13 Bizarre Times That CGI Was Used To Tinker With An Actor's Body

"I looked very funny, like Wonder Woman pregnant with Kermit the Frog."

We're well aware of how CGI has transformed cinema, but it also is pretty commonly transforming the actors we see on screen.

Netflix

Whether it's the expense of reshoots or hiding something about the actor, there are plenty of reasons to CGI an actor in post-production. So here are 13 times actors were digitally edited:

1. Olivia Wilde – The Change-Up

Universal Pictures

When filming the scene with Ryan Reynolds where she strips down, Olivia wore pasties to cover her nipples. Ryan was supposed to be obscuring her pasties, so they wouldn't be seen in the film, but, unfortunately, the placement of their bodies was a bit off, and when reviewing the footage, the pasties were visible. 

So, in order to restore the scene's authenticity, the producers decided to CGI nipples onto the pasties that were covering Olivia's actual nipples. They did consult her, however, to ensure they got the most realistic fake nipples: 

"I got to approve the nipples! They sent me an email saying, 'Please review nipple cover shot one through seven and decide which one is most like the original.' I don't know what he (producer) was using as source material... but I think it's pretty close."

2. Jennifer Connelly – Blood Diamond

Warner Bros. Pictures

Actors are pretty good at crying, and I'm sure Jennifer could have squeezed out a few tears in her scene towards the end of Blood Diamond if she'd been asked to. But, having already shot the scene, and due to the cost of re-shoots, the waterworks were actually added in post. 

While in the editing process, director Ed Zwick thought it would be a good idea to try and give the scene a bit more emotion, so decided to digitally add the tears. It really makes you think how much thought and cost go into each tiny decision. 

Take a look here:

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3. Tenoch Huerta – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The trailer vs film discrepancy here caused quite a bit of online chatter. After the trailer showed Tenoch Huerta's character, Namor, sporting a sizeable bulge, said bulge had seemingly disappeared by the time the movie got to the big screens. Cue eagle-eyed fans taking to Twitter with comments such as "GIVE NAMOR HIS PENIS BACK.” 

The actor actually addressed the issue, talking about the side-by-side, saying: “The only thing that I can say is the original was the photo [on] the right. Without [the bulge]. That’s original."

So, they seemingly added the bulge for the trailer, and cut it out again for the actual movie? If not, then where did the bulge come from? 

Here's what sparked the debate:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

4. Renesmee – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Summit Entertainment / Yahoo Movies

I think it's fair to say that the choice of digitally making Renesmee (the baby) was better than their original idea, which was to use what has been described by producer Wyck Godfrey as "one of the most grotesque animatronic babies ever to not be seen on film."

Still, though, the CGI baby definitely had some serious uncanny valley vibes. They chose to use a digital baby because Renesmee wasn't supposed to be a 'normal' baby, so they wanted her to look somewhat other-worldly. IMO though, they just made her kinda distracting. 

Take a look here:

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5. Nicolas Cage – Ghost Rider

Sony Pictures Releasing

When a topless Nick Cage looked in the mirror in Ghost Rider it sparked a bit of an internet debate, and an urban legend alongside it. People believed that, from the sheer shreddedness of Nick, the studio had CGI'd his abs. It turns out that this was doing the legendary actor a disservice, and his chiselled physique was the very real product of his hard work.

Due to the existence of a rather large tattoo on Nick's arm, however, there was some CGI necessary. They decided to digitally remove said ink, although, weirdly enough, the tattoo was of a flaming skull, so if they'd have kept it it probably would have fitted just fine. 

Have a look here:

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6. Jeremy Renner – Tag

Warner Bros. Pictures

You don't have to be particularly eagle-eyed to spot that Jeremy Renner uses his arms a lot – which makes sense in a movie about the game of tag. So, when, on the third day of filming, Jeremy broke both of his arms, it wasn't looking great for the whole shooting process. 

But the show had to go on, somehow. So, production continued, with Jeremy in green arm casts, which would later turn into the CGI arms that we see in the movie. 

Have a look here:

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7. Jessica Alba – Machete

20th Century Fox

CGI can also prove a canny mechanism to resolve certain discrepancies between director and actor; such was the case with Jessica Alba in Machete. Jessica has always refused to film scenes in the nude, so when it came to shooting the shower scene, they had to work things out another way. They decided to film the scene in underwear, and then digitally remove it afterwards. 

On the decision, Jessica's publicist made a statement about it:

"Jessica has been steadfast in her resolve not to appear nude in films from the beginning of her career. The decision to digitally remove the underwear from the shower scene in Machete was one she and Robert Rodriguez made together."

Here's that scene:

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8. Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman

Warner Bros. Pictures

TV shows have used various methods to hide an actor's pregnancy, including the digital removal of a baby bump. This is what happened to Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman. During the reshoots for the movie, Gal was five months pregnant, so couldn't really hide the bump with props. 

Instead, she wore a green patch over the bump, and the editors were able to digitally remove it afterwards. On the effectiveness of the CGI bump removal, she had this to say: 

"On close-up, I looked very much like Wonder Woman. On wide shots, I looked very funny, like Wonder Woman pregnant with Kermit the Frog."

9. Chris Evans – Captain America: The First Avenger

Paramount Pictures

It was no easy task for Chris Evans to bulk up to become what the director Joe Johnston called “the perfect human specimen,” but it was also quite the challenge to make him small again. Having put on all the muscle before shooting, the team had to find a way to shoot the pre-serum Steve Rodgers. 

They tried using a body double, and just merging Chris's head onto that, but it didn't work well enough. Another option would have been to get Chriss to lose all the weight again, but they didn't have time, so they decided to use technology. 

On the process, Joe said: “We filmed over 250 shots of Chris and used digital technology to ‘shrink’ him down to what we called ‘Skinny Steve." 

The digital editing took all of pre-production and most of the production time too before it was finished. 

Take a look here:

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10. Henry Cavill – Justice League

Warner Bros. Pictures

They'd already filmed Justice League with a clean-shaven Henry Cavill by the time he'd grown his tash for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, but the production team then recalled the actor for reshoots and they hit a problem. Being unable to shave his moustache, the team took it upon themselves to digitally remove his furry friend, which, of course, the internet found hilarious and ridiculous. 

Zack Synder commented on the removal, saying: 

"I've only seen it in memes, you know, it was funny, because you know, part of me is happy that we were able to have that not be the total legacy of the hard work that he had done in the last 10 years. It's sad to think that, that would've been the last view that people had of Superman was that, whatever that is."

Take a look here:

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11. Dakota Johnson – 50 Shades of Grey

Universal Pictures

Similar to the nipple situation in The Change-Up, wherein they used a patch to cover up their private areas during filming. Dakota wore a sort of patch around her body for the nude scenes, which means the production went back in the edit to digitally add pubic hair and decide what/how much they wanted. The film's cinematographer, Seamus McGarvey, explained the process: 

"We were in the curious situation, in postproduction, of adding [pubic hair]. I wouldn't say it was one of the highlights of my career, but it certainly was one of the most surreal scenarios." 

12. Wesley Snipes – Blade: Trinity

New Line Cinema

This more bizarre use of editing someone's body was due to a squabble on set between Wesley Snipes and the production team after falling out with director David S. Goyer. It was a scene where doctors were inspecting his body, and he was supposed to suddenly open his eyes and attack them. Wesley, however, flat-out refused to open his eyes, leaving the producers with a problem. 

Instead of just cutting from his closed eyes to him grabbing the doctor, the team instead decided to give Wesley some wonderfully weird CG-Eyes which left fans baffled and also fairly amused. 

Have a look here:

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13. Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

Sony Pictures Releasing

It's not just bodies that get digitally edited, but what the body produces. In the case of The Social Network, it was the misty breath that came out of the mouths of Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield. 

According to director David Fincher, while it was certainly very cold, the humidity wasn't quite right for the production of the mist that was apparently so key to the shot. Looking back, the shot does look kind of bizarre, or as though both of them have just taken a big ol bong hit just before they speak...

Take a look at the breath here:

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What's the oddest bit of CGI usage in a film you've seen? Let us know in the comments below!