Isaac Powell talks wrestling Evan Peters in ‘lubricated’ slime for Ryan Murphy’s The Beauty
Based on the comics of the same name, The Beauty is set in a world where physical perfection can be transmitted via STI
By Callum Wells
Isaac Powell has opened up about filming a slime-soaked fight scene for Ryan Murphy’s new series The Beauty, revealing that the goo used on set stayed “lubricated and wet” for up to 12 hours at a time.
Based on the Jeremy Haun comics of the same name, The Beauty is set in a world where physical perfection can be transmitted via a sexually transmitted virus. While the discovery initially appears to eliminate illness and inequality, it soon reveals disturbing side effects, including grotesque transformations and outbreaks of extreme violence.
Speaking about joining the project, Isaac Powell admitted he was taken aback by the role. “Yes, I was really surprised, yup!” he told Queerty.
“Me and Evan [Peters] had a good time wrestling around in all that goop” – Isaac Powell on filming The Beauty
Powell also takes part in a major action sequence, which sees him wrestling on screen while completely covered in a thick, viscous substance. “I went into it knowing that I was going to be doing an action scene, so that aspect of it I was really looking forward to,” he explained. “We had two really incredible fight choreographers on set.”
“I’d never done a big action sequence like that before,” he said, adding that Murphy had pitched the role to him by promising “this really epic action sequence”. “I was like, ‘that sounds really fun!’”
The fight scene pairs Powell opposite Evan Peters, with the two actors grappling amid blood and slime. “Me and Evan had a good time wrestling around in all that goop,” Powell said.
“That stuff stays lubricated and wet for all 12 hours, baby!” – Powell on materials used for The Beauty
Asked what exactly the substance was, Powell admitted even he was not entirely sure. “That was a mixture of a lot of things, all of them gooey and bloody,” he said. “It never dried – it does not dry.”
He added that the material remained slippery throughout the long shooting days. “That stuff stays lubricated and wet for all 12 hours, baby!” he joked. “So I don’t know what’s in that stuff, but it does its job very, very well.”
The Beauty is currently airing on FX in the U.S. and Disney+ in the UK.
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