her burgeoning bump, "Oh, my God, it's so cool that you stayed in character!"
"I genuinely believe many folks mistake it for some sort of publicity stunt. The timing is just plain nuts," Kirby quipped about her real-life pregnancy. She then elaborated on how they conjured up her screen pregnancy, adding, "Essentially, the artificial belly resembles a foam contraption. When it's foam, it feels featherlight and somewhat ridiculous. So, I kept urging Flick, who oversees my costume, 'I want more. It needs more heft!'"
However, the actress swiftly regretted that entreaty. "So, we experimented with various options, and eventually, she stuffed heavy rice packets into the belly, making it excruciatingly heavy. Consequently, I suffered severe backaches," she reminisced.
Now several months into her genuine pregnancy, Kirby has come to realize that her movie bump was "a far cry from this. This is... way lighter. Hence, I gave myself backaches for absolutely no reason."
Meyers responded with a chuckle, "Perhaps you're onto something here—do something even worse before getting pregnant." The actress nodded, "That's a valid point."
The "The Crown" star also noted that after toting around those "hefty, cumbersome rice packets" for some time, she eventually reached a point where she pondered, "Should we lighten the load a bit? Because I was constantly going, 'Oh!'"
"The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which premieres in theaters on Friday, also boasts a star-studded cast including Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, and Julia Garner.
