For the most part, the internet is bad. It’s full of angry individuals yelling about something and it seems like it’s gotten more difficult to find an untouched source of genuine joy.
Luckily, there are still a few crevices that remain golden — like the world of actors who portray superheroes playing with action figures. There’s something deeply enchanting about watching young actors like Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Ezra Miller (Flash) and Ray Fisher (Cyborg) pluck their action figures from the plastic wrap and start mock fighting one another.
Or, in the case of older actors like Chris Hemsworth, Chadwick Boseman and Mark Ruffalo, there is an unhindered joy in watching them embrace their childlike enthusiasm for the the superheroes they play by waving around their action figure counterparts.
The most recent video stars Justice League co-workers Miller and Fisher who can be seen in the video above playing with their figures, not even bothering to try and hide the obvious excitement they’re feeling. We’ve GIFed some of the best moments, which can be seen below.
Although these two are the newest to embrace their action figures — and take them out for a spin — they’re far from the first. Another recent action figure-oriented story that caught attention focused on a couple of Marvel’s heroes, Thor and Spider-Man. Unlike Miller and Fisher’s adorable play fighting, Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Holland are out for blood.
In a joke that began on Hemsworth’s Instagram account, the actor can be seen looking at a number of action figures standing on a table on the set of Avengers: Infinity War. Hemsworth walks over and picks up Captain America, shaking him about, and putting on different voices as he asks why Thor wasn’t included in the pack. Harnessing the power of Mjolnir, his magical hammer, Hemsworth starts knocking out action figures left and right. When it comes to Spider-Man, however, Hemsworth notes “he’s just a kid” before flicking him over.
The video earned a response from Holland himself, who brought his own action figures to an interview to showcase the true power of Spider-Man ... and friendship. We encourage you to watch the video, which Holland filmed for Entertainment Weekly, to hear the Spider-Man actor sing a song about being “the best of friends” with Captain America and Iron Man.
Since the mid aughts, when superhero movies made their glorious comeback and began their domination of the film industry, people have become obsessed with the idea of various actors playing with their action figures. There are twitter accounts dedicated to GIFing and archiving videos of this exact subject along with a Tumblr blog, Actors with Action Figures, ready to track down every last photo or video of a hero with their toy.
It extends beyond superheroes, too. The cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have had their time in the spotlight, celebrating the addition of their very own action figure. At this year’s Star Wars Celebration, Daisy Ridley was surprised with a new Rey figure, one she hadn’t seen before, and the result was unadulterated, pure joy.
Watching actors lose their minds over a figure of their character has become one of the most popular behind-the-scenes additions. Studios and networks know people love seeing their favorite actors embrace the role, poring over every detail etched into the six-inch figure. It’s why studios like Marvel, Warner Bros., Lucasfilm and more continue to do it. Not only do the actors appear to get a kick out of it, but it’s a genuinely fun watch for the biggest of fans.
“Actors losing it over their figures is my favorite bts (behind-the-scenes) genre,” one commenter wrote on Reddit. “I remember seeing the one for the cast of Heroes and when Sendhil Ramamurthy was told he could keep his figure he looked like Christmas came early.”
Although actors have been doing this for quite some time, there does seem to be a recent trend in getting actors to interact with their plastic, miniature versions of themselves for content purposes. It may be nothing more than a well-played advertisement, but it’s fun, goofy and impossible not to crack a smile over — sometimes that’s all you need.