Christopher Hart
Age: 31
Claim to fame: His hand stars as Thing in the Paramount Pictures comedy
”The Addams Family.”
On his appearance in sequels: ”I probably have the least amount of job security of any of the cast members. I mean, everybody`s got hands.”
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Magician Christopher Hart really had no idea what he was getting into when he lent his hand to play Thing in Paramount Pictures` ”The Addams Family.”
Hart was selected after hundreds of performers-from hand models to mimes- auditioned for the part.
The role of Thing-a disembodied hand that does odd jobs around the Addams home-was played in the TV series by an offscreen actor sticking his hand out of a box.
But director Barry Sonnenfeld had a bigger vision for Thing in the movie. ”It had to be considered a full-bodied little character,” said Hart.
”I think it was smart the way (the filmmakers) did the (special) effects. They could have done some animation thing and you wouldn`t have accepted
(Thing) as a real character.”
Hart`s part required a lot of patience. Most of the special-effects work was time-consuming and often grueling.
A scene involving Thing running down a busy street and trying to cross without getting hit had Hart running his fingers ragged in cold weather until 3 a.m.
”I love the intersection scene even though it was a nightmare to do,”
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Hart said. ”It was so cold, my joints were stiff and (I) was tearing up my hands so badly. I had to stop, (but) the scene looks great. I don`t even want to think about making it anymore. It`s sort of like childbirth. You just blot out that pain.”
As a magician, Hart felt that revealing the secrets behind bringing Thing to life was taboo at first.
”A couple of shots (featured) fake hands and I know every one of them,” Hart said. ”I would get concerned because I thought people were going to know and it would ruin it for them. It`s like exposing a trick.
”People always ask, `Wow, how did you do that?` But they don`t really want to know. If you see a trick exposed and find out how it works, it`s very disappointing.”