Ralph Ineson attends the photocall for 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' at the Corinthia Hotel London on July 11. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text The moment Ralph Ineson's towering stature enters into frame and his God-like voice is heard, the moviegoing audience knows they're in particularly good hands. Thus, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman knew full well the type of gravitas he'd be receiving when he offered Ineson the role of Galactus, the planet-devouring demigod and recurring foe of Marvel's first family. In the first hour of what is now the definitive live-action adaptation of The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) return home from an unsuccessful parley with the cosmic entity, and they are visibly shaken by the threat they just encountered, something Ineson's performance conveyed with ease. Related Stories Movies 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Review: Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby Lead Appealing New Crew to Break Marvel Property's Six-Decade Curse Movies Joseph Quinn Wants a Marvel Team-Up With Tom Holland: "He's Our Best-Ever Spider-Man" The Fantastic Four is not Ineson's first foray into the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2014, he played a nameless Ravager pilot in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, but that year happened to be career-altering regardless of his minuscule MCU role. By the time Guardians hit theaters in August, he had already wrapped a folk horror movie known as The Witch for a then-unknown writer-director named Robert Eggers. The first-time filmmaker provided Ineson with an all-too-rare lead role opposite newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy, and since The Witch's 2015 Sundance premiere and 2016 theatrical release, his profile has increased dramatically. Ineson and Eggers have re-teamed twice more for The Northman (2021) and Nosferatu (2024), and they're currently "talking" about a potential fourth go-round on the upcoming Werwulf. The English actor considers their initial collaboration to be the turning point in his filmography, opening the door to the likes of Steven Spielberg (Ready Player One), the Coen brothers (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) and David Lowery (The Green Knight). It also allowed him to eventually level up from an anonymous Guardians character to his notorious Fantastic Four villain. "'[Rob Eggers] gave me this amazing part in an amazing film with other incredible actors, and that changed everything for me," Ineson tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of The Fantastic Four's July 25 theatrical release. " [The Witch] gave me a lot of confidence in myself that I did actually have the chops to be able to play a character with a proper arc and some nuance. That led to more work with Rob and also Steven Spielberg, the Coen brothers and all sorts of amazing filmmakers. So the last ten years have been incredible, really." Ineson befriended Nicholas Hoult on the set of Eggers' Nosferatu, and the two actors recently bonded over the fact that they're portraying the supervillains of the summer's two biggest films, The Fantastic Four and Superman. "I sent [Hoult] something off social media that said that he gave the all-time greatest superhero villain performance, and I said, 'Hold my beer,'" Ineson jokes. "He then laughed and said, 'It's hardly fair. You're a cosmic entity; I'm just a guy.'" Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Ineson also discusses the village that it took to create Galactus, as well as his experience on Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Frankenstein. *** Have you and your Nosferatu co-star Nick Hoult had a chance to chat about being the villains of the summer's two biggest movies? We actually had a text conversation this morning about it. I sent him something off social media that said that he gave the all-time greatest superhero villain performance, and I said, "Hold my beer." He then laughed and said, "It's hardly fair. You're a cosmic entity; I'm just a guy." And I said, "Fair enough, but I am fighting four of them." (Laughs.) And then he said something like, "But I get an upset tummy when I eat spicy food." So I think he's given up on the man-on-demigod battle. The Fantastic Four: First Steps' diretor Matt Shakman pretty much offered you the role of Galactus. How rare or not rare of an occurrence is this for you? On this scale, it's bizarrely rare. To get a role like this, I would've expected to tape and screen test for a while. But almost all the cast has the same story, which was a brief meeting with Matt and confirmation a few days later that they'd like you to play the part. So it was spookily smooth and easy. I do occasionally get offered parts straight nowadays, but they're not usually