This is what James Spader really looked like on the set of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’

Believe it or not, James Spader was not in costume as a giant silver, self-aware robot while on set for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” However, he was on set. And Marvel has just released the behind-the-scenes footage to prove it. It’s bonkers.

After Tony Stark and Bruce Banner accidentally created the second “Avengers” movie villain by uploading an artificial intelligence discovered in Loki’s scepter with Stark’s global defense program Ultron, the Ultron machine took on a life of its own. Looking to blot out all of humanity from the face of the Earth, this gigantic metal wonder was played by James Spader. And if you watch the movie, you can absolutely see the same facial tics shared in the face of Ultron along with that Spader delivery.

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But a flying metal robot Spader is not. In hopes of melding the Spader presence with the computer-generated character, director Joss Whedon shot Spader on set, in a performance capture suit. The look was generally silly, as you can plainly see from this behind-the-scenes clip Marvel released tied to the “Avengers 2” DVD.

Arguably the best part is watching actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver) and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) stare at the vacant red lights high above Spader’s head while delivering an earnest reaction to an invisible (but scary) robot.

Twitter:@MdellW

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