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EBON MOSS-BACHRACH IS THE REAL THING.

It’s just a bunch of screw-ups trying to make sandwiches,’ Ebon Moss-Bachrach told Vanity Fair when the first season of Hulu’s The Bear hit big. Pointing out that there are no superpowers at play in the kitchen, he said, ‘For a show to catch on like this… it gives me hope.’

Cut to 19 months later, on 14 February 2024, and hearts beat fast across the globe as news broke that Moss-Bachrach will play Ben Grimm aka The Thing in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four. The 47-year-old character actor best known for his roles in TV shows Girls, Andor and The Bear will star alongside Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman) and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch) as the eponymous quartet. Yes, there will be superpowers, while Marvel’s First Family at last making it home gives all of us hope.

Moss-Bachrach is a rock-solid choice. Born in Massachusetts to Jewish-American parents, he’s the right cultural fit for Benjamin Jacob ‘Ben’ Grimm, who appeared in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original Fantastic Four comic-book series in 1961, and, it was later revealed in flashbacks, was born to Jewish parents on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. But that’s just the start. The Thing, with his orange, rock-like skin, is renowned for being temperamental, though his hard exterior masks something softer within.

The same can be said for Girls’ Desi Harperin, Andor’s Arvel Skeen and The Bear’s Richie Jerimovich, all tough and gruff but so much more. ‘They’re big fucking babies,’ Moss-Bachrach said when it was put to him they have dirtbag tendencies. Selfcentred, yes, but also vulnerable.

Still not convinced? Well don’t forget that our man has previous in the MCU having played David Lieberman aka Micro in the first season of The Punisher. A former NSA analyst who’s an expert hacker, Micro teams up with Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle and together they kill a whole load of mutual enemies. Micro didn’t possess superpowers, of course, but let’s call it a taste test.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 25 JULY 2025.