You'd have to be blind and deaf not to realize that David Ayers' take on Suicide Squad is arriving in theaters this week. The DC Comics flick, a follow-up to the overly moody Batman Vs. Superman, follows a group of super villains who are asked to band together to save the world (or something like that—we haven't been allowed to actually see it). One of these super villains is Killer Croc, a half-man, half-crocodile cannibal with superhuman strength. The character is a longtime adversary of Batman in the comic books and has taken on various incarnations over the years.

The film sees the villain in the hands of actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, a veteran of fantastical TV shows like Lost and Game of Thrones. Although we cannot attest to his character's actual role in the film's narrative, we can attest to the fact that the actor looks terrifying in his prosthetics and body paint, which took over five hours a day to apply.

We spoke with Akinnuoye-Agbaje about working with Ayers, becoming the Croc, and why he didn't mind when Jared Leto sent him used condoms.

What did you have to do to get this role?

It was a very simple process. I was in London and I received a call from David Ayers—we actually Skyped—and he had an outline of what his intention and his vision was for the movie. He had a role he was thinking of me for and we discussed it. He basically said, "This is what I'm doing. Do you want to do it?" I had one question. I said, "Will anybody know it's me in there?" And he said, "Absolutely." His whole focus and intent was on bringing the soul of the creature to life. He really wanted an actor that could bring that to life and that's why he didn't want to do CGI. To me, it was going to be an awesome challenge to see what I could do with prosthetics, how far I could push the bar with my own acting.

How long did it take for them to design and build your prosthetics?

From the time we had that discussion to the time of principal photography was about six months. It was a process. At the time we spoke, they only had a computerized visual. There were different parts and pieces that were assembled over six months. I did not get to see the full visual of Croc until maybe a week before principle photography. And it was as nail-biting and as anticipatory for me then as it is for you to see the movie now. I was so eager to see the whole thing put together.

Steve Carty

So once you did put it all on and you looked at yourself in the mirror, how did you feel?

I felt awesome, man! It felt awesome. To put it on—the chest, the head, the shoulders—and then to have my body painted, it was the most awesome feeling of excitement, power and childish fantasy brought to life. But one of the realest feelings I had was that there was this ominous, threatening presence to him, without even moving. The very look of him just had me riveted as I looked in the mirror. And then I began to play with it and contort and twist and see how he moved. It was so powerfully, darkly threatening. This is the one time I would say the word "awesome" really applies.

This is the one time I would say the word "awesome" really applies.

Do you not usually use the word "awesome"?

No! I'm from England. We don't really use it that much. It's put on every sentence in America. But this is one situation where it really applied. It was a truly awesome experience seeing it in front of the mirror on my body. It was frighteningly awesome.

Warner Bros.

How do you approach an iconic comic book character and give it your own interpretation?

With any character I do, I do my due diligence with research. And there was a lot of research on Killer Croc. I immersed myself in that and tried to get something out of the various incarnations. But I think one of the interesting things about embarking on the journey of Croc with David Ayers was his particular vision. He wanted him to be very real. So while paying homage to the research and what had come before in the comics, one of the exciting prospects was that we had license to some degree to create a likeness on film. And what that entailed was me really looking at crocodiles and alligators in their own habitats. I went down to the Everglades to see how they move, the texture of their skin. I tried to incorporate those movements in the fight techniques. And I had him walk as if he was walking through the water with a sinuous twist. Once I did that with the full outfit on, he literally came alive. It was like, "Here he is!"

Did I read that you researched real cannibals as well?

Yes. I said to David, "He's a cannibal. How do you want to portray that?" He said, "Every member of the squad should feel utterly intimidated by this reptilian creature that can literally eat them." From that end, I did some research on a real-life cannibal who was Japanese. There are some confessional tapes. They're very interesting. I would put them on during the five-hour process of putting on the makeup to put me in the mindset of what it is to be really attracted to flesh. You come away with some kind of appreciation for why someone would do that, why they would eat flesh. So there was that, yeah.

Well, I was going ask how you keep yourself entertained while having makeup put on for hours, and apparently you listen to cannibal tapes.

We did have a playlist of music as well. But it's normally 3 a.m., so for the first few hours I'd listen to it and then I'd fall asleep and they'd literally wake me up when I had to stand up. But I have to admit I had the most wonderful prosthetic team that nursed me through this. Because it really was a united effort to get me through it. We kind of did it together and we had to make it fun. The fact that we a sense of humor about it and had our own music playlist helped. I also couldn't eat because of the mask, so I could only drink through a straw. All my food had to be crushed and blended.

Warner Bros.

You previously appeared in Thor: The Dark World, which is a Marvel movie. How did making a DC Comics film compare with that?

It was very different in tone. With Marvel, I played two characters, which entailed different degrees of prosthetics. Where it really differed on Suicide Squad was the process of David Ayers and the six-week boot camp we were fortunate enough to go through. It bonds you as a unit, and it allows you to iron out the kinks and really get in touch with the character and the vision of the director. That's the luxury of that. And physically we trained like demons, so by the time we got to physical photography we were so primed for the shoot. On many levels this is physically—and mentally—exerting process I've been through.

What was the best piece of direction David gave you during the filming?

There is only one that really sticks out in my mind. There was a battle scene that we were just walking into—we didn't know exactly what we were walking into because we hadn't seen the enemy yet. And there's a close up of Croc walking into the area. As I walked in David just whispered to me. He said, "I want you to give me a look as if there are thousands of little mice running around in your brain."

What does that actually mean?

Ironically, I knew exactly what he was trying to say. And I gave him this look, and we did it in one take. But he comes with the most unusual tips. He knows how to access each actor's creative reserve. He knows exactly the right things to say for each actor and for each character as well. The moment he said that I knew exactly what he meant. He didn't want a straight menacing look. He wanted one that was a twitchy, uncertain, threatening look. It was a great piece of advice.

There have been a lot of reports on the weird gifts Jared Leto handed out to the cast. So of course I have to ask what he gave you.

Do you really want to know?

Yes.

I don't know if you'll be able to print it. But I got some used condoms and some dirty, sticky Playboy magazines and a vial of blood. I sent him a message back that said, "Don't send me your dirty leftovers. Next time have the good grace to invite the Croc." I think I also got a gold bullet. We got a dead pig at one point. A dead pig was sent in with a messenger. But we sent that back with the messenger with our own message. It was all good fun. It created this feeling of us versus them in a very playful way. It was done in such good humor. But Jared was very serious about his character, as was I, and there was no love lost when they said "Action!"

Now that the film is finally coming out, are you nervous about the possible reactions to it?

Of course. And people always will have strong opinions about these movies because of the backstories that exists for all these characters. You can never put everything in that's going to please everybody. But I think David's vision is going to blow people's minds. People will be enthralled in the journey and the spectacle of this movie. And where the hell are you ever going to see a half-man, half-crocodile talking in a movie? Just go for that alone!

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